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About us

We believe in the power of ingenuity to build a positive human future in a technology-driven world.

As strategies, technologies and innovation collide, we create opportunity from complexity.

Our diverse teams of experts combine innovative thinking and breakthrough use of technologies to progress further, faster. Our clients adapt and transform, and together we achieve enduring results.

An innovation and transformation consultancy, we are over 3,200 specialists in consumer, defence and security, energy and utilities, financial services, government, health and life sciences, manufacturing, and transport. Our people are strategists, innovators, designers, consultants, digital experts, scientists, engineers and technologists. We operate globally from offices across the UK, US, Europe, and the Nordics.

PA. Bringing Ingenuity to Life.

Digital Design at PA

We are a vibrant service and product design community of experts, with deep specialist practitioner skills across all parts of the design spectrum – covering research, design strategy and service design, UX/UI and IA, through to content, prototyping and movement.

We display a generalist attitude; an understanding of the whole design process, and can easily navigate, communicate and practice the full spectrum.

We are passionate about the possibilities for innovation between Strategy, Design and Front End. We're embedded in mixed discipline teams, are militantly collaborative and believe in continual learning and supportive peer review.

The Role

As our Lead Designer, you will act as visionary, leading the evolution of design best practice and ensuring creative excellence in every aspect of our work. You will work across a variety of projects, clients and sectors, leading challenging and innovative programmes of work.

You will scope projects, formulate and articulate design strategy, develop and implement new processes. You will lead all design aspects of our work, ensuring it is robust, progressive and commercially strong. You will support the Chief Design Officer, with shared responsibility for the welfare, development and performance of the design team.

You will develop strong, long-term strategic relationships with clients and colleagues, deepening their understanding of digital design practice. And lead initiatives and develop propositions that set the direction of our vibrant global design community.

What You’ll Do

• Lead complex design engagements across multiple clients

• Formulate and lead design strategy and processes

• Present and justify design solutions to clients at a strategic level

• Build and manage strong relationships with internal teams and clients

• Clearly communicate design direction to others, oversee and guide the work of your team, but be ‘in’ the work yourself with rolled up sleeves

• Direct and produce artefacts across the full design spectrum as required

• Have a strong focus on quality and timely delivery of a complex suite of work

• Challenge inappropriate ideas and solutions and push for innovation

• Be a committed member of the community, directing and supporting design initiatives

• Line manage other designers: develop coaching and training plans, organise/run performance appraisals, support promotion cases

• Provide design input to bids and new business proposals

• Help scope projects for bids and sold work

• Assist with recruitment and onboarding of new designers

As Lead Designer you have extensive experience in solving complex digital ecosystem problems. An outstanding and highly skilled hybrid design practitioner, you can confidently navigate all parts of the design spectrum and demonstrate deep expertise in UX and UI. You have knowledge of a wide range of tools and techniques – and know when to use them.

Design leadership skills

• Lead by example; building strong client and colleague relationships through delivery of high impact work – demonstrating the value of being led by design

• Analyse a wide range of data to reframe problems, uncover opportunities and form hypotheses; distilling complexity into clear strategic design direction

• Collaborator; creating the conditions for the team to do their best work by working openly and transparently

• Set and manage clear expectations about quality and speed of team output

• Assess new design techniques and integrating them into our practice

• Approachable design authority; guiding client teams on governance and best practice

• Accurately scope, estimate effort and define design activities for large complex programmes of work

• Experience line managing people, understanding skills, interests and developing their careers (we provide training and support where needed)

Practitioner Skills

• Plan and facilitate a range of research activities to uncover user needs

• Analyse a wide range of data to re-frame problems, articulate opportunities and form hypotheses

• Plan and facilitating design thinking, vision and innovation workshop activities, and co-creation sessions; both in person and using online tools

• Sketch target customer experiences, journeys and interfaces

• Create low and high fidelity design artifacts for validation/testing/delivery as required (eg. service blueprints, experience maps, user journeys, wireframes, prototypes, detailed UI design) and coach others to do the same.

• Use design, prototyping and collaboration software (eg. Figma, Sketch, Invision, Zeplin, Storybook, Axure, Adobe XD, Miro, Mural, or any others you can introduce us to)

• Interpret and follow design guidelines; creating or evolving digital design systems for complex eco-systems

Communication Skills

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills

• Use a range of presentation techniques that are impactful, accessible and captivating

• Lead conversations, employing sensitivity and robustness

Benefits at PA:

• Private medical insurance
• Travel allowance
• 25 days annual leave with the opportunity to buy 5 additional days
• Company pension scheme
• Annual performance-based bonus
• Life and Income protection insurance
• Tax efficient benefits (cycle to work, give as you earn)
• Additional optional benefits (Dental, critical illness, spouse/partner life assurance)

Inclusion & Diversity

We believe that diversity makes us a stronger firm and look to employ people with different ideas, styles and skill sets. This diversity stimulates a rich, creative environment – one in which our people develop, and our clients enjoy enduring results. We’re committed to recruiting, promoting and rewarding our people solely based on their ability to contribute to PA’s goals, without regard to their sex, race, disability, religion, national origin, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age or marital status.

Should you need any adjustments to the recruitment process, at either application or interview, please contact us on [email protected]