Sr. UX Manager

Sago Mini is an award-winning publisher of preschool apps and toys worldwide. We are supported by a team of artists, designers, developers, product managers, thinkers, and doers devoted to play. With over 100 million downloads and three subscription services featuring 45+ apps,  Sago Mini brings thoughtful design to life for kids and parents worldwide. Along with Toca Boca and Originator, we’re part of the Piknik family – a collection of top-rated apps for kids in one subscription. 

About the Role

Sago Mini is seeking a Sr UX Manager to help grow and develop our UX and Graphic Design talent as we strategically scale our team to deliver on business goals. As a Sr UX Manager, you will be supporting our team of 4 UX Designers and 2 Graphic Designers, in addition to collaborating with our Principal UX Designer and Product Managers. This is a senior position suitable for candidates with 12+ years of UX Product Design and also with People Management experience of at least 3 direct reports.

This is a hybrid role. You will be required to work in our downtown, Toronto office 2-3 times a week. 

You’ll thrive in this role if you…

• Enjoy leading a team while growing and developing other designers
• Have a strong design sense and take pride in upholding high quality standards of work
• Possess the ability to have difficult conversations and share your concerns when it is required
• Identify with a ‘servant leadership’ style where your ego takes a backseat - you care about better serving others rather than maintaining authority
• Care about fostering a culture of feedback for continuous improvement - delivering feedback in an honest and respectful manner with open dialogue 
• Enjoy keeping up to date with the industry and have a keen interest in understanding and continuous learning in the space
• Take price in promoting smart decision making within projects - noticing when perfection can get in the way of good, and helping your employees to prioritize efforts by checking in with project managers and craft leads

What You’ll Be Doing

• Hire, train, manage, and retain a team of UX and Graphic Designers
• Partner with the Principal UX Designer to improve designer skills through ongoing feedback
• Lead projects and work closely alongside your team, strategizing with the Product Manager and Principal UX Designer
• Develop and maintain systems and standards for design across various products
• Lead in the facilitation and management of external consultant projects - keeping sight of project goals, stakeholders, and schedules
• Help shape business direction through process and product improvements, delivering on quarterly goals
• Work with our user research team to engage in usability testing and co-design for yours and your teams projects
• Collaborate with managers across several cross-functional disciplines
• Research and advocate for best practices in design operations management
• Network and stay connected with external UX and graphic design community

Qualifications and Skills

• 12+ years of experience in the field of UX or product design
  • Have collaborated with Product Managers to deliver on business objectives
  • Experience overseeing growth work and experimentation
  • Experience working on mobile apps 
• Portfolio of work that shows a commitment to quality user experience
• Experience managing teams of 3+ designers
• Experience presenting to and working with a variety of stakeholders, including C suite executives

Nice to Haves

• Experience in the kids’ space
• SaaS experience

About the Process

• You’ll get an email response confirming we’ve received your application, and we’ll let you know within a few weeks if we’d like to schedule a follow-up.
• If you’re moving ahead, we’ll book a call to learn more about your experience. 
• If that goes well, we’ll book an interview with you and the hiring team to dive deeper - this will include a Q&A portion, a UX exercise review, and a case study review.
• The final stage will include a ‘meet and greet’ with a few members of the team who you’d work closely with in this role.

We welcome and encourage applications from people with disabilities. Accommodations are available upon request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process.  

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Based in Toronto, Sago Sago Toys of Spin Master Limited a leading global children’s entertainment company that creates, designs and manufactures a diversified portfolio of innovative toys, games, products and entertainment properties. We hire humble and  collaborative people who care about doing great work. Sago Mini is an equal opportunity employer. We value diversity at our company.