Director, Design Technical

Job content

POSITION: Director, Design TechnicalPOSTING END DATE: 1st August 2023LOCATION: Gaydon (UK)REPORTING TO: Design DirectorSALARY: CompetitiveJaguar Land Rover is evolving into “JLR”, a House of Brands comprising of four distinct British brands – Range Rover, Jaguar, Defender and Discovery.Our purpose is to ‘Live the Exceptional with Soul’ by being the proud creators of modern luxury and being guided by a set of behaviours we call our Creators’ Code: Customer Love; Unity; Integrity; Growth; Impact.What To ExpectThe Jaguar Land Rover Creative Organisation is evolving to a new way of working, which will enable the execution of our ReImagine strategy. The evolved organisation includes housing various creative hubs (Vehicle, Brand, Digital and Materiality Design), which are pivotal in our inflection towards a Modern Luxury future and reflects the growing importance to the entire enterprise.THE ROLEKey Responsibilities

• Programme ownership.
• Provide a single set of guardrails for Design Programme and Technical disciplines enabling a coordinated approach to cross functional activity ensuring high quality Design, Programme, Strategy, Engineering and Manufacturing alignment.
• Identify, scope and drive departmental processes through Ways of Working and Governance whilst ensuring effective implementation of Agile and Time to Market initiatives.
• Create and manage both new and existing relationships with key Programme and Engineering stakeholders to further develop team co-operation.
• Ensure appropriate level of feasibility is achieved through gateways.
• Management of all vehicle programme activities across all Design disciplines.
• Continuous development of the team’s technical, engineering and geometry creation capability nurturing now and future talent.
• Develop and improve Design’s technical capability in Material Engineering and new technologies.
• Support to define and deliver Design Academy training to bring new creatives into the Technical Organisation.

Key Performance Indicators

• Deliver programmes on Time and to Cost
• Sustainability
• Innovation
• Safety (Lost Time Incidents)
• Employee Net Promoter Score
• Departmental Implementation of Agile Methodology
• Design Programme’s Single Point of Communication

Key Interactions

• Exterior & Interior Design, Materiality
• Vehicle Detail Design
• Physical Modelling
• Digital Modelling
• Digital Creative
• Vehicle Design Strategy
• Global Product Strategy
• Product Eng. Chief Engineers & Enterprise Leaders
• ‘V’ Org Programme Chief’s / VLD’s
• Commercial
• Manufacturing
• Purchasing
• SV

What You’ll NeedEssential Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Technical expertise – to provide complimentary technical and programme guidance across the functional team to deliver feasible solutions while maintaining the design aesthetic.
• The ability to drive the team to deliver cost/time efficient solutions to the Design aspiration.
• People skills - a critical element of the role is the resolution of difficult feasibility issues therefore the ability to work in a cross functional team is key.
• A broad understanding of vehicle packaging, body construction, interior / exterior trim, lighting systems, occupant & pedestrian safety, closures, manufacturing and assembly
• Sound communication skills with people of all levels and expertise; notably quality Design, Programme, Strategy, Engineering and Manufacturing.
• Recruit and retain capabilities from across analogous industries.

Personal Profile

• Inspirational leader, demonstrated by a low-ego approach, with a positive and up-beat style with a track record of developing talent and inspiring others, driving the organisation to world-class performance.
• Demonstrates our Creators’ Code behaviours of Customer Love, Unity, Integrity, Growth and Impact. Continually working hard to deliver a modern luxury experience to earn and keep our customers’ trust and loyalty.
• Embracing differences, being empathetic, welcoming challenges together empowering each other to deliver.
• Building trust by speaking openly and honestly, listening attentively, and treating others respectfully.
• An individual who is able to ensure operational plans deliver Jaguar Land Rover’s strategy and combine a short term, pragmatic focus with strategic vision.
• An ability to work in an inclusive multi-culture and multi-partnership environment.
• A resilient individual who has strong influencing and engagement skills, is comfortable challenging all stakeholders and can build credibility and trust through experience and personal style.
• Unquestionable integrity and values driven – earns unwavering trust, meets commitments, and has courageous conversations.
• Able to play an active role in leading the broader Finance function, on items such as Functional strategy and delivery.
• Able to influence peers and senior leadership teams in other functions in order to ensure the right decisions are being made for the future success of the business.
• High level of resilience in dealing with ambiguous or fast-paced, evolving situations.
• Strong influencing skills and ability to build relationships easily – understands the intricacies of managing complex relationships across the global organisation. High level of emotional intelligence, with the ability to influence and persuade.

#WEAREJLRAt Jaguar Land Rover, we are passionate about our people. They are at the heart of our business. We are committed to fostering a diverse, inclusive culture that is representative of our global customers and the society in which we live; a culture in which every one of our employees can bring their authentic self to work and reach their full potential.You will find the opportunities to further your career with a world-class team, access to select two of our luxury premium vehicles to lease at an extremely favourable cost compared to traditional company car lease schemes, membership of a competitive pension plan, private medical cover (which includes travel insurance) and performance related bonus scheme. All this and more makes Jaguar Land Rover the perfect place to continue your journey.This role may offer the opportunity for hybrid working where you can split your time between working from home and in the office. At Jaguar Land Rover, hybrid working is a voluntary, non-contractual arrangement providing employees with more choice and flexibility around how, when and where they work, if suitable for their role. Further details can be discussed with the Hiring Manager at interview stage.Please be aware that we may close this vacancy for applications before the stated deadline if we receive a high volume of interest. We strongly advise you to submit your application as early as possible.