Design Manager, Advisor Experience

Thrivent is a company committed to helping people thrive with purpose, and they are seeking a Design Manager for Advisor Experience. This role involves leading a cross-disciplinary team of UI/UX designers, content specialists, and UX researchers to enhance user experiences and align design initiatives with business objectives on the Salesforce platform.

Responsibilities:

• Lead and manage a cross-functional design team of product designers, UX writers, UX researcher and other required design specialists as needed
• Be able to effectively manage people and drive multiple related product areas
• Develop processes and approaches for designing high value advisor experiences on the Salesforce platform
• Collaborate with peer leaders and upper management to create operational infrastructure to continuously evolve a high-performing design team within a product operating model that delivers industry-leading experiences and drives enterprise priorities
• Realize the power of problem-framing, establishing new starting points that lead to quality solutions
• Lead the solution of undefined problem spaces, taking a holistic product experience point of view
• Communicate design rationale effectively using storytelling techniques, building trust with partners and stakeholders
• Comfortably communicate at all levels of the organization, demonstrating confidence
• Free resources to drive change by systematically cutting low-return activities
• Use understanding of impact and success metrics to focus and reprioritize efforts
• Collaborate with cross-functional peers, both downward and across the organization, ensuring alignment and fostering long-term relationships
• Develop, and sustain a high-performing team while promoting a culture of shared accountability, operational excellence, and partnership across the organization
• Support and/or develop an environment in which Thrivent employees and colleagues are focused on continuous improvement, exceptional employee engagement, and an unwavering commitment to our clients
• Shape and/or support a culture that represents the Thrivent purpose, promise and values, ensuring that Thrivent’s trust and reputation remain strong with its clients

Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience in Interaction Design, UI/UX Design, Web Product Design, Web Development or any combination of education and experience which would provide an equivalent background
• 8+ years of experience in a related field, with at least 5 years of experience in user experience, interaction design, product design and research in a product development team required and with at least 3 years with managerial experience
• Experience designing user experiences leveraging out-of-the-box, no-code, low-code capabilities of the Salesforce platform
• Proven experience in navigating and collaborating with different areas of the enterprise, including Engineering, Product and Enterprise stakeholders, to help prioritize work and identify high impact opportunities for the experience
• Ability to motivate, inspire and organize a team of 5-8 designers including specialties such as digital UI/UX design, user research, and UX content to deliver goals outlined for the portfolio group of products the manager oversees
• Manage a team like a business owner making tradeoff and prioritization decisions around how to allocate team members (skill sets and quantity) to meet the goals of the portfolio and products within
• Excellent communication and persuasion skills, with the ability to build trust and establish long-term relationships
• Understanding of impact and success metrics for any given product to focus and reprioritize design efforts to ensure the greatest impact possible
• Ability to collaborate with cross-functional peers and drive change within the organization
• Experience in talent management; including experience in recruiting, hiring, and professional development
• Strategic mindset with the ability to develop processes and approaches for tackling design problems
• Experience working with design systems and agile practices within a product team model
• Strategic design thinking and the ability to contribute to the overall design strategy of the organization
• Knowledge and experience working in financial services, ideally wealth management or financial advisor experiences