Experience Design Principal

Our Experience Design Principals lead and deliver complex client engagements across our public sector portfolio. Sitting within the Experience Design Practice in our Strategy & Design Service Line, they work alongside leadership peers in Advisory & Change and Product & Innovation to deliver holistic outcomes. We're looking for "T-shaped" experience design leaders whose careers have been built around designing and researching digital products and user experiences, with expertise rooted in hands-on practice. You will bring a deep mastery of your core design/research craft alongside a broad, practical understanding of the wider User Centred Design (UCD) landscape. You will have a strong working understanding of our capabilities and the techniques used across our practice - including user research, content design, and interaction design. Because interaction design and service design heavily overlap, you will also confidently advise on Service Design principles. We believe that great delivery stems from: A deep understanding of user needs and behaviours, keeping accessibility and citizen outcomes at the heart of everything we build. The ability to align user needs with client goals, technical constraints or opportunities, and commercial requirements. The ability to articulate this alignment as a clear, powerful, and inspiring service vision. Strong consulting and practice craft skills to realise that vision collaboratively. Agile leadership, enabling cross-functional teams to implement effectively in a changing environment.

Responsibilities

Lead the Experience Design aspects of one or more of our client engagements, translating product visions into experience design strategies that deliver category-leading user experiences, overseeing the hands-on delivery of usability improvements and end-to-end journeys across all channels (web and app); Partner closely with user researchers, interaction designers, content designers, engineers, data analysts, and client product owners to make ongoing, recommended improvements that drive better user and business outcomes, blending just-in-time delivery of design artefacts with continuous discovery and long-term ideation; Support the Head of Experience Design in running our Experience Design communities of practice, in their regular meetings, away days, knowledge sharing and slack channel engagements; Engage deeply with clients to understand their challenges, provide solution advice, and build lasting, trusted-advisor relationships, overseeing multiple and concurrent client deliveries to ensure quality and drive the sharing of best practice; Coach and develop team members on engagements, providing detailed performance feedback, undertaking people management responsibilities including performance reviews and professional development; Act as an experience design authority to provide oversight and ensure alignment with internal and industry best practices, participate in business development activities (including bids and pre-sales), identify new opportunities, and help scale the practice to meet business needs

Requirements

T-shaped experience design leader whose career has been built around designing and researching digital products and user experiences, with expertise rooted in hands-on practice; Deep mastery of core design/research craft alongside a broad, practical understanding of the wider User Centred Design (UCD) landscape; Strong working understanding of capabilities and techniques across User Research, Content Design, and Interaction Design, with ability to confidently leverage research to drive design decisions; Strong, practical grasp of user-centred design approaches within public sector environments (such as GDS/CDDO standards) and proven track record of applying them to real-world delivery challenges; Ability to look beyond single touchpoints to advise on broader Service Design challenges, collaborating effectively with cross-functional peers in Advisory and Change; Extensive experience leading design of complex digital products, establishing UX strategies, and mapping end-to-end user journeys while balancing user needs, accessibility, technical constraints, and business goals; Exceptional consulting skills, with a track record of building trusted relationships with senior client stakeholders and articulating a clear, powerful design vision; Experience mentoring and managing designers, leading multidisciplinary teams, and driving high-quality implementation within fast-paced Agile environments; Experience contributing to proposal submissions, shaping client solutions, and driving commercial growth of a consulting practice or account footprint; Eligibility for SC clearance requiring 5 years UK residency and 5 years employment history (or back to full-time education)

Benefits

Flexible benefit platform including Smart Tech scheme, Cycle to Work scheme, and individual benefits allowance which can be invested in a Health care cash plan or Pension plan; Optional social and wellbeing calendar of events; 30 days Holiday (30 days of paid annual leave); Flexible Working Hours; Flexible Parental Leave; Remote Working (part time remote working for all staff); Paid counselling as well as financial and legal advice