Service Design Lead (Hybrid)

Overview M&T Bank is seeking a dynamic and highly-service design lead to join our integrated Experience & Process Design organization. The team is accountable for shaping and scaling enterprise-wide experience, service, and process design capabilities to deliver cohesive, customer-centric, and operationally sound outcomes across the bank. This multidisciplinary team spans service design, journey design, design strategy, and process engineering, operating at the intersection of business, technology, and operations. The role involves maintaining standards for scalable practices and acting as a thought partner and consultant to business leaders on building and delivering exceptional end-to-end customer experiences. Key Responsibilities Develop and initiate process/approaches to understand and define complex problems, and implement solutions. Lead or oversee research, analysis, design, and development efforts from problem framing through concept development. Engage cross‑functional colleagues (agility, change management, transformation delivery, business partners, CX partners, user experience research, operations, technology, compliance) to ensure business objective alignment. Conduct high‑level scoping and discovery activities for potential projects, assess options, and recommend courses of action. Develop approaches for scoping and planning validated engagement projects; may supervise team execution. Influence strategic business objectives through human‑centered consultation, grounded in rigorous problem‑space definition. Evaluate interrelationships among enterprise programs, technology, business processes, customers, and employees; anticipate impacts of solutions. Monitor team conditions for effective experience methods; address and raise issues as needed. Engage executives and senior leaders to co‑create solutions and embed experience thinking into strategies, enabling outcomes and scaling practices. Influence decision‑making at all levels through storytelling, data, and clear articulation of trade‑offs. Develop, complete, and present engagement reports and status updates to senior management. Translate insights into pragmatic, actionable recommendations. Managerial/Supervisory Responsibilities Coach more junior design team members or peers, mentor on the value and principles of experience design, and support project and people management as required. Education and Experience Required Bachelor’s degree in Service Design, Human‑Computer Interaction, Strategic Design, or similar, with a minimum of 5 years relevant experience. Or a combined minimum of 9 years education and/or relevant work/service design experience in lieu of a degree. Proven expertise in Design Thinking/Human‑Centered Design. Developed expertise in Change Management and Agility principles. Experience creating service blueprints, journey maps, concept designs, prototypes, empathy maps, and value proposition proposals. Hands‑on experience designing for digital touchpoints and non‑digital channels, supporting delivery of designs. Experience with concept ideation, iterative prototyping, and staging/role‑playing approaches. Project and people management skills; experience functioning as a project leader as well as an individual contributor. Strong ability to mentor and educate others on experience design principles. Team player comfortable navigating ambiguity in a self‑directed culture. Ability to establish strong working relationships with colleagues, clients, and stakeholders. Extensive experience conducting remote and in‑person workshops; proficiency with tools such as Miro and Webex. Proficiency in industry best practices for digital and non‑digital products and services. Education and Experience Preferred Consulting experience. Relevant advanced degree or certification. Financial services experience. Knowledge of change theory and change management practices. Knowledge of agile practices and methodologies. Work Model & Office Locations This role follows a hybrid work model, requiring onsite presence four days per week at one of M&T Bank’s regional offices. Candidates must reside within a reasonable commuting distance to one of the following locations: 345 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 115 Federal Street, Boston, MA 1 Light Street, Baltimore, MD 1350 I Street NW, Washington, DC 1100 North Market Street, Wilmington, DE 277 Park Avenue, New York, NY 850 Main Street, Bridgeport, CT 77 Pine Street, Burlington, VT Anticipated Travel Requirements Employees in this position should be prepared to travel at least once per month, with frequency varying based on business demands. Employees outside the Buffalo market are generally expected to travel more frequently. Benefits Competitive medical and retirement benefits. Forty hours of paid volunteer time each year. Equal Employment Opportunity M&T Bank is unwavering when it comes to providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, age, disability, citizenship, pregnancy, veteran status, military status, marital status, sexual orientation, genetic information or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state or local laws. M&T Bank Corporation has policies and procedures in place to promote a drug‑free workplace. #J-18808-Ljbffr M&T Bank Corporation