Director, Product Design

Aviso:

At Aviso, we are dedicated to improving the financial well-being of Canadians. As a leading wealth management organization, we are committed to leadership, innovation, partnership, responsibility, and community. Working with talented and energetic professionals who exemplify our values every day, you will quickly notice that our people and dynamic ‘oneaviso’ culture sets us apart. If you are looking for interesting and challenging work, at a company committed to its people, find out more about what Aviso has to offer at www.aviso.ca.

The Opportunity:

We are looking to fill an opening for a Director, Product Design to join the Client Experience team.

This is an exciting journey to shape the future of investing for Canadians by delivering best-in-class wealth platforms. As the Director of Product Design, you will help us achieve our bold ambition and bring our visions to-life as well as help us chart the course for our continued success.

Reporting to the Vice President, Experience, Director, Product Design is responsible for managing a team of Product Designers who ensure the solutions we deliver are both desirable and viable. As such, the primary responsibility of the Director of Product Design is staffing, coaching and mentoring strong Product Designers.

We empower our product team to solve difficult customer and business problems in ways that our customers will love, while also delivering business results. A cross-functional and durable product leadership triumvirate consists of a product manager, a product designer and a technology lead that are uniquely responsible for the product’s success.

The goal of this group is to deliver effective solutions that are:

• Desirable: Our customers don’t simply use our products; they choose to do business with us each day with experiences that are intuitive and pleasurable to use, no matter the complexity
• Feasible: We deliver business results and our teams have the skills to implement and iterate upon the solution
• Viable: We build sustainable products that are well aligned with business objectives and have clear, measurable business outcomes.

The Director of Product Design is a critical role in our organization. We believe innovative companies are built upon strong products, and strong products come from customer-focused, empowered teams. We need you to help us build teams that leverage customer feedback and insights to design experiences that not only meet but greatly exceed customer expectations.

Who you are:

• Service – You put your clients’ needs first. You advocate service excellence, and work to deliver client-centric solutions, and proactively develop strategic partnerships that allow Aviso Wealth to become a trusted advisor and partner
• Execution – You are committed to achieving your goals and to succeed. This includes focusing on “getting things done”, as well as recognizing and taking advantage of opportunities as they arise. You are consistently looking for ways to improve your personal best and see value in continuous improvement. You take accountability for your actions and learn from mistakes
• Collaboration – You work collaboratively with others with the common goal of driving positive results. Making meaningful contributions to your team to achieve organizational goals is a priority. You proactively encourage collaboration, build trust and inclusion, and work to establish effective relationships both inside and outside of the organization
• Leadership – You lead your team and provide regular direction, guidance, coaching, and motivation, all while striving for peak performance. You assist them in overcoming obstacles through additional resources, removal of roadblocks, and providing the level of support required for their success. You delegate and deliver feedback based on the in-depth understanding of your individual team members

What your day looks like:

• As the Director of Product Design, you will lead and manage a team of Product Designers, providing them with guidance, coaching, and mentorship to ensure their professional growth and success. You will foster a supportive environment where team members can thrive and develop their skills, ultimately contributing to the overall success of the organization
• Collaboration is critical in this role as your team will work closely with cross-functional teams, including Product Managers, Tech Leads, and Business Partners. Together, you will discover effective solutions and bring them to market, ensuring that the products developed meet the needs of the customers and the business
• True team empowerment is crucial. You will ensure that the team is equipped to determine the best solutions to the problems to be solved, while holding them accountable for delivering valuable outcomes. This involves providing the necessary resources and support to enable the team to succeed
• Your passion will be self-evident. You believe in creating fabulous customer experiences that delight the end user, leveraging your years of knowledge and experience in this field to clearly explain UX concepts to those responsible for delivery quality solutions
• Creating a highly collaborative environment is essential for delivering great products. You will foster a culture built on trust, inclusion, and a genuine desire to deliver exceptional products. This collaborative atmosphere will extend beyond the confines of team members, as we work closely with our business partners to remain aligned in our priorities and focused on achieving the business objectives. As a mentor, your role ensures business objectives are clear and that our experiences reinforce the value we need to deliver in alignment with customer desirability
• You will also play a key role in evangelizing digital experience design both within the team and throughout the organization. By creating excitement and alignment around human centred design, you will ensure that everyone is working towards the same goals, using experimentation to help us fail forward quickly
• With many product teams operating simultaneously, coordination and communication is critical. This role will help ensure that product plans can be validated with customer feedback, using observation and insights to continually evolve and exceed business & user expectations
• You will be responsible for ensuring that the team delivers desirable products. This involves setting clear expectations, providing regular feedback, and measuring success based on clear customer insights. By holding the team accountable (via a KPI framework) and celebrating their successes, you will drive continuous improvement and ensure the long-term success of all delivery squads

Your experience and skills:

Appreciation for diversity - We recognize that innovation thrives on product teams where diverse points of view come together to solve challenges in ways that are just now possible.  We seek people that bring diverse life experiences, educational backgrounds, cultures, and work experiences. We’d love to hear how your unique experiences can contribute to making us a more diverse and innovative team.

Here are the primary experiences and skills we are seeking for this role. We encourage you to apply if you have a unique background & experience that speaks to most (if not all) of these requirements:

• Education – Bachelor’s degree or equivalent practical experience

• Experience – At least 7-10 years working on technology-powered products as either a Director of UX, Product Designer, User Researcher
• Design Expertise – You are a user experience evangelist, growing through the ranks of digital design and understanding what it means for an organization to adopt a design-led philosophy that works in close coordination with technology and product teams
• Delivery Experience – You have a demonstrable understanding of the techniques and methods of modern product discovery and product delivery. You’re experienced with agile and understand the value of leveraging customer insights to deliver incremental product benefits over time, gaining experience and value from each release cycle
• Technical Comprehension – You understand the challenges and complexities associated with delivery and can collaborate and ideate effectively with your counterparts to assess viability
• Business Knowledge – You have demonstrated the ability to learn multiple functional areas of business – experience, finance, sales, and/or marketing. Financial industry experience would be a valuable asset, but not an absolute requirement
• Analytical and Problem-Solving Skills – You have the ability to devise solutions to difficult problems with many constraints, using sound judgement to assess risks, and to lay out your argument in a well-structured, data-informed, written narrative
• Software and Tools – Digital savviness and comfort with software including Design software (Figma, Photoshop, Miro, etc.), MS Office (esp. PowerPoint, Excel), Agile tools (Confluence, JIRA, etc.) and various digital analytics platforms (Google or Adobe Analytics)
• Communication – You possess outstanding communication and presentation skills. You're able to clearly articulate product vision and strategy to diverse stakeholders. Fluent communication skills in English are required and bilingual skills in French are an asset
• Teamwork – You have experience working with cross-functional teams and understand the importance of collaboration in delivering a successful product
• Understanding of Customer Experience – You possess a fundamental understanding of end-to-end customer experience, user journeys and service design fundamentals, enabling you to make decisions that enhance the overall user experience based on real-world user interactions, behaviours and digital footprints

Why Aviso?

At Aviso, you will find a dynamic and inclusive culture that rewards innovation and celebrates success.
Here are a few things that set us apart:

• Competitive compensation package that rewards and recognizes individual contributions
• Excellent health, dental and insurance benefits to meet the diverse needs of our employees
• Generous vacation time, fitness benefit, parental leave top-up options
• Matching contributions to our retirement program
• Commitment to the continuous improvement of our staff through learning & development and an education assistance program
• Regular social events to foster teamwork

Your Information

By submitting your application, you consent to the collection, use, and disclosure of your provided personal information for the purposes of assessing your qualifications and suitability for employment with Aviso. Your information will be handled in accordance with applicable Canadian privacy laws, including the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and relevant provincial legislation. Your data may be shared with authorized personnel involved in the recruitment process and retained only as long as necessary to fulfill these purposes or as required by law.

Further information is available on the Privacy link on our Career Page – Privacy Policies

Equal Employment Opportunity

Aviso welcomes and encourages applications from all qualified individuals including persons with disabilities. If you require an accommodation, we will work with you to meet your needs in all stages of the hiring process.

We thank all applicants for their interest, however, only those selected for further consideration will be contacted.

No recruiters or agencies, please.

Company Overview:

Aviso is a leading wealth management and investment services provider for the Canadian financial industry, with approximately $145 billion in total assets under administration and management, and over 1,000 employees. We’re building a comprehensive, technology-enabled, client-centric wealth services ecosystem. Our clients include our partners, advisors, and investors. We’re a trusted partner for nearly all credit unions across Canada, in addition to a wide range of portfolio managers, investment dealers, insurance and trust companies, and introducing brokers. Our partners depend on Aviso for specific solutions that give them a competitive edge in a rapidly evolving, highly competitive industry. Our investment dealer and mutual fund dealer and our insurance services support thousands of investment advisors. Our asset manager, NEI Investments, specializes in investing responsibly. Our online brokerage, Qtrade Direct Investing®, empowers self-directed investors, and our fully automated investing service, Qtrade Guided Portfolios®, serves investors who prefer a hands-off approach. Aviso Correspondent Partners provides custodial and carrying broker services to a wide range of firms. We have offices in Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, and Winnipeg. Aviso is backed by the collective strength of our owners: the credit union Centrals, Co-operators/CUMIS, and Desjardins. We’re proud to power businesses that empower investors.

A career with Aviso means being part of a group of talented, energetic professionals who live their values every day, and belonging to an organization dedicated to your success and career development. If you’re looking for interesting and challenging work, at a company committed to its people, apply to join our team.

Salary

This position is posted with an expected salary range of $135,000 - $165,000 CAD annually. Individual compensation packages are based on various factors unique to each candidate and the requirements of the position.