Lead Experience Design Strategist

Join our dynamic and high-impact Experience Design team shaping the digital experiences for our Wealth North American Retail and Global Institutional businesses in Manulife Wealth and Asset Management. As a Lead Experience Design Strategist you will drive complex multichannel initiatives help define the vision for future-state experiences and influence product roadmaps that directly support our mission to elevate our digital ecosystem and make our customers lives better.

You thrive in ambiguity lead through influence and move fluidly between strategy and execution -accelerating decisions through research-led insights service design excellence and compelling storytelling.

Position Responsibilities:

• Lead end-to-end experience and service design strategy for new and existing digital initiatives - from discovery to implementation - ensuring customer needs remain central to product and business decisions
• Bring structure to ambiguous problem spaces by translating complex insights into clear and actionable strategic direction for both near-term delivery and long-term vision
• Plan and lead research and validation activities integrating service design discovery blueprinting generative research market and competitive scans and evaluative testing to reveal gaps uncover user needs and de-risk decision-making
• Synthesize quantitative and qualitative inputs into high-quality actionable insights JTBD opportunity maps and experience frameworks that influence prioritization and strategic direction
• Partner closely with leaders in product design engineering marketing product and sales to define a cohesive experience vision
• Influence roadmaps through confident facilitation evidence-based storytelling clear concept narratives and experience principles that align senior stakeholders
• Evolve shared frameworks and ways of working that create consistency and raise quality across teams
• Strengthen the strategic design practice by sharing best practices coaching peers and elevating overall craft
• Integrate emerging technologies - including AI-enabled experiences- into visioning and solution definition

Required Qualifications:

• 6 years of experience in design strategy UX strategy service design or related disciplines within financial services or within similarly complex regulated environments
• Bachelors degree in Design HCI or equivalent professional experience
• Portfolio demonstrating strategic process service design depth and shipped outcomes - ideally for digital experiences within Financial Services or similarly complex domains
• Proven ability to independently define execute and evolve strategic frameworks from ambiguity to measurable impact
• Exceptional storytelling facilitation and cross-functional stakeholdermanagement skills
• High-quality visual and conceptual communication skills (PowerPoint Mural Figma etc)
• Expertise in generative research validation and insight synthesis
• Experience leveraging AIaugmented design and research tools to accelerate insights and ideation
• Demonstrated ability to lead and prioritize multiple workstreams in a time-sensitive environment

Preferred Qualifications:

• Track record of strategic initiatives that led to measurable improvements in user experience and business outcomes
• Strong portfolio highlighting strategic range craft quality and impact
• Experience leading teams across complex crossfunctional initiatives
• Experience designing or supporting AIenabled products or AI design standards
• Familiarity with constraints across desktop mobile and multi-channel ecosystems
• Understanding of accessibility ethics and regulatory considerations in digital and AIenabled experiences

What Sets You Apart

• You are committed to excellence and own your craft across all aspects of experience strategy
• You collaborate with low ego and contribute to a culture of transparency trust and continuous learning
• You think systematically - turning complexity into clarity and actionable plans that advocate for user needs while balancing business realities
• You are energized by solving core product problems and delivering thoughtful highvalue experiences

When you join our team:

• Well empower you to learn and grow the career you want.

• Well recognize and support you in a flexible environment where well-being and inclusion are more than just words.

• As part of our global team well support you in shaping the future you want to see.

About Manulife and John Hancock

Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services provider helping people make their decisions easier and lives better. To learn more about us visit is an Equal Opportunity Employer

At Manulife/John Hancock we embrace our diversity. We strive to attract develop and retain a workforce that is as diverse as the customers we serve and to foster an inclusive work environment that embraces the strength of cultures and individuals. We are committed to fair recruitment retention advancement and compensation and we administer all of our practices and programs without discrimination on the basis of race ancestry place of origin colour ethnic origin citizenship religion or religious beliefs creed sex (including pregnancy and pregnancy-related conditions) sexual orientation genetic characteristics veteran status gender identity gender expression age marital status family status disability or any other ground protected by applicable law.

It is our priority to remove barriers to provide equal access to employment. A Human Resources representative will work with applicants who request a reasonable accommodation during the application process. All information shared during the accommodation request process will be stored and used in a manner that is consistent with applicable laws and Manulife/John Hancock policies. To request a reasonable accommodation in the application process contact .

Referenced Salary Location

Salary range is expected to be between

If you are applying for this role outside of the primary location please contact for the salary range for your location. The actual salary will vary depending on local market conditions geography and relevant job-related factors such as knowledge skills qualifications experience and education/training. Employees also have the opportunity to participate in incentive programs and earn incentive compensation tied to business and individual performance.

Manulife offers eligible employees a wide array of customizable benefits including health dental mental health vision short- and long-term disability life and AD&D insurance coverage adoption/surrogacy and wellness benefits and employee/family assistance plans. We also offer eligible employees various retirement savings plans (including pension and a global share ownership plan with employer matching contributions) and financial education and counseling resources. Our generous paid time off program in Canada includes holidays vacation personal and sick days and we offer the full range of statutory leaves of absence. If you are applying for this role in the U.S. please contact for more information about U.S.-specific paid time off provisions.