Manager, UX Research

Join us to lead a team of high-performing user experience researchers! 

In this role, you will have responsibilities across all aspects of user research leadership. Our research team works closely with design, product management, and engineering. We help build deep empathy and understanding of users, which is key to our user-centered product and design processes. We're looking for a UX Research Manager who can take the lead in continuing to grow the impact of our strong UX research practice. The ideal candidate will have experience as a individual contributor researcher in their career history. You'll contribute in the following ways: 

People 

• Lead by example, embodying leadership traits that include critical thinking, collaboration, empathy, and humility 
• Empower a team of UX researchers to contribute to our product and product design in repeatable, rigorous, and user-centered ways 
• Coach and foster the development of members of your team and identify opportunities for growth 
• Through outreach and thought leadership, cultivate a strong reputation and pipeline of potential hires 
• Ensure that the team is aligned on D2L's vision, culture, and leadership values, and can connect their work to the company vision and goals 

Practice 

• Continually examine and improve research processes, methodologies, and communication 
• Define criteria for identifying and prioritizing research needs across initiatives and allocate resources accordingly 
• Work closely with Product Design and Product Management leaders to ensure strong collaboration and mutual alignment to processes and that qualitative and quantitative research insights are actionable and inform design and product decisions 
• Identify and build systems and infrastructure to provide efficiency and consistency across projects 
• Further develop and articulate the UX research practice 
• Help the team balance rigour with pragmatism with their research activities, and also help the team know when they need to advocate for more time or rigour 
• Ensure diversity of research participants through defining and communicating requirements in the research process as well as relevant measures 

Impact 

• Articulate the impact of UX research and seek opportunities to engage more deeply in initiatives, particularly strategic and cross-functional initiatives 
• Represent and promote the UX Research practice to internal cross-functional stakeholders, with strategic clients, and in the broader UX research community as a thought leader and partner 
• Find creative ways to present and evangelize insights throughout the organization, and help cultivate a highly informed, curious, and empathetic learning culture within D2L
• Ensure that research is aligned with business needs and provides tangible business value and user impact
• Develop a data-informed, holistic, big-picture perspective, align the team and collaborators and stakeholders on it, and help them break it down and sequence it into projects and initiatives 

Strategy 

• Contribute expertise, insights, and the research perspective on priorities to conversations about project roadmaps or the broader D2L Roadmap
• Identify knowledge gaps and lead research in broad strategic initiatives that help develop and define business/human needs into clear, actionable insights that inform and influence our company and product strategies across work streams 

Measurement 

• Foster a culture of measurement and continuous improvement at D2L; define and influence how success is measured, advocating for consistency where necessary
• Work with Product Managers and Engineers to set project KPIs, monitor product success, and optimize based on results 

D2L Leadership Competencies  

• Leads by Example with personal and professional integrity, high accountability and say/do ratio   
• Boundaryless collaboration and influence skills both within team, peer group and broader organization. Effective communicator with a proven track record of impact beyond the immediate team and for the business.  
• Delivers Awesome Outcomes: Strategic mindset and business acumen, with strong prioritization skills and a focus on organizational outcomes vs. team tasks. Effective problem solver, able to achieve results individually and through others, in fast paced, deadline-driven environments.  
• Talent Magnet: Talent-focused leader, with demonstrated ability to coach, build and lead a high performing, diverse team.   
• Better, Smarter, Faster: An agile learner, with a growth mindset, attention to detail and organizational skills. An operationally minded leader, with a focus on continuous improvement and innovation.   
• Wins Hearts and Minds: An effective communicator, with the ability to connect the why and the what. A change agent, with proven delegation, motivation, and team building skills.