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AVP, Service Design & Research

LPL Financial
Full-time
On-site
Charlotte, United States
$114,500 - $190,800 USD yearly

Looking manage projects hyper-focused on designing industry leading product experiences? Interested in collaborating with senior management, product stakeholders, advisors and end clients to make amazing things? In that case, we want to hear from you!

LPL Financial (Nasdaq: LPLA) was founded on the principle that the firm should work for the advisor, and not the other way around. Today, LPL is a leader* in the markets we serve, supporting more than 22,000 financial advisors, 1,100 institution-based investment programs, and 500 independent RIA firms nationwide. We are steadfast in our commitment to the advisor-centered model and the belief that Americans deserve access to personalized guidance from a financial advisor. At LPL, independence means that advisors have the freedom they deserve to choose the business model, services, and technology resources that allow them to run their perfect practice. And they have the freedom to manage their client relationships, because they know their clients best. Simply put, we take care of our advisors, so they can take care of their clients.

Job Overview:

As AVP, Service Design & Research, you will be a member of LPL’s Business and Wealth Solutions (BWS) department, focusing on discovering, designing, incubating and building new services. This role will report to the Vice President of New Services and play an integral role in developing new discretionary business, planning, and advice services for LPL’s financial advisors.

Responsibilities:

  • New Service Opportunity Discovery: You will guide teams through exploratory design research and market/competitive research to identify unmet needs and opportunities for new products or services. As the service design lead, you will synthesize customer and market research to detect frictions, pain points and opportunities and define a vision with a credible (DVF) path to value and a refined set of strategic options

  • New Service Incubation: You will generate and refine solution ideas into draft service designs to test and learn. You will lead ideation and co-creation workshops with key stakeholders and customers. Through continuous test and learn iterations, you will increase confidence in solution design, business model, value proposition, etc. You will create future-state journey maps, service blueprints, storyboards, concept decks, wireframes, and low & high-fidelity prototypes to explore and validate solutions while demonstrating the value of design and product experience

  • New Product Development: You will work with product owner to build minimum lovable solution to enable a pilot to test delight, demand, tech, delivery, profit. You will pressure test the solution to break/fix and validate problem/solution and product/market fit.

  • Research Planning & Execution: You are comfortable defining learning objectives and understand which methodologies are best to answer different needs and questions. You have working knowledge of all aspects of research – from recruiting processes, scheduling and logistics, protocol development, stimuli development, synthesis & analysis, and research deliverables. You ensure the qualitative work is grounded in a deep and contextual understanding of what matters to the people we are designing and you ensure the quantitative work is empirical by nature and obtains statistical rigor when understanding people’s behaviors and attitudes. 

  • Customer & Market Insights: You will bring structured customer insight to the team by using a mixture of market research, primary qualitative research (talking to customers!), quantitative research, and observed data of how customers engage with the product. You are the voice of the customer in the team but not the sole voice - you will create understanding and empathy throughout the team with your customers


What we are looking for:

We want strong collaborators who can deliver a world-class client experience. We are looking for people who thrive in a fast-paced environment, are client-focused, team oriented, and are able to execute in a way that encourages creativity and continuous improvement.

Requirements:

  • Bachelor’s Degree

  • 5+ years of experience designing new services

Preferences:

  • Demonstrated experience of end-to-end product discovery, design, and development

  • Experience leading and using service blueprinting, user journey mapping/job mapping, persona development, low-fi and high-fi prototyping, pilot/customer testing

  • Experience with human-centered design for services using ethnographic research, business model analysis and innovation studies, and participatory design workshops

  • Informed opinions on product methodologies (e.g., Jobs-to-be-done, Customer Personas, Business Model Canvas, LOFAs, Prioritization frameworks, KANO)

  • Proven ability to engage with delivery, designers, and senior executives in a constructive and collaborative manner

  • Solid understanding of the constraints within which financial institutions operate – regulation, risk and controls, privacy and business cases

  • Proficient use of MS Suite (PowerPoint, Excel, Word) and Design Tools (Figma, Lucid)

  • Strong management skills and ability to attract, develop, and retain talent

  • Ability to work within a self-directed culture and navigate ambiguity

  • Understanding of the advice industry, including customer trends, key players, differentiating capabilities, and profit drivers


 

Pay Range:

$114,500.00 - $190,800.00


 

Actual base salary varies based on factors, including but not limited to, relevant skill, prior experience, education, base salary of internal peers, demonstrated performance, and geographic location. Additionally, LPL Total Rewards package is highly competitive, designed to support your success at work, at home, and at play – such as 401K matching, health benefits, employee stock options, paid time off, volunteer time off, and more. Your recruiter will be happy to discuss all that LPL has to offer!


 

Why LPL? 

At LPL, we believe that objective financial guidance is a fundamental need for everyone. As the nation’s leading independent broker-dealer, we offer an integrated platform of proprietary technology, brokerage, and investment advisor services. We provide you with a work environment that encourages your creativity and growth, a leadership team that is supportive and responsive, and the opportunity to create a career that has no limits, only amazing potential.

We are one team on one mission. We take care of our advisors, so they can take care of their clients.

Because our company is not too big and not too small, you can seize the opportunity to make a real impact. We are committed to supporting workplace equality, and we embrace the different perspectives and backgrounds of our employees. We also care for our communities, and we encourage our employees to do the same. This creates an environment in which you can do your best work.

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Join the LPL team and help us make a difference by turning life’s aspirations into financial realities. Please log in or create an account to apply to this position. Principals only. EOE.

Information on Interviews:

LPL will only communicate with a job applicant directly from an @lplfinancial.com email address and will never conduct an interview online or in a chatroom forum.  During an interview, LPL will not request any form of payment from the applicant, or information regarding an applicant’s bank or credit card.  Should you have any questions regarding the application process, please contact LPL’s Human Resources Solutions Center at (855) 575-6947.