UX & Design Manager (OPEN TO UK REMOTE)

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Leeds, Edinburgh, or UK based remote workersxDesign is an award-winning digital transformation and software partner with offices in the centres of Edinburgh and Leeds and with remote employees all across the UK. We take pride in collaborating with our clients to create valuable products and intuitive user experiences across industries, technologies, and clients. Thanks to our reputation as a partner committed to delivering high-quality products, we have grown to over 200 employees and are planning to double that number in 2022.We are a company that cares about building an inclusive, collaborative place of work where you can stretch yourself, personally and professionally. We value a diverse team and believe the variety of experiences and backgrounds in our team make us stronger.We’re creating top-tier products for companies like Heineken, PayPal, MoneySupermarket and Tesco Bank. Our design team uses design thinking, UX and UI expertise to create products and software that people love to use.The RoleGood design is good business, so we’re working to make product design at xDesign even better! We need an experienced UX and Design Manager to join our team. We want someone who is as passionate about managing a creative team as the work itself. You’ll fit right in if you’re fascinated by how things look and work, and have strong feelings about Comic Sans and hamburger menus.Reporting to the Head of Design, you’ll work with talented colleagues on products for household names - and you’ll also be part of designing a better design team with your colleagues. This is your chance to take on a deputy leadership role and use your skills and experience to help your colleagues and department flourish.RequirementsWhat you’ll doDirectly manage a team of designers, helping them grow both personally and professionallyHelp designers to stay focused on meeting user needs, and to design with a deep understanding of the product visionInfluences and interpret product vision and help the team to plan and carry out the design strategy through their workHelp team members to understand their strengths, plan and monitor their development, and encourage them to be the best they can be in all that they doBe there to offer feedback and guidance, a word of encouragement, and acknowledgements for the wins they don’t seeBe willing to get hands-on when needed to help the team, running rituals, facilitating workshops, and managing stakeholder relationshipsWork closely with colleagues in Product, Engineering, Marketing, Delivery and Talent, building and maintaining close relationships with peers in other functionsRepresent and advocate for design and UX at all levels of the businessWho you areA creative problem-solver, who can apply design thinking skills to any situation, whether trouble-shooting a component or redesigning a recruitment processA seasoned manager, with experience managing a number of direct reportsA robust understanding of product design, user interface design, UX, interaction, visual and motion design, storytelling, and prototypingSomeone who has an eagle-eye for detail, and can offer constructive, empathetic and actionable feedbackA strong product sense, knowing what works and what doesn’tA strong communicator who understands that talking about and explaining design is as much part of the job as what we makeSomeone with design-chops, who doesn’t mind occasionally rolling up their sleeves to set direction for the team by exampleA person who understands what’s needed beyond productivity, and understands the need to create and maintain psychological safety, morale, excitement and a sense-of-purposeHave a user-first attitude, and truly want to design the right things, in the right way, for the right peopleSomeone who has a vast repository of resources and tried-and-tested resources to call upon when neededA person with a desire to always keep learning and improvingAgile working experienceEven betterAn understanding of accessibility and inclusive designExperience of designing and running workshopsAn understanding of DesignOpsWhere you’ll beAt xDesign, we believe people should work where suits them best. We support full UK based remote working – but if you prefer an office to come to (and it’s a very nice office!), then we have an HQ in Edinburgh and a hub in Leeds. Occasional travel to Edinburgh will be required for some face-to-face client work when restrictions allow.“This is a very special team full of talented, creative and caring people that make me want to come to work every day. I’ve watched the team double in size, seeing how each person brings their unique skills and talents to what they do, how they work with others, and how they look after one another. The UX & Design Manager post was my own, and it has brought me the most professional satisfaction of any role that I’ve done. I know this role will be something that challenges and inspires a creative leader, that will allow them to bring their whole self to work, and that xDesign is a company that sees people first, rather than resources. This is a chance to be involved in leading and developing a growing team in a rapidly scaling company. It’s genuinely exciting to be at the forefront of what feels like a real moment for the future of Scottish tech. ”– Head of DesignWe are focused on hiring great people who challenge the norm, bring new ideas, perspectives and expertise, so you’ll be working with a team that collaborates and cares. We support each other with problems, push each other to continually improve and we celebrate success (and learn from failure) together.This is an exciting time to join xDesign as we move into another phase of company growth, in a role where you’ll add significant value and impact to a dedicated and passionate team!BenefitsVariety - the chance to work with a wide range of clients from start-ups to big name brandsPersonal development and progression plans including 6 learning and development days32 days holiday a year (inc Bank Holidays, which you’re free to take whenever you want)Private medical Insurance (and wellbeing incentives, deals and discounts) with VitalityEnhanced maternity, paternity and adoption leave policiesAccess to a financial wellbeing platform (via Bippit)A Macbook Pro and other top tech to help youRegular social events (in person and remotely)Cycle to work schemeA competitive salary which we’ll discuss with you at the start of the hiring processYuLife employee benefits and lots more!Think this is for you? Get in touch for a confidential chat about how you can become part of the team.Learn more about life at xDesign on our careers site and for more insights into our hiring process check out our careers FAQs.We believe that representative teams made up of people with different backgrounds, skills and points of view help us build the best workplace possible and enable us to create genuinely innovative, broadly useful products. We are committed to our goal of creating the most inclusive workplace possible. As we strive to build an environment where everyone can thrive and be themselves we will continue to investigate and challenge biases, while working to identify and remove obstacles to inclusion. If you need additional support or accommodation during the application process, please don’t hesitate to let us know.