VP Design Strategist – Fidelity, Boston, MA
Job Description
As a leader on the Design Strategy Team, you will work to enable success on Fidelity’s future growth platforms using human-centered design to understand customers, generate new offerings and rapidly experiment new ideas. You will be charged with overseeing challenging, ambiguous, human-centered problems that you might not immediately associate with the investment world, but which are on the forefront of where finance, technology, work, currency, health, global business, and data intersect. You will be charged with designing and conducting the research, understanding the human lens of the problem, identifying insights and opportunity areas, leading ideation, and testing through prototypes. Ultimately, your responsibility is to develop human-centered strategies and ensure the team retains its focus to the strategy. In addition, you will be charged with growing design strategists and the practice to increased level of performance and serving as a manager and mentor for people’s career development.
The Design Strategy practice started in 2005 and has strong executive support—often, the projects read-out to the CEO and chair of Fidelity Investments. The Design Strategy practice sits within Fidelity Consulting. We seek early stage opportunity areas — such as how to help immigrants establish themselves in the U.S. financial system — and help core products improve customer experiences using the human-centered design paired with business analysis to move from broad opportunity spaces to specific product concepts.
You will not only have the chance to work with teammates from leading schools and design firms. Team members say they love working here because they can sink their teeth into tricky problems, have balanced lives and continue to hone their craft in a collaborative and encouraging environment.
Our greatest inspiration will come from outside our walls; our customers hold the opportunities in their hearts, in their minds, and in their guts. They need people like you to interpret their needs from between the lines of what they say. You and your team will develop new products and improve existing ones that help people achieve their goals.
The Expertise You Have
12+ years of experience in Design Research / Design Strategy / Experience Strategy
Proven background working on multiple projects at a design or innovation firm
Proven ability to guide leadership of a cross-disciplinary team in emotional intelligence work
Ability to mentor design strategists through highly ambiguous projects
Is appreciated for being a master story-crafter and storyteller
Is optimistic, creative, and curious
Encourages phenomenal performance in others
You are a people manager and mentor as well as the main advocate for the customer, identifying growth opportunities through translating peoples’ needs and aspirations into design. You will make sure the human voice is never lost in decision-making.
The Skills You Bring
Have extensive experience as a practitioner and leader in the field of Design Strategy, Design Research and Insights, recognized as specialist in mentoring others to deliver better work
Have experience handling and mentoring other design strategists, one who brings out the best in people
Have a deep understanding of business, technology and design and the ability to speak fluently in any of those languages
Are a creative problem-solver with a bias towards action
Experience navigating corporate environments, establishing relationships and anticipating needs of the business
Are one who accurately identifies others' needs, concerns and wishes.
Self-aware enough to assesses the interpersonal impact of own strengths and vulnerabilities
Bonus points for
Quantitative research methods
Usability testing
Analytics
Designing from data
Experience and comfort working within a highly-regulated industry (e.g. health care, financial services)
The Value You Deliver
Own the team see the human side of every conversation
Help the team collaborate efficiently
Own the team and draw insights from the user research, get why it’s so important, and keep that voice alive
Lead the team see where, when, and why to prototype
Mentor and grow other design strategists
Championing the value of design to team members and partners
Category
Certifications:
Information Technology
Company Overview
At Fidelity, we are focused on making our financial expertise broadly accessible and effective in helping people live the lives they want. We are a privately held company that places a high degree of value in creating and nurturing a work environment that attracts the best talent and reflects our commitment to our associates. We are proud of our diverse and inclusive workplace where we respect and value our associates for their unique perspectives and experiences. For information about working at Fidelity, visit FidelityCareers.com.
Fidelity Investments is an equal opportunity employer.