Head of UX Design - Mott MacDonald - United Kingdom

Mott MacDonald is a global engineering, management, and development consultancy with over 20,000 employees across more than 50 countries and 140+ offices. 

We work across incredible global industries, delivering exciting work that is defining our future and making an important societal impact in the communities we serve. Our people power our performance – we succeed when they do. With countless opportunities to collaborate, learn, and grow, the possibilities for excellence are as varied as every individual. 

Whether you want to grow as a subject matter expert or broaden your experience with roles across our international community, you’re surrounded by global specialists who want to combine their expertise and champion you to be your best. As a proudly employee-owned business, we benefit our clients, our communities, and each other, investing in creating the right space for everyone to feel empowered, included, and valued. Whatever your ambition, Mott MacDonald is where people come to be brilliant.

We are looking for a Head of UX Design to join our growing Digital and Technology team, based in the UK with a hybrid working pattern from either our London or Cambridge office.

This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced design leader who is passionate about creating meaningful digital experiences, developing people, and shaping the future of user-centred design within a global organisation. You will provide leadership for our UX/UI design capability, influence strategic digital initiatives, and help deliver solutions that support major infrastructure and public-sector programmes around the world.

About the role

As Head of UX Design, you will be accountable for the quality, consistency and impact of UX and UI design across our digital products and services. You will lead and develop a multidisciplinary design team while remaining closely connected to delivery, providing expert guidance on key design decisions when required.

You will also work alongside an established external UX partner, helping to strengthen and evolve our design capability while introducing fresh perspectives, innovative approaches and emerging best practice.

Key Responsibilities

• Shape and own the UX vision and strategy for Mott MacDonald's digital products and services, working closely with senior stakeholders across the business.


• Lead and grow a multidisciplinary UX/UI design team, including recruitment, mentoring, and supporting the career development of other designers.


• Stay across emerging design tooling and AI-assisted approaches, exploring how they can strengthen our UX/UI design practice, and help set standards for their responsible use within the team.


• Collaborate with and support an established external UX design partner, enabling their practice while introducing new thinking and ways of working.


• Set and uphold UX/UI design quality standards across the team, acting as the final point of quality assurance on major design decisions.


• Collaborate with product, engineering, and wider project teams across different regions and time zones to define user problems and design effective, user-centred digital solutions.


• Champion design systems, ensuring consistency, accessibility, and scalability across products and platforms.


• Champion user research and evidence-led design, ensuring decisions are grounded in real user insight throughout the UX design lifecycle.

Candidate Specification

• Proven experience leading or building a UX design team, with a genuine passion for developing others.


• Comfortable working alongside an established UX design practice or partner, adding value and fresh perspective.


• A track record of delivering end-to-end UX and UI design work for digital products or services, at a level you can demonstrate through past project work (your portfolio is a useful way to support this during recruitment).


• Confidence shaping UX/UI design strategy and influencing decisions at a senior, cross-functional level.


• A pragmatic and proactive approach, looking for ways to strengthen UX design's impact at Mott MacDonald while balancing the need to get the job done.


• Strong communication skills, curiosity and openness to feedback.


• Structured and reliable in the way you work, with the ability to manage priorities, navigate ambiguity, and keep projects and people moving forward.

Essential

• Experience in a UX leadership or Head of UX Design role.


• Strong portfolio evidencing end-to-end UX/UI design work and design decision-making.


• Proficiency in the latest design tooling, including in-depth knowledge of using Figma within an organisation.


• Strong communication skills and experience collaborating in multidisciplinary teams.


• Familiarity with web technologies (HTML, CSS, JavaScript).


• Experience using and managing a design system within an organisation.

Desirable

Experience with or interest in Microsoft Power Platform (Power BI, Power Apps).

Why Join Mott MacDonald?

This role offers a unique opportunity to:

• Shape and lead UX/UI design capability across a global, multidisciplinary business.


• Work on impactful projects that contribute to sustainable development and improved social outcomes.


• Collaborate with colleagues across disciplines, sectors and regions, bringing together engineering, digital, design and environmental expertise.


• Influence the direction of digital products and services used across major infrastructure and public-sector programmes.


• Grow your skills through access to professional development opportunities, technical communities and industry-leading expertise.


• Be part of a business that values inclusion, wellbeing, flexibility and continuous learning.


• Contribute to an employee-owned organisation where your ideas and expertise can make a lasting difference.

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UK Immigration

Mott MacDonald Ltd. are not currently offering sponsorship to candidates under the Skilled Worker visa route in the UK. This decision is as a consequence of the changes made to the Skilled Worker route by the UK Government in April 2024. We continue to welcome applications from candidates who are eligible for alternative immigration routes in the UK, that do not require sponsorship as a Skilled Worker now or in future.

Agile working  

At Mott MacDonald, we believe it makes business sense for you and your manager to choose how you can work most effectively to meet your client, team, and personal commitments. We offer a hybrid working policy that embraces your well-being, flexibility, and trust.

Equality, diversity, and inclusion 

We put equality, diversity, and inclusion at the heart of our business, seeking to promote fair employment procedures and practices to ensure equal opportunities for all. We encourage individual expression in our workplace and are committed to creating an inclusive environment where everyone feels they can contribute.

AI Usage

At Mott MacDonald, we see the value AI can bring,