Principal UX Designer

Who We Are:

At VML, we are a beacon of innovation and growth in an ever-evolving world. Our heritage is built upon a century of combined expertise, where creativity meets technology, and diverse perspectives ignite inspiration. With the merger of VMLY&R and Wunderman Thompson, we have forged a new path as a growth partner that is part creative agency, part consultancy, and part technology powerhouse. 

Our global family now encompasses over 30,000 employees across 150+ offices in 64 markets, each contributing to a culture that values connection, belonging, and the power of differences. Our expertise spans the entire customer journey, offering deep insights in communications, commerce, consultancy, CRM, CX, data, production, and technology. We deliver end-to-end solutions that result in revolutionary work. 

The opportunity:

We are looking for Principal UX Designer who is an expert in product design and UX research, UX definition and UX delivery. Reporting into the Head of UX and CX Consultancy, this is a role requiring someone with excellent leadership and technical abilities, who is comfortable supervising the delivery of wireframes and research projects, running client workshops and designing compelling products. 

As Principal UX Designer, you’ll be an expert in experience design and innovation, leading large-scale UX projects, ensuring quality, defining WoW, solving problems, creating break-through work, and automating for efficiencies and scale. 

What you’ll be doing:

Managerial:

• Manage and take responsibility for a large team of talented UX designers (mix of perm and contract) across a wide range of projects, with support from the Head of UX & Consultancy.
• You will be overseeing the career progression of permanent staff and proactively identify their skills gaps, arrange and implement training and development plans to address any skills gas in the current team, regular check ins with contractors to QA and course correct as well as instilling a culture of team collaboration (internally across perm and contractors and the wider Business Services team as well as with clients), proactive knowledge sharing and seamless alignment with Tech and UI.
• Collaborate and represent UX in resource planning to allocate the right team members to the job.

Processes:

• Define definition and delivery plans and WoW, estimating effort and defining milestones.
• Challenge or refine WoW of definition and delivery plans across different accounts.
• Identify and rectify problems proactively and work towards their prompt resolution across all phases of the design process (research, define, design and optimise)
• Lead the UX team on specific projects and ensure UX excellence, collaboration, and alignment across teams.

Win work:

• Participates and, where necessary, leads the UX sections of new business pitches, helping to define the approach, estimating effort, and articulately presenting the approach to prospective clients.

Outputs:

• Elevation of UX outputs ensuring (i) excellence in presentation, (ii) it adheres to best practices and (iii) it applies to the specific brief requirements.
• Direct the production of journey maps, personas, scenarios, process flows, information architecture diagrams and other artefacts required to develop and evolve product definition and user experience design.

Work:

• Design and conduct product definition and UX requirements workshops, co-creation sessions, and innovative testing methods to address complex challenges and ensure user satisfaction.
• Collaborate closely with client and project teams, senior stakeholders (including project managers, developers, subject matter experts, and UI designers), to shape the overall user experience vision and align it with business objectives.
• Be the driving force behind customer-centric thinking, from the initial research phases to the final design stages.
• Oversee the delivery of low and/or high-fidelity wireframes and communicate its rationale to clients and internal team.

What we want from you:

You see the big picture and identify what are the right questions to ask tor the right methodologies to apply to move the project/the conversation forward efficiently.

You understand clients’ goals and constraints and sees industry and client context. Taylors the conversation and approach based on client context and goals. You showcase a track record of shaping end-to-end digital products and services across diverse industries, with measurable outcomes.

You are a talented, enthusiastic, focused, eye for detail, professional. Keen to learn and to challenge for smarter ways of doing things; a team player proud of their work who wants to share it. You like working in a fast-paced environment and are ready to inspire outstanding online shopper experiences for consumers and brands, no matter what product, service, sector, device or channel!

You will have a customer-first mindset, with the maturity and initiative to do what it takes keep our clients happy, including some working at client locations. When our clients win – we win!

If you know some of this, even better:

• eCommerce industry experience
• Leading large scale user experience design projects

What we can offer you:

Alongside the opportunity to work with some of the most exciting brands around the world, we’ll also prioritise your career development and help you grow your skills. We’ll empower you to make a difference, allow you to be yourself, and respect who you are.

We offer a great benefits package including hybrid working that works for everyone, a discretionary bonus scheme, training opportunities, competitive pension, medical insurance, life assurance, social events, opportunities to buy and sell holidays, family friendly policies, discounts with hundreds of retailers and much more.

Our personality and behaviours: We believe that we are what we do, not just what we say. Our shared values and behaviours show how to bring the VML Enterprise Solution’s culture to life through the actions we all take every day:

• Connect Meaningfully
• Inspire Creatively
• Include Purposefully
• Approach Positively

Our brilliant, talented people are what makes VML Enterprise Solutions what we are. That’s why we look for people who go beyond and always push our thinking to be better than yesterday.

AT VML Enterprise Solutions

Our Enterprise Solutions division houses strategic consultants, creative and technical architects and skilled developers and operators that together help some of the world’s leading organisations to deliver outstanding digital experiences across all major routes to market worldwide: marketplaces, online retailers, D2C, B2B and social platforms. With over 4,200 experts in 55 operational centres across 34 countries, our capabilities span the entire buying journey from customer acquisition, through engagement, to conversion and loyalty, driving multi-channel growth for world-leading brands.

We work with some of the most exciting brands such as The Coca-Cola Company, EY, Bosch, Unilever, Ford, DFS, Mercedes-Benz, Johnson & Johnson, Nestlé, Sainsbury’s, Selfridges, Shell and Tiffany & Co. We’ve built over 500 platforms for brands and retailers and generate in excess of $29bn annually for our clients and work with over 50 strategic partners including Adobe, SAP, Salesforce, HCL, Shopify, Sitecore, BigCommerce, commerce tools and Acquia. Our reputation is based on our people, and we believe we have some of the best in the business.

As our business grows internationally, we’re looking for new people to join us on our journey to inspire and take a key role in shaping some of the best commerce solutions, services, and websites in the world. Working as a team, no problem is insurmountable; we share in our client’s successes and believe that anyone can show creative bravery no matter what their role is in the team.

#LI-EMEA #LI-HYBRID

At VML, we are committed to fostering an all-inclusive work environment that is both rewarding and career-forward. Our Inclusion, Equity & Belonging initiatives, alongside the VML Foundation, reflect our dedication to giving back and making a positive impact in our communities and beyond. Our people are the heartbeat of our organization—creators, doers, innovators, makers, and thinkers—who drive not just marketing, but meaningful experiences that resonate in every action and interaction. 

VML is a WPP Agency. For more information, please visit our website, and follow VML on our social channels via Instagram, LinkedIn, and X. 

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