Senior Service Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior Service Designer

Company: Aviso Wealth

Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Job Type: Full-Time

Category: Customer Experience Design / Service Design

Date Posted: October 1, 2026

Experience Level: 6+ Years

Remote Status: Hybrid

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead complex, strategically important Service Design initiatives across priority customer journeys and enterprise-level projects.

• Drive customer-centricity and innovation by applying advanced design methodologies and systems thinking to uncover opportunities and guide cross-functional teams.

• Translate complex research findings and business needs into compelling narratives and actionable service design artifacts to influence senior-level decision-making.

• Mentor and elevate junior designers and cross-functional partners, fostering a culture of inclusive design and mature design practices across the organization.

• Serve as a trusted consultant, partnering with business leaders to align customer needs, business priorities, and organizational goals to drive meaningful improvements in both customer and employee experiences.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned within a Customer Experience Design function, focusing on Service Design principles. While not strictly a "Revenue Operations" or "Sales Operations" role, the emphasis on customer journeys, strategic initiatives, and influencing business decisions aligns with GTM (Go-To-Market) operations principles by improving the client lifecycle and operational efficiency from a customer-facing perspective. The "Senior" title indicates a need for leadership, strategic thinking, and mentorship capabilities.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Spearhead complex Service Design initiatives, focusing on priority journeys, specific business lines, or broader enterprise-wide projects to drive strategic change.

• Design and lead advanced discovery initiatives that tackle ambiguous business challenges, including coordinating participants, developing research plans, facilitating sessions, and synthesizing data to identify strategic opportunities.

• Translate intricate evidence and insights into persuasive stories, strategic recommendations, and essential service design artifacts such as vision statements, personas, ecosystem maps, experience maps, and service blueprints.

• Facilitate workshops and gain alignment with senior stakeholders on Customer Experience (CX) priorities and investment decisions, including leading problem framing, design sprints, simulating new service experiences, and informing future state experience direction.

• Mentor other designers and cross-functional partners, providing strategic service design expertise and guidance throughout the organization to enhance overall design maturity.

• Act as a role model and advisor, promoting customer centricity, inclusive design principles, and elevating design maturity across Aviso Wealth.

• Contribute to and actively lead the improvement of service design practices, standards, methodologies, and journey management capabilities within the organization.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities emphasize a blend of hands-on design leadership and strategic influence. The role requires the ability to manage ambiguity, lead cross-functional teams without direct authority, and translate complex findings into clear, actionable insights for senior leadership. This aligns with the strategic consulting aspect often found in senior operations roles that bridge business needs with functional execution.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education:

• Bachelor's degree in Design, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Human Factors, Psychology, or a closely related field.

• Graduate degree preferred, indicating a strong academic foundation in design and user-centric disciplines. Experience:

• A minimum of 6 years of progressive experience in Service Design, User Research, Design Strategy, or a comparable field.

• Demonstrated success in leading complex, cross-functional CX initiatives from the discovery phase through to implementation planning. Required Skills:

• Expert-level knowledge of human-centered design, systems thinking, design thinking, and service design methodologies.

• Expertise in fundamental and advanced service design methods, including problem definition, vision-framing, co-design sprints, and service prototyping.

• Proficient with a range of journey management, insight management, and service design platforms such as TheyDo, Dovetail, UserTesting, Figma, Miro, and Dscout.

• Advanced facilitation, consulting, storytelling, and executive presentation skills to effectively communicate complex ideas and influence decision-making.

• Proven experience in influencing decisions at the Director, VP, and senior leadership levels.

• Self-motivated, highly organized, and comfortable operating within a complex and dynamic organizational structure.

• Experience mentoring junior designers and contributing to the development of design practices and standards.

• Fluent communication skills in English. Preferred Skills:

• Bilingual skills in French are a significant asset.

• Experience within the financial services or wealth management industry.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "expert-level knowledge" and "advanced facilitation" requirements suggest this role is for a seasoned professional capable of operating independently and guiding others. The specific toolset mentioned (TheyDo, Dovetail, etc.) indicates a need for practical, hands-on experience with industry-standard design and collaboration software, which is crucial for operationalizing design insights.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• A comprehensive portfolio showcasing a minimum of 6 years of impactful work in Service Design, User Research, or Design Strategy.

• Evidence of leading complex, cross-functional CX initiatives from initial discovery through to implementation planning, demonstrating a full project lifecycle understanding.

• Case studies that clearly articulate the problem, the design process employed, and the resulting impact on customer, employee, or business outcomes. This should include quantitative metrics where possible.

• Demonstrations of expertise in fundamental and advanced service design methods, such as problem definition, vision-framing, co-design sprints, and service prototyping.

• Examples of creating and utilizing key service design artifacts like vision statements, personas, ecosystem maps, experience maps, and service blueprints to drive empathy and inform decisions. Process Documentation:

• Documentation of experience in applying human-centered design, systems thinking, and design thinking methodologies to real-world business challenges.

• Examples of facilitating workshops and aligning senior stakeholders on CX priorities, including problem framing, design sprints, and experience feedback collection.

• Evidence of contributing to and leading improvements in service design practices, standards, methodologies, and journey management capabilities.

• Demonstrations of mentoring junior designers and contributing to practice development, showcasing leadership in process enhancement and knowledge sharing.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a Senior Service Designer role, the portfolio is critical. It should not only showcase design output but also the strategic thinking, problem-solving approach, and measurable business impact. Candidates should be prepared to walk through their process, explain their rationale, and quantify results, demonstrating operational proficiency in design execution.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range:

• The expected salary range for this position is $95,000 - $105,000 CAD annually.

• Individual compensation will be determined based on a variety of factors, including the candidate's unique qualifications, experience, and alignment with the specific requirements of the Senior Service Designer role. Benefits:

• Competitive compensation package that rewards and recognizes individual contributions.

• Excellent health, dental, and insurance benefits designed to meet the diverse needs of employees.

• Generous vacation time allowance for work-life balance.

• Fitness benefit to support employee well-being.

• Parental leave top-up options to support new parents.

• Matching contributions to the company's retirement program, aiding long-term financial planning.

• Commitment to continuous improvement through learning and development opportunities.

• Education assistance program to support ongoing professional growth and skill enhancement.

• Regular social events designed to foster teamwork and build a strong sense of community. Working Hours:

• This is a full-time position, typically with a standard work week of approximately 40 hours.

• Given the hybrid work arrangement, flexibility will likely be expected to accommodate project needs, team collaboration, and key stakeholder meetings across different time zones or schedules.

📝 Enhancement Note: The provided salary range ($95,000 - $105,000 CAD) is for a Senior Service Designer in Toronto, Ontario. This range aligns with industry benchmarks for experienced design professionals in a major Canadian city, considering the hybrid work model and the financial services sector. The benefits package is comprehensive, offering strong support for employee health, well-being, and professional development, which are key considerations for attracting and retaining senior talent in design and operations-adjacent roles.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Wealth Management / Financial Services. Aviso Wealth operates as a leading provider of wealth management and investment services for the Canadian financial industry, managing approximately $145 billion in assets. They serve a diverse client base including credit unions, portfolio managers, investment dealers, insurance companies, trust companies, and individual investors.

Company Size: Approximately 1,000+ employees. This mid-to-large size organization offers a balance of established processes and potential for agility, providing opportunities for significant impact without being lost in a massive corporate structure.

Founded: Aviso Wealth has a rich history, being backed by established owners like credit union Centrals, Co-operators/CUMIS, and Desjardins. This indicates a stable, reputable organization with deep roots in the Canadian financial landscape. The company is focused on building a comprehensive, technology-enabled, client-centric wealth services ecosystem.

Team Structure:

• The Client Experience team, within which the Senior Service Designer operates, likely comprises professionals focused on understanding and improving customer interactions. This team would include other designers, user researchers, CX strategists, and potentially data analysts focused on customer feedback and journey metrics.

• The Senior Service Designer reports to the Director, Service Design, indicating a clear leadership structure within the CX function.

• Cross-functional collaboration is paramount, with the role requiring partnerships with business leaders, product teams, IT, marketing, and potentially operations teams to implement service design solutions. Methodology:

• Data Analysis & Insights: The role emphasizes translating "complex evidence" and "analyzing and synthesizing data" from discovery initiatives. This requires a data-driven approach to understanding customer pain points and opportunities.

• Workflow Planning & Optimization: Core to Service Design is mapping out and improving customer and employee workflows (journeys, service blueprints) to enhance efficiency and satisfaction.

• Automation & Efficiency: While not explicitly stated as an automation role, improving service delivery through design inherently drives efficiency and can inform the need for digital solutions or process automation.

Company Website: www.aviso.ca

📝 Enhancement Note: Aviso Wealth's culture is defined by its values: We Care, We Dare, We Share, and We Deliver. This suggests an environment that values empathy, innovation, collaboration, and accountability. For a Senior Service Designer, understanding these values is crucial for aligning design solutions with the company's ethos and for successful stakeholder engagement. The company's broad reach across Canadian financial institutions means that service design solutions can have a substantial impact on the broader ecosystem.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This is a Senior-level individual contributor role with leadership and mentorship responsibilities. It sits at the intersection of design, strategy, and business operations, focusing on enhancing the customer journey and influencing strategic decisions. The role requires a blend of deep design expertise and the ability to operate as a strategic consultant within the organization.

Reporting Structure: The Senior Service Designer reports directly to the Director, Service Design. This structure suggests opportunities for mentorship from a senior leader and exposure to higher-level strategic discussions within the Customer Experience domain.

Operations Impact: The role's primary impact is on improving customer and employee experiences, which directly influences client retention, acquisition, satisfaction, and operational efficiency. By leading complex CX initiatives and managing strategic customer journeys, the Senior Service Designer contributes significantly to Aviso Wealth's overall business objectives and its ability to deliver value in the competitive wealth management sector. This role helps operationalize customer-centricity.

Growth Opportunities:

• Operations Skill Advancement: Deepen expertise in service design, journey management, and systems thinking, potentially leading to specialization in areas like digital transformation or customer journey optimization.

• Leadership Development: Transition into a managerial role within the service design or CX team, or take on more significant strategic leadership for larger, more complex initiatives. Opportunities to lead practice development and establish new methodologies within the organization.

• Industry Specialization: Gain extensive experience in the wealth management and financial services sector, becoming a subject matter expert in designing financial customer journeys, which is highly valuable.

• Cross-Functional Leadership: Develop stronger influencing and consulting skills by working across diverse business units, potentially leading to roles in broader strategy or transformation functions.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Senior" designation implies a pathway to management or principal-level individual contributor roles. The emphasis on mentoring and practice development suggests opportunities to build and lead a team or function. The role's strategic nature also opens doors to broader GTM strategy or operational excellence roles within the financial services industry.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Hybrid. This indicates a blend of remote work and in-office presence. The company has offices in Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal, with this role being based in Toronto.

Office Location(s):

• Toronto, Ontario, Canada (Primary location for this role)

• Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

• Montreal, Quebec, Canada Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Environment: The hybrid model necessitates strong digital collaboration tools (Miro, Figma) alongside in-person interactions. The culture values "sharing" and building "meaningful relationships," suggesting active engagement during office days.

• Operations Tools & Technology: Access to industry-standard design and collaboration software (TheyDo, Dovetail, UserTesting, Figma, Miro, Dscout) is provided to facilitate design work and team interaction.

• Team Interaction: Opportunities for direct interaction with the Director, Service Design, other designers, and cross-functional partners will occur both remotely and during designated office days. The emphasis on mentorship implies regular touchpoints with mentees and mentors.

Work Schedule:

• Standard full-time hours (approximately 40 hours per week) are expected.

• The hybrid nature allows for flexibility, but the need to lead complex initiatives and facilitate senior-level meetings will require adaptability in scheduling to ensure optimal collaboration and stakeholder engagement.

📝 Enhancement Note: The hybrid work environment requires strong self-discipline and communication skills. Candidates should be comfortable managing their time effectively across remote and in-office settings and be adept at using digital collaboration tools to maintain team cohesion and project momentum.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A review of applications and portfolios to assess alignment with experience and skill requirements.

• Hiring Manager Interview: Discussion focused on experience, leadership capabilities, and strategic approach to service design. Preparation should include examples from your portfolio demonstrating your impact.

• Portfolio Presentation & Case Study: A key stage where candidates present a detailed case study from their portfolio. This will likely involve problem framing, design process, solutions, and measurable outcomes. Expect to discuss how you'd approach a specific Aviso Wealth challenge.

• Cross-Functional / Team Interviews: Meetings with peers and stakeholders from other departments (e.g., Product, Business Units) to assess collaboration style, communication, and cultural fit.

• Final Interview: Potentially with a senior leader (e.g., VP of CX/Design) to discuss strategic vision and overall fit for the organization.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Quantify Impact: For each case study, clearly articulate the business problem, your specific role and contribution, the methodologies used, the solutions developed, and most importantly, the measurable results (e.g., increased conversion rates, reduced support tickets, improved NPS scores, time saved for employees).

• Showcase Process: Detail your design process, from discovery and research to ideation, prototyping, testing, and implementation support. Highlight how you translated insights into actionable design.

• Demonstrate Strategic Thinking: Explain how your design work aligned with business objectives and contributed to the overall strategy. Showcase your ability to influence senior stakeholders and drive change.

• Highlight Collaboration: Include examples of how you worked with cross-functional teams, facilitated workshops, and managed stakeholder expectations.

• Tailor to Aviso: Research Aviso Wealth's values, business lines, and current CX initiatives. If possible, tailor your presentation to show how your skills and experience can directly address their needs, particularly within the wealth management context.

Challenge Preparation:

• Be prepared for a potential design challenge or a deep dive into a specific portfolio project that simulates a real-world problem Aviso Wealth might face.

• Practice articulating your design decisions concisely and persuasively, focusing on the "why" behind your choices and the expected business outcomes.

• Understand how to frame ambiguous problems and outline a structured approach to solving them using service design principles.

• Prepare to discuss how you would mentor junior designers and contribute to improving design practices within a company.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process emphasizes practical application of service design skills and strategic influence. A strong portfolio with quantifiable results and a clear demonstration of process and collaboration will be key differentiators. Candidates should prepare to articulate their impact in business terms, not just design terms.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Service Design & Journey Management Platforms: TheyDo, Dovetail (for research synthesis and insight management).

• Collaboration & Prototyping Tools: Figma (for design, wireframing, and prototyping), Miro (for virtual whiteboarding, workshop facilitation, journey mapping, and ideation).

• User Research Platforms: UserTesting.com (for remote usability testing), Dscout (for qualitative research, diary studies).

Analytics & Reporting:

• While specific tools aren't listed, expect to work with data from customer feedback platforms, CRM systems, and potentially web analytics tools to inform design decisions and measure impact. Proficiency in interpreting data to drive design strategy is essential. CRM & Automation:

• Familiarity with CRM systems (e.g., Salesforce, though not specified) and an understanding of how service design can integrate with or inform automated workflows will be beneficial, particularly for understanding the broader customer lifecycle and operational touchpoints.

📝 Enhancement Note: Proficiency with the listed tools is explicitly required. Candidates should be ready to discuss their experience with each tool, how they leverage them for specific design tasks, and how they integrate them into a broader workflow. Understanding how these tools connect to business operations and data analysis is also important.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values: Aviso Wealth emphasizes four core values:

• We Care: Demonstrating empathy, building trust, championing service excellence, and fostering a supportive environment for clients, partners, and colleagues. This translates to designing with genuine understanding of user needs and considering the human impact of design decisions.

• We Dare: Challenging the status quo with bold ideas, embracing change, seeking innovation, and exploring new ways of working. This encourages a proactive and forward-thinking approach to problem-solving and design.

• We Share: Collaborating openly, building relationships, seeking diverse perspectives, sharing knowledge, and working together for collective success. This highlights the importance of teamwork, open communication, and knowledge transfer.

• We Deliver: Taking ownership, honoring commitments, focusing on meaningful results, and holding oneself accountable for continuous improvement. This emphasizes a results-oriented mindset and a commitment to excellence in execution.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Integration: The role requires deep collaboration with various departments, acting as a bridge between customer needs and business realities. This involves active listening, clear communication, and the ability to translate design concepts into terms understood by non-designers.

• Process Review & Feedback: A culture that values continuous improvement suggests an openness to feedback on design processes and outcomes, encouraging iterative refinement and learning.

• Knowledge Sharing: The "We Share" value implies a culture where sharing insights, best practices, and learnings is encouraged, likely through workshops, presentations, and informal discussions. Mentoring junior designers is a direct manifestation of this.

📝 Enhancement Note: Candidates should demonstrate how their work style and approach align with these values. For example, using "We Care" to explain how they advocate for users, "We Dare" to discuss innovative solutions, "We Share" to describe collaborative projects, and "We Deliver" to highlight successful project outcomes.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Navigating Ambiguity: Leading "complex CX initiatives" and addressing "ambiguous business challenges" requires a strong ability to define problems, structure work, and create clarity in uncertain environments.

• Influencing Senior Stakeholders: Gaining buy-in and shaping decisions from Directors, VPs, and senior leadership requires exceptional communication, storytelling, and strategic persuasion skills.

• Driving Organizational Change: Elevating "customer centricity" and "design maturity" across a large organization like Aviso Wealth is an ongoing challenge that requires sustained effort, advocacy, and demonstrable value.

• Balancing Strategic Vision with Tactical Execution: Effectively translating high-level strategic goals into concrete service design actions and ensuring their successful implementation.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Operations Skill Advancement: Opportunities to deepen expertise in journey management, service blueprinting, and the application of design thinking in a financial services context.

• Industry Conferences & Certifications: Potential support for attending relevant design, CX, or financial services industry events and pursuing certifications that enhance professional capabilities.

• Mentorship & Leadership: Direct mentorship from the Director, Service Design, and opportunities