Innovation Advisor

Overview:

Serves as primary connection point between customers and the Office of Innovation to find the most effective ways to represent customers pain points, frictions, preferences, and desires. Works closely with key team members, including heads of Strategy, Product, Technology, and Operations, as well as a broader group of internal and external stakeholders. Manages and participates in the use of research findings to inform and inspire business strategy, product decisions and adoption of emerging technology solutions. Drives the translation of research insights into powerful stories that shift hearts and minds and directly influence decisions, from discovery and early design up to proof of concept.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Manage and conduct quantitative and qualitative research investigations that help strategically frame, validate or challenge other forms of research. Develop ethnographic research and contextual design investigations to understand customer behaviors, pain points, needs, and aspirations.
• Contribute to deep trend analysis and research of interesting exemplars in the marketplace. Monitor emergingtechnology opportunities, challenges, and competitive trends to drive success.
• Conduct advanced data analyses to identify insights from customer and market research.
• Bring research to life through personas, customer journeys and touch points, insight-opportunity frameworks, system maps, stories, briefs, and/or infographics. Communicate complex ideas in a clear and compelling manner to engage Senior Executives and external stakeholders.
• Use divergent and convergent design thinking techniques for the conceptual development of solutions and services. Manage and participate in the development of design principles and acceptance criteria.
• Partner with others to identify and evaluate emerging technologies, and ensure new solutions are set up to deliver strategic value in line with design intent.
• Drive internal stakeholder alignment and support among Bank leadership and key support functions, including Legal, Risk, Compliance, and Technology.
• Define and report on key business success measures, celebrating successes and balancing opportunities for improvement. Communicate progress on key priorities and overall performance as appropriate.
• Outline key team roles and responsibilities across work streams and align resources to achieve key business priorities. Responsible for leadership of colleagues and stakeholders across multiple projects.
• Contribute to the evolution of strategic design approaches across Bank initiatives. Communicate insights, concepts, and design rationales to internal and external audiences. Support Innovation team through internal and external positioning and workshops.
• Drive a high-accountability, fast-moving, independent operating culture; cultivate a high-performing, customer-centric, innovative, one-team culture to support these activities.
• Understand and adhere to the Company’s risk and regulatory standards, policies and controls in accordance with the Company’s Risk Appetite. Design, implement, maintain and enhance internal controls to mitigate risk on an ongoing basis. Identify risk-related issues needing escalation to management.
• Promote an environment that supports diversity and reflects the M&T Bank brand.
• Maintain M&T internal control standards, including timely implementation of internal and external audit points together with any issues raised by external regulators as applicable.
• Complete other related duties as assigned.

Managerial/Supervisory Responsibilities:

• Number of staff - 2-4

Education and Experience Required:

• Bachelor’s degree in design, or another relevant field from an accredited design school (or relevant work experience)

• 6 or more years’ ethnographic research (quantitative and qualitative), divergent exploration, conceptual development, and/or industrial design experience

• 2 or more years’ work leadership, supervisory, and/or managerial experience

• Experience with product prototyping and testing, workshop facilitation, future visioning, and strategy development

• Portfolio of work that demonstrates strong human-centered design capabilities across a diverse range of projects

• Demonstrated history of accountability and performance delivery

Education and Experience Preferred:

• Master’s degree in design from an accredited design school

Location