Job description
The base salary for this role is up to £54,421, with a negotiable market supplement up to £20,000, based on the successful applicant's qualifications and experience.
Location
Blended between office and home in the United Kingdom
About the role
This is a hugely exciting opportunity for a passionate Head of User Experience (UX) Design, who enjoys advocating for the end-user and has a strong understanding of best practices and methodologies to deliver useful and engaging online experiences.
You’ll be joining an award-winning team dedicated to developing and maintaining user-centred product and services. This will help meet the needs of many of our user groups - from applying to a course, to finding research collaborations and much more.
This role is new. We need someone to:
- help shape a UX approach for the University
- implement research, needs analysis, site maps, wireframes and prototypes
- work alongside the Heads of Content Design, User Experience and Product to make sure our users come first in everything we do and that they have exemplary journeys across the University’s content and services
- act as a subject matter expert and evangelise for digital experience excellence
This role is being offered on a full-time, permanent basis.
Your responsibilities
You’ll need to:
- inspire and coach UX and interaction designers working across a portfolio of projects, and facilitating close collaboration and peer support within the UX disciplines
- work closely with product managers, user researchers, content designers, UX and interaction designers, developers, analysts and marketing teams to create and apply a strong and consistent design approach to all of our products
- build a comprehensive knowledge base of UX and user-centred, evidence-based design methods and practice
- lead and facilitate design activities, making considerations around resourcing to suit changeable priorities and ensuring a good fit of designers in terms of skills and experience.
- provide senior oversight and support for UX design activities across all our work, including approaches, tools, equipment, quality and standards
Your skills and experience
You’ll need to have experience working at a senior level in user-centred design, with either the skills needed for or some experience in:
- successfully managing design teams, coaching and mentoring designers
- planning with others UX design and research approaches
- setting direction and quality assurance of design delivery across teams and projects
- making evidence-based decisions and solving problems pragmatically using data to inform design choices
- setting standards for UX and interaction design
- have experience of designing and iterating human-centred design as part of a multidisciplinary team in a fast-paced environment
- ideally have experience of Agile ways of working and influencing change in a large organisation
This is an exciting time for the University of Southampton and we would love you to join us!
The University of Southampton promotes a healthy work life balance with generous holiday allowance, flexi-time and flexible working. For more information on our benefits, please visit the HR pages. To read more about the team and its ethos, visit our recruitment pages.
How to apply
Submit the following documents through our online application form
- CV
- Statement of suitability/covering letter (2 pages maximum) explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience relevant for this role
- A portfolio to showcase examples of your work
If you want to talk first, please contact Ayala Gordon, Associate Director - Digital User Experience.
You should submit your completed online application form at https://jobs.soton.ac.uk. The application deadline will be midnight on the closing date stated above. If you need any assistance, please call the HR Recruitment Team on +44 (0) 23 8059 4043 or email [email protected] Please quote reference 2096822CD-R on all correspondence.
We are proactive in fostering a culture of inclusion, respect, and equality of opportunity. We select candidates based on merit and ability and aspire to thrive in the diversity of our workforce. We welcome applications from all candidates with an interest in the role and those who are committed to helping us create an inclusive work environment. We encourage applications from candidates from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic communities, people who identify as LGBTQ+, and people with disabilities.
Further details:
- Job Description and Person Specification
We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and welcome applicants who supports our mission of inclusivity.