Director, Digital Experience

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Posting Information:
This posting is for an existing vacancy.

The internal posting deadline for this position is Thursday, August 27, 2026  at 11:59PM.

Job Description:

Primary Purpose

University of Waterloo is a leading global innovation hub that drives economic and social prosperity for Canada and the world. With more than 41,000 students, we are home to the world's largest co-op education talent pipeline, to game-changing research and technology, and to an unmatched entrepreneurial culture. Together, these create partnerships and solutions to tackle today’s and tomorrow’s challenges.

At the university, the Marketing and Communications function is responsible for enhancing and protecting the university’s reputation. The marketing function specifically leads through advertising and promotion, while developing governance, protocol and templates to uphold consistent, unified and effective marketing activities across campus.

The Director, Digital Experience leads the University’s digital experience strategy and shared digital ecosystem. The role defines and advances a coordinated approach to digital platforms, user experience, accessibility, content governance, and digital service delivery that supports institutional priorities and audience needs. Serving as the University’s senior lead for digital experience, the Director establishes frameworks and governance to enable consistent execution across a decentralized environment. The role is accountable for improving digital effectiveness, user engagement, accessibility, and institutional capability through evidence-based strategy and continuous improvement.

Key Accountabilities

Digital Strategy

• Leads the development and coordination of the University’s enterprise digital experience strategy, digital platform roadmap, and channel approach to support institutional priorities and audience engagement.

• Establishes digital experience priorities, performance measures, and strategic direction, translating institutional objectives into integrated digital strategies that support recruitment, reputation, advancement, community engagement, and service delivery outcomes.

• Provides strategic counsel to senior leaders and partners on digital experience, user behaviour, emerging technologies, and digital trends to inform planning and decision-making.

• Ensures digital experience strategies are aligned with institutional priorities and designed to deliver measurable outcomes.

• Participates in emergency communications planning and response activities as assigned within the university’s emergency communications framework

Digital Governance and Standards

• Establishes and supports institutional digital governance frameworks, standards, and practices across web, social media, and shared digital platforms.

• Ensures digital experiences are aligned with accessibility, privacy, security, and institutional brand requirements.

• Provides guidance on digital governance, platform standards, user experience, and institutional risk considerations.

• Leads stewardship of enterprise digital standards, content governance practices, information architecture principles, and shared platform expectations.

Digital Experience Leadership

• Works closely with Brand, Marketing and Research, Recruitment Marketing, Creative Studio, and institutional leaders to align digital experience strategy with brand direction, recruitment priorities, content delivery, and operational requirements.

• Partner with Information Systems & Technology (IST) to ensure platforms are secure, reliable, and scalable  

• Leads institutional practice in user experience, user interface design, information architecture, content governance, and digital service design.

• Provides portfolio leadership for shared digital platforms and channels, including web, social media, email, and other shared digital environments.

• Oversees the enterprise digital platform portfolio and ensures digital platforms, tools, and services support accessibility, reliability, scalability, and effective service delivery.

• Leads the evaluation and adoption of emerging technologies and digital capabilities that improve user experience and institutional effectiveness.

Measurement, Insights, and Continuous Improvement

• Oversees digital performance measurement, reporting, and analytics activities across institutional digital channels.

• Uses analytics, research, and user insight to identify opportunities for continuous improvement and integrate findings into planning and decision-making.

• Establishes frameworks for measuring digital experience quality, accessibility, engagement, and platform effectiveness.

Functional and People Leadership

• Leads, develops, and evaluates managers and professional staff within the Digital Experience portfolio.

• Establishes team priorities, allocates work and resources, and ensures alignment with institutional digital and marketing objectives.

• Provides functional leadership for digital experience practice across the University by developing shared frameworks, guidance, and tools that improve consistency, quality, and strategic discipline.

• Promotes user-centered, accessible, and evidence-based digital practices across the institution.

• Builds capability in digital strategy, user experience, digital governance, analytics, and continuous improvement.

• Supports adoption of shared digital standards, tools, and frameworks across campus partners.

Resource Stewardship and External Relationships

• Oversees budgets, contracts, and external supplier relationships relevant to the portfolio, ensuring sound stewardship, clear prioritization, and value from external support.

• Establishes priorities and allocates resources across digital experience activities to support institutional objectives and maximize impact.

• Ensures external partners are engaged through clear briefs, governance expectations, and performance measures.

Required Qualifications
Education

• Undergraduate degree in digital media, information systems, communications, marketing, or a related field.

• Graduate degree is considered an asset.

Experience

• 7–9 years of progressive experience in digital strategy, digital experience, user experience, digital governance, or a related field.

• 3–5 years’ experience leading, managing, and developing staff within a complex, multi-stakeholder environment.

• Demonstrated experience delivering enterprise digital strategies, platform initiatives, or digital transformation programs.

• Experience applying analytics, user research, and performance insights to inform strategy and decision-making.

• Experience working effectively across decentralized or matrixed environments and partnering with technical teams, platform owners, academic units, and senior leaders.

• Experience managing budgets and external vendors in support of digital service delivery.

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities

• Strong expertise in digital experience strategy, user-centred design, digital governance, and accessibility.

• Advanced knowledge of enterprise web ecosystems, content management systems, analytics platforms, digital channels, and platform governance.

• Ability to translate institutional priorities into coherent digital strategies while balancing user needs, accessibility requirements, and institutional standards.

• Strong analytical capability and comfort using data, research, and user insight to inform prioritization, investment, and continuous improvement.

• Ability to lead cross-functional initiatives and influence diverse stakeholders.

• Excellent verbal and written communication, presentation, and executive influencing skills.

• Strong understanding of digital performance measurement, accessibility standards, and user experience best practices.

• Demonstrated ability to lead organizational change and influence adoption of enterprise standards and practices.

• Demonstrated ability to balance strategic priorities, operational requirements and stakeholder interests in a complex environment.

• Demonstrated political acuity, diplomacy, and sound judgment when navigating complex organizational, stakeholder, and reputational considerations.

• Strong relationship-management capability across senior leadership and distributed communications environments.

• Understanding of higher education or similarly complex organizations is an asset.

Equity Statement

The University of Waterloo acknowledges that much of our work takes place on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabeg, and Haudenosaunee peoples. Our main campus is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land granted to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the Grand River. Our active work toward reconciliation takes place across our campuses through research, learning, teaching, and community building, and is coordinated within the Office of Indigenous Relations.

The University values the diverse and intersectional identities of its students, faculty, and staff. The University regards equity and diversity as an integral part of academic excellence and is committed to accessibility for all employees. The University of Waterloo seeks applicants who embrace our values of equity, anti-racism and inclusion.  As such, we encourage applications from candidates who have been historically disadvantaged and marginalized, including applicants who identify as First Nations, Métis and/or Inuk (Inuit), Black, racialized, a person with a disability, women and/or 2SLGBTQ+.

Positions are open to qualified candidates who are legally entitled to work in Canada.

The University of Waterloo is committed to accessibility for persons with disabilities. If you have any application, interview, or workplace accommodation requests, please contact Human Resources at hrhelp@uwaterloo.ca or 519-888-4567, ext. 45935.