Executive Director

Company Profile

Morgan Stanley is a leading global financial services firm providing a wide range of investment banking, securities, investment management, and wealth management services.  The Firm’s employees serve clients worldwide, including corporations, governments, and individuals from more than 1,200 offices in 43 countries.

As a market leader, the talent and passion of our people is critical to our success. Everything we do is guided by our five core values: Do the right thing, put clients first, lead with exceptional ideas, commit to diversity and inclusion, and give back. Morgan Stanley can provide a superior foundation for building a professional career—a place for people to learn, to achieve, to grow.

Job Summary

Within Firmwide Marketing, the Distribution & Website team (our digital marketing organization) is responsible for developing and scaling seamless digital experiences across a range of distribution channels and platforms to deliver our Firm and its businesses to core audiences globally.

Within this team, we are seeking an Executive Director, Head of Digital Experience (UX) & Transformation to report directly to the Head of Websites and advance our user-centric strategies across our global domains (including MorganStanley.com).

This role will drive the creation of compelling, seamless and human-centered experiences across digital touchpoints, requiring systems thinking, design leadership and deep empathy for users in order to shape experiences that meet business objectives and exceed client expectations. The Digital Experience lead will partner closely with cross-functional teams to advocate for the voice of the consumer and ensure consistency across the end-to-end journey, delivering high-impact digital work.

The ideal candidate will be a visionary and results-oriented digital strategist who will help us evolve our digital presence in the face of a rapidly shifting landscape and shifting user behavioral trends (with the advance of AI and new technologies). This role oversees UX/design and UX Research, but we are looking for someone who can help us strategize and transform our digital experiences and practices vs. simply overseeing experience and design work.

This individual will help craft an audience-led, integrated website experience strategy which accelerates growth, enhances customer experience and strengthens our brand, and will then define a roadmap to bring that vision to life across our digital experiences. This candidate combines strategic thinking with deep digital experience and strong stakeholder management skills.

Primary Responsibilities

• Develop Morgan Stanley’s global website experience strategy to align with the strategic direction of the Firm in partnership with executive leadership; define and communicate the vision, strategy, and roadmap in collaboration with business and technical stakeholders
• Transform our global website presence based on AI/evolving technologies, personalization capabilities and business goals, leading to an audience-led framework which helps us deliver our integrated solutions seamlessly to key segments
• Adapt our digital experiences based on emerging LLM platforms and the need to be discoverable and relevant in the AI age in new ways (and – the shifting consumer behaviors tied to these 3rd party AI platforms/environments)
• Lead the design of end-to-end client journeys across digital experience for web and mobile, aligning with brand and business strategy; define experience vision and requirements at the onset of new initiatives
• Identify innovation opportunities, including the incorporation of Artificial Intelligence into digital experiences; evaluate and prioritize new digital capabilities, platforms and experiences (e.g., mobile, AI/automation, personalization tools, etc) by monitoring the digital landscape for emerging technologies and competitive updates
• Oversee the Firmwide Marketing Experience Design team across foundational and strategic work, including artifact creation (journey maps, personas, ecosystem diagrams, etc. to communicate insights and design direction) and the development of wireframes, prototypes and high-fidelity designs (whether internal or vendor-produced)
• Lead the UX Research team in defining hypotheses, designing and executing user testing plans and iterating designs based on insights
• Ensure consistency in UI and accessibility compliance by leveraging and building upon defined, unified design systems
• Activation of regulatory-driven requirements and general digital best practices within larger strategic frameworks (including accessibility and brand standards)
• Collaborate closely with digital peers and partners to ensure goals and constraints are outlined, communicating clearly at each stage of the process
• Mentor junior designers and foster a culture of continuous learning and collaboration across the team; advocate for a customer-centric, data-informed, and innovation-driven mindset throughout the organization
• Facilitate strategic buy-in and alignment with stakeholders across departments; close partnership with Technology, Marketing, Communications, Legal and Compliance, and Business colleagues in key interfacing functions

Qualifications and Skills

• 10+ years of progressive experience in digital experience/digital marketing/digital transformation, with extensive background in website strategy and experience design (spanning UX, UI, service design or experience design, including in a lead designer capacity)
• 6+ years of people management and leadership experience; ability to lead a team with clear direction resulting in positive outcomes
• Bachelors or Masters degree in Design, HCI, Psychology or a related field preferred; background in Business, Marketing, Digital Strategy
• Strong strategic thinking and business acumen with a focus on digital growth and audience-led experiences
• Excellent communication, storytelling, and stakeholder influence skills; comfortable navigating large, matrixed organizations
• Experience in user-centered design, design thinking and systems thinking
• Strong facilitation and storytelling skills to align stakeholders and drive decision-making; ability to influence senior leadership and key partners based on a data-informed, audience-led strategy
• Strong visual design sensibility with attention to hierarchy, layout and interaction design (up to date with the latest design standards and trends, e.g., Material You)
• Expert user of Figma and FigJam
• Experience mapping and designing omnichannel client journeys and identifying/creating valuable experiences that deliver impact and business growth (ability to connect design decisions to business goals and outcomes)
• Deep understanding of accessibility standards and inclusive design principles
• Experience with applying brand guidelines within an established design system
• Experience with user research, usability testing and analytics tools
• Comfort working in dynamic, fast-paced environments with evolving priorities
• Proven track record of leading digital transformation or innovation initiatives, including hands-on work with AI-driven user experiences

• Financial Services industry experience preferred
• Strong communication skills, fostering collaboration between technical and non-technical stakeholders

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM MORGAN STANLEY:

We are committed to maintaining the first-class service and high standard of excellence that have defined Morgan Stanley for over 89 years. Our values - putting clients first, doing the right thing, leading with exceptional ideas, committing to diversity and inclusion, and giving back - aren’t just beliefs, they guide the decisions we make every day to do what's best for our clients, communities and more than 80,000 employees in 1,200 offices across 42 countries. At Morgan Stanley, you’ll find an opportunity to work alongside the best and the brightest, in an environment where you are supported and empowered. Our teams are relentless collaborators and creative thinkers, fueled by their diverse backgrounds and experiences. We are proud to support our employees and their families at every point along their work-life journey, offering some of the most attractive and comprehensive employee benefits and perks in the industry. There’s also ample opportunity to move about the business for those who show passion and grit in their work.

To learn more about our offices across the globe, please copy and paste https://www.morganstanley.com/about-us/global-offices​ into your browser.

Expected base pay rates for the role will be between $165,000 and $275,000 per year at the commencement of employment. However, base pay if hired will be determined on an individualized basis and is only part of the total compensation package, which, depending on the position, may also include commission earnings, incentive compensation, discretionary bonuses, other short and long-term incentive packages, and other Morgan Stanley sponsored benefit programs.

Morgan Stanley's goal is to build and maintain a workforce that is diverse in experience and background but uniform in reflecting our standards of integrity and excellence. Consequently, our recruiting efforts reflect our desire to attract and retain the best and brightest from all talent pools. We want to be the first choice for prospective employees.

It is the policy of the Firm to ensure equal employment opportunity without discrimination or harassment on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, age, sex, sex stereotype, gender, gender identity or expression, transgender, sexual orientation, national origin, citizenship, disability, marital and civil partnership/union status, pregnancy, veteran or military service status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Morgan Stanley is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversifying its workforce (M/F/Disability/Vet).