The act of hiring is not simply to up the headcount or to fill a seat quickly. When we hire at Bounteous, it’s to add to our interpersonal dynamics and choose the right person to impact, collaborate, commit, inspire, and grow alongside our tenured teams. Bounteous boasts a long-standing track record of ideating, innovating, and implementing award-winning solutions and driving best-in-class results. Our success starts with hiring the right people, in the right roles, at the right time to strategize, analyze, design, engineer, and market for some of the world’s biggest brands.

We are seeking a Vice President/Executive Creative Director with a deep background in the Financial Services sector to join our growing team. This role will be focused on building teams and business growth within the Financial Services Business Unit. The ideal candidate is a strong strategic thinker with proven experience developing and owning thought leadership, and has experience operating both as a leader of client relationships and of pitches. This person should have deep experience in the Financial Services sector (Retail, Small, Fintech, Insurance, and/or Wealth) and expertise in all aspects of a DAOR including campaign and digital product.

The Vice President of Experience Design is charged with influencing work quality, team and individual growth, practice-level excellence, and financial health within the Financial Services BU and within the larger XD Practice. A strong, collaborative partnership with both the Financial Services BU and XD Practice Leadership will be central to success. Together you will work towards a vision and strategy for the BU and practice, as well as building, up-skilling, and scaling the Experience Design team.

Role and Responsibilities

• Partner with the EVP, Managing Director of the Financial Services BU to win new business and elevate the work across the BU
• Collaborate with cross-functional leadership teams to identify opportunities to drive business outcomes
• Seek out new opportunities to shape the future of financial services experiences
• Partner with XD Practice Leadership to define the strategic vision, organizational structure, KPIs, and OKRs for the practice; foster experimentation with methods and processes to continuously improve 
• Support business development through program relationship support, estimation, solutioning, pitch work, and high-level staffing plans
• Evangelize the value of all XD competencies within the Financial Services BU, the XD practice and the larger Bounteous organization, including best practices, methodologies, and deliverables
• Work with XD Competency leads to define and maintain best practices and standards for our methodologies, activities, and deliverables
• Ensure XD team members within the Financial Services BU are equipped with the right skillsets, processes, training, and tools necessary to execute and demonstrate great work
• Infuse our culture with a design thinking mindset - a creative approach to solving business, product, and user problems
• Serve as executive sponsor on strategic accounts
• Coach, mentor and grow the next level of leaders
• Work with resource management to staff and cast the right talent to the right projects
• Actively engage and drive participation in Experience Design communities locally and nationally through public speaking, judging, teaching, and other industry activities
• Define and model our culture and atmosphere, quality of work, and growth for the next generation of team members

Preferred Qualifications

• 14+ years of experience as Design professional working on complex challenges with medium-to-large cross-disciplinary teams, with a focus on design, user experience, and storytelling
• 7+ years of relevant experience in the United States Financial Services sector (Retail, Small, Fintech, Insurance, and/or Wealth), either client-side or as a trusted advisor 
• 7+ years of experience building and leading teams, mentoring and coaching direct reports; the ability to recognize and foster talent, guide personal and professional growth of all levels 
• Consulting/agency experience required; with work across campaign and digital product
• Substantial demonstrable experience pitching new business, presenting work to clients, facilitating and leading workshops, and synthesizing data into actionable projects across programs
• Strong communicator with all levels of leadership, management, and staff to achieve desired outcomes and build strong alliances and relationships. Outstanding executive presence and presentation skills; the ability to inspire, engage, partner with, and influence senior leadership 
• Deft familiarity and expertise in Experience Design activities and deliverables, including experience strategy, workshop facilitation, customer journeys, experience concepts, visual communication, and brand storytelling
• Deep experience connecting Experience Design work to user satisfaction, business challenges, and brand value
• Experience leading design teams, including planning, creation, and moderation; the ability to lead engagements to provide a strong voice for Experience Design within blended teams
• Understanding of digital product, responsive design, mobile design, accessibility issues, and Agile methodology
• Ability to articulate the value of design to any audience; an excellent listener with a passion for storytelling and user-centered design
• Experience estimating, planning, and staffing project work
• Working knowledge of current design tools, eg - Figma, InVision, remote user testing tools, Adobe Suite; and in-depth knowledge of presentation and admin software, eg - Miro, Keynote, and Microsoft Office products
• BS/BA in Graphic Design, Interaction Design, Digital Design, Visual Communication, or Human-Computer Interaction, or other design-related fields

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Research shows that women and other underrepresented groups apply only if they meet 100% of the criteria of a job posting. If you have passion and intelligence, and possess a technical knack (even if you’re missing some of the above), we encourage you to apply.

Bounteous is focused on promoting an inclusive environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate the different viewpoints and experiences our diverse group of team members bring to Bounteous. Bounteous does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, physical or mental disability, national origin, veteran status, or any other status protected under federal, state, or local law.

Bounteous is willing to sponsor eligible candidates for employment visas.