Head of Design Operations

Experience Design (XD) is primarily design researchers and designers deeply partnering and aligned with the Group's businesses in Platform labs. To support these delivery research and design teams is Design Operations - central functions that support all the platform areas including:

• Constellation Design system - accessibility-compliant re-useable user interface components and front-end code libraries that standardises reusable design and code to build web and mobile user interfaces and digital experiences at scale and pace.

• Applied Science Design - customer interaction automation and AI capabilities deployed across the business areas, including virtual chatbot assistants, and automated processing of customer feedback.

• Design analytics and measurement - Design research, Design analytics and measurement to support evidenced-based decisions on the user experience.

• Design Assurance - The Design assurance team helps ensure experience quality for customers and colleagues by monitoring experience standards, aligning design assurance with CX measurement, and de-risking the bank through an assurance model.

• Design research and Design tooling - software tooling and physical design research labs used on the businesses for customer research.

As Head of Design Operations, you lead the framework and tools that incorporate the vision, principles and deployment of Experience design strategy and standards. This role will require significant credible design experience and expertise coupled with the ability to influence and assert customer centric investment in Experience design.

This role will continually provide, and champion design thinking and design led culture to enable the business to be bold and innovative while blending with programme disciplines such as operational excellence, business architecture and industrialisation, and technology. All accountabilities report up to the Group Experience Design Director, Brands, Marketing and Experience. 

Key accountabilities

• Experience design is one of the few teams whose work is spread across and visible to all businesses in the Group. You'll play a vital role in ensuring all design and engineering work creates a cohesive overall Banking Group experience for our customers, while supporting colleagues too.

• All accountabilities delegated from the Experience Design Director, Brands, Marketing and Experience.

• Evolve a centre of design operations and forge new cohesive ways for working across all design philosophies and incorporate these into design delivery.

• Drive Leadership understanding and organisational capability in customer-centric Design, leveraging Service Design and Systems Thinking philosophies, and design assurance approaches.

• Build a world class design practice and environment within the Group and attract and retain market leading design capability.

• Accountable for ensuring design asset reuse and design outcomes that are fit for purpose, assuring consistency and adherence to design standards and practices across all divisions.

• Ensuring that the Design team are using the latest design methodology and principles and are proactively employing advanced technology, tools and methods to deploy our capabilities in cutting edge ways.

• Work with business stakeholders and directors to quickly resolve business design and delivery issues and support/drive escalations where required to protect best in class design whilst enabling rapid delivery.

• Develop strong relationships with Group businesses, Group strategy, Risk and rest of BME to enable strategic influence of future design.

Key capabilities, knowledge, skills and experience

• Leadership - Proven experience of leading a team to solve complex problems, translating strategic intent into customer centred group application.

• Design Expertise - Proven record in establishing and driving innovation led design.

• Credibility - Drawn from a past track record in complex and diverse markets and organisations to design.

• Drive - Resilience in overcoming challenges and strong self-awareness with the desire to exceed expectations and bring your team with you.

• Problem solving and analytics - Ability to critically think about problems with an innovative and strategic mind-set and to shape and challenge across design disciplines.

• Personal impact and influence skills - Credibility in executive forums with a track record of effectively communicating and influencing stakeholders at all levels.

• Digital and Technology in Financial Services - Relevant experience and understanding of digital and financial services with vision on where the industry is heading.

In return, we offer a comprehensive benefits plan to help you meet your health and wellness, financial and lifestyle needs:

• A generous pension contribution of up to 15%

• An annual bonus award, subject to Group performance

• Share schemes including free shares

• Benefits you can adapt to your lifestyle, such as discounted shopping

• 30 days' holiday, with bank holidays on top

• A range of wellbeing initiatives and generous parental leave policies