Head of Design

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Head of Design

Company: Entain

Location: London, England, United Kingdom

Job Type: Full-time

Category: Creative Operations / Design Leadership

Date Posted: 2026-06-22

Experience Level: 10+ Years

Remote Status: Hybrid (2 days on-site)

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead the global design vision and creative excellence across Entain's portfolio of over 30 iconic brands.

• Drive high-impact campaigns through a multi-disciplinary design team, focusing on CRM, performance marketing, TV, and social channels.

• Champion the strategic adoption of AI to enhance creative speed, insight, and overall quality within the design function.

• Implement and scale best-practice design processes to ensure consistent brand guardianship and creative integrity across multiple touchpoints and global markets.

• Partner closely with cross-functional stakeholders to translate creative strategies into measurable business impact and award-winning design outputs.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the title is "Head of Design," the responsibilities clearly indicate a significant operational component, focusing on process implementation, team scaling, and stakeholder management for a large creative function. This role bridges creative leadership with operational efficiency for a global brand portfolio.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Establish and maintain the overarching creative vision and brand guardianship for all global design outputs across Entain's diverse brand portfolio.

• Lead, mentor, and inspire a team of design leaders and professionals, ensuring the highest standards of execution in both static and motion design.

• Actively champion and integrate emerging AI technologies into the design workflow, identifying and implementing tools that boost creative output, efficiency, and innovation.

• Develop and translate strategic business objectives into compelling, award-winning design concepts, overseeing the entire process from ideation to final execution.

• Forge strong partnerships with marketing, product, and other key stakeholders to align creative strategies with business goals and drive demonstrable commercial impact.

• Define, implement, and optimize scalable design delivery processes and workflows to efficiently support the unique needs of multiple global brands.

• Oversee the creative output for various marketing channels, including CRM campaigns, performance marketing assets, television commercials, and social media content.

• Foster a culture of continuous improvement and creative exploration within the design team, encouraging experimentation and the adoption of new design techniques.

📝 Enhancement Note: The core responsibilities highlight a blend of strategic creative leadership and operational management. The emphasis on "scaling design delivery," "implementing best practice processes," and "driving measurable business impact" points to a need for strong operational acumen in process optimization and performance tracking.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: Bachelor's degree in Graphic Design, Fine Arts, Marketing, or a related field is typically expected for senior creative leadership roles. A Master's degree or equivalent advanced study may be preferred.

Experience: Minimum of 10 years of progressive experience in design, with a significant portion dedicated to leadership roles. Proven experience managing large, multi-location, and multi-disciplinary design teams is essential.

Required Skills:

• Creative Leadership: Proven ability to set and articulate a compelling creative vision and inspire teams to achieve it.

• Brand Guardianship: Deep understanding of brand identity principles and the ability to maintain consistency and integrity across numerous brands.

• AI Integration: Genuine curiosity and demonstrable experience in leveraging AI tools to enhance creative processes, speed, and quality.

• Multi-disciplinary Team Management: Experience leading diverse teams of designers (e.g., graphic designers, motion designers, UX/UI designers).

• Strategic Thinking: Ability to translate business objectives into effective creative strategies and solutions.

• Typography & Motion Design: Expert knowledge and practical application of advanced typography and motion graphics principles.

• Digital Execution: Strong understanding of digital design best practices across various platforms and channels.

• Performance Marketing & CRM Design: Experience in creating impactful design for performance-driven marketing and customer relationship management initiatives.

• Stakeholder Management: Excellent communication and interpersonal skills to collaborate effectively with internal and external stakeholders at all levels.

• Process Implementation: Demonstrated ability to design, implement, and optimize operational processes for design delivery at scale.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience within the betting, gaming, or entertainment industry.

• Familiarity with project management methodologies relevant to creative workflows (e.g., Agile for creative).

• Experience managing external creative agencies or vendors.

• Proficiency in understanding and interpreting marketing analytics to inform design decisions.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "10+" years of experience and leadership of "large, multi-location design teams" suggest a senior-level role requiring significant strategic and operational oversight, not just creative execution. The emphasis on AI and process implementation also points to a forward-thinking operational mindset.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• A comprehensive portfolio showcasing a track record of leading impactful, integrated creative work for multiple brands.

• Case studies demonstrating strategic thinking, from concept development through to successful execution and measurable business impact.

• Examples of how design has been leveraged to drive brand consistency and customer engagement across diverse channels (CRM, performance marketing, digital, social).

• Evidence of process improvement within design workflows, highlighting efficiency gains, scalability, and adoption of new technologies like AI.

• Visualizations of sophisticated typography and motion design work, illustrating technical mastery and creative flair. Process Documentation:

• Prepare to discuss how you have documented and standardized design processes to ensure consistency and quality across large, distributed teams.

• Be ready to explain your approach to implementing new technologies, such as AI tools, into existing design workflows and the methodologies used for team adoption and training.

• Detail your experience in establishing metrics and reporting mechanisms to measure the performance and ROI of design initiatives, linking creative output to business objectives.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a Head of Design role, the portfolio is critical. The emphasis here is on demonstrating not just creative output, but the operational capability to manage a large, global function, including process, technology adoption, and measurable impact. This requires a portfolio that tells a story of leadership and operational excellence.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: Based on industry benchmarks for a Head of Design role in London with 10+ years of experience and significant leadership responsibilities, the estimated salary range is £90,000 - £130,000 per annum. This range reflects the seniority, scope of responsibility, and London location.

Benefits:

• Generous group bonus scheme

• Hybrid working model (2 days on-site in London)

• Private medical insurance

• Pension scheme (matched to 6%)

• Additional "It's Your Game" day off (for Christmas or New Year)

• Entain & Enhance days (2 paid days for professional or personal development)

• Share save scheme

Working Hours: The role is full-time, with a standard working week of approximately 40 hours. The hybrid model offers flexibility, with 2 days per week required in the London office.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary estimate is based on current market data for senior design leadership roles in London, considering the company's industry (gaming/entertainment) and the scale of responsibility (30+ brands). The benefits package is comprehensive and aligned with typical offerings for senior positions in large UK-based companies.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Betting, Gaming, and Interactive Entertainment. Entain is a major player in this dynamic and rapidly evolving sector, known for its iconic global brands like Ladbrokes and Coral. The industry demands innovation, speed, and a keen understanding of customer engagement.

Company Size: 29,000+ employees globally. This indicates a large, complex organization with established structures and significant resources, requiring robust operational frameworks to manage functions like design effectively.

Founded: Entain has a long history, with its constituent brands having been established over many decades, reflecting a deep heritage in the entertainment sector. This legacy is combined with a forward-looking approach to innovation and digital transformation.

Team Structure:

• The Head of Design will lead a significant in-house creative agency. This team will likely include various design specialists (graphic, motion, digital) and potentially design leaders who manage specific brand portfolios or disciplines.

• The role operates within the Marketing department, as indicated by the "Advertising Department: Marketing" detail.

• Close collaboration is expected with marketing strategists, performance marketers, content creators, and potentially product development teams. Methodology:

• Data-Driven Creativity: The role emphasizes translating "insight into award-winning design" and driving "measurable business impact," suggesting a data-informed approach to creative strategy and execution.

• Process Optimization: A key responsibility is to "implement best practice processes to scale design delivery," indicating a focus on efficiency, standardization, and workflow optimization.

• AI-Enhanced Workflows: Championing AI adoption highlights a commitment to leveraging technology for innovation, speed, and improved creative output.

Company Website: https://entaingroup.com/

📝 Enhancement Note: Entain's position as a global leader in a fast-paced industry suggests a culture that values innovation, performance, and operational efficiency. The scale of the company and its brand portfolio means that operational excellence within the design function is critical for success.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This is a senior leadership position, equivalent to a Director or VP level within a large organization's creative function. It requires strategic oversight, team management, and significant influence on business outcomes. The role demands not just creative direction but also the operational acumen to manage a large, global function.

Reporting Structure: The Head of Design will likely report to a VP of Marketing, Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), or potentially a Chief Creative Officer if such a role exists. They will lead a team of design leaders and individual contributors, influencing the strategic direction of design across the entire Entain portfolio.

Operations Impact: The Head of Design has a direct impact on revenue and brand perception by ensuring creative excellence across all customer touchpoints. By leading the design function effectively, they drive customer engagement, conversion rates, and brand loyalty, all of which contribute significantly to Entain's business objectives and market position.

Growth Opportunities:

• Strategic Influence: Opportunity to shape the future of design and creative operations across a major global entertainment company.

• Technological Leadership: Spearhead the adoption of cutting-edge technologies like AI within a creative context, building expertise in design innovation.

• Leadership Development: Further develop leadership skills by managing a large, diverse, and geographically dispersed team.

• Industry Recognition: Potential to elevate Entain's brand presence through award-winning creative work, gaining industry recognition.

• Broader Operational Scope: Possibility to expand responsibilities into broader marketing operations or digital transformation initiatives within Entain.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role offers significant growth potential, moving beyond pure creative management into strategic operational leadership within a major global enterprise. The emphasis on AI and process scaling prepares individuals for future trends in creative operations.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: The role is based in Entain's London office, specifically at One Stratford Place, Montfichet Rd, E20 1EJ. This suggests a modern, professional corporate environment typical of a large, established company.

Office Location(s): The primary office is in London, a major global hub. The hybrid model means employees are expected in the office 2 days per week.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Environment: The hybrid model is designed to balance focused individual work with collaborative team sessions and stakeholder meetings in the office.

• Tools & Technology: As a leading tech-forward company, Entain likely provides access to industry-standard design software, project management tools, and potentially specialized AI platforms for creative workflows.

• Team Interaction: The office days are crucial for fostering team cohesion, brainstorming, and cross-functional collaboration, allowing for direct interaction with colleagues and stakeholders.

Work Schedule: The role is full-time, with a hybrid arrangement. This offers a degree of flexibility, allowing for focused work at home and collaborative engagement at the office, which is beneficial for managing complex design projects and team dynamics.

📝 Enhancement Note: The hybrid model in a modern London office indicates a company that values both flexibility and in-person collaboration, which is essential for creative leadership and operational alignment.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: HR or recruiter to assess basic qualifications, experience, and cultural fit.

• Hiring Manager Interview: Discussion with the direct manager (likely VP Marketing or CMO) to delve into strategic thinking, leadership style, and operational approach.

• Portfolio Presentation & Case Study: A critical stage where candidates present their portfolio, showcasing key projects, their role, and the impact. This will likely include a specific case study focusing on leading a team, implementing a process, or integrating AI.

• Team/Stakeholder Interviews: Meetings with design team leaders, key marketing stakeholders, and potentially cross-functional partners to assess collaboration skills and strategic alignment.

• Final Interview: Potentially with a more senior executive to finalize the decision.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Strategic Storytelling: Structure your portfolio presentation to tell a clear story of each project, emphasizing the problem, your strategic approach, your leadership/operational contribution, the execution, and the measurable results.

• Quantify Impact: For each case study, highlight quantifiable achievements. Use metrics related to engagement, conversion rates, brand consistency improvements, cost savings, or efficiency gains from process optimization or AI adoption.

• Demonstrate Operational Rigor: Include examples of how you've designed, implemented, or optimized design processes, managed teams at scale, and integrated new technologies.

• Showcase AI Integration: If possible, include a project where AI was strategically used to enhance creative outcomes, speed, or efficiency. Explain your rationale and the results.

• Brand Guardianship Examples: Illustrate your ability to maintain brand integrity across diverse applications and brands.

Challenge Preparation:

• Be prepared for a potential creative brief or a strategic challenge related to scaling design for Entain's brands. Focus on how you would approach strategy, process, and team management.

• Practice articulating your leadership philosophy and how you foster a high-performing, innovative design culture.

• Prepare to discuss your approach to managing a large, multi-disciplinary, and potentially distributed team, including conflict resolution and performance management.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process is likely to be rigorous, focusing heavily on leadership, strategic thinking, operational capabilities, and the ability to translate creative vision into tangible business results. A well-prepared portfolio and thoughtful discussion of operational strategies are key.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design Software: Proficiency with industry-standard design suites such as Adobe Creative Cloud (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, After Effects, Premiere Pro) is essential.

• Prototyping & UX/UI Tools: Familiarity with tools like Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD, or similar for digital design and prototyping.

• AI Design Tools: Experience with emerging AI-powered creative tools (e.g., Midjourney, DALL-E, generative text-to-image models, AI-assisted editing software) for ideation, asset creation, and workflow enhancement.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Analytics Platforms: Understanding of web analytics tools (e.g., Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics) to interpret performance data and inform design decisions.

• Reporting Dashboards: Experience with or ability to collaborate on creating dashboards (e.g., Tableau, Power BI, Looker Studio) to visualize design performance metrics and ROI.

CRM & Automation:

• CRM Systems: Familiarity with CRM platforms (e.g., Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Adobe Marketing Cloud) and how design integrates with customer journeys and campaigns.

• Project Management & Collaboration Tools: Proficiency with tools like Jira, Asana, Monday.com, Trello, or similar for managing design projects, workflows, and team collaboration.

• DAM Systems: Experience with Digital Asset Management systems for organizing and distributing brand assets globally.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on AI and scaling design delivery suggests a need for leadership in adopting and integrating a sophisticated technology stack, beyond just traditional design software. Understanding how these tools connect to CRM and analytics is crucial for demonstrating operational impact.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Excellence & Innovation: A drive for producing award-winning creative work and a commitment to embracing new technologies and methodologies, particularly AI, to push boundaries.

• Collaboration & Partnership: A strong emphasis on working effectively with cross-functional teams and stakeholders to achieve shared business objectives.

• Efficiency & Scalability: A focus on developing and implementing robust processes that enable the design team to operate at pace and scale across a global portfolio.

• Data-Driven Decision Making: Utilizing insights and performance data to inform creative strategy and measure the impact of design initiatives.

• Responsibility & Sustainability: Operating within the ethical frameworks of the entertainment industry, with a focus on responsible gaming and sustainable business practices.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-Functional Integration: The role necessitates seamless collaboration with marketing, product, brand management, and potentially legal/compliance teams to ensure creative aligns with broader business strategies.

• Empowerment & Development: A leadership style that empowers design leaders and team members, fostering a culture of continuous learning, feedback, and professional growth.

• Transparent Communication: Maintaining clear and open lines of communication regarding creative direction, process changes, and performance expectations.

📝 Enhancement Note: Entain's culture likely values a blend of creative passion with rigorous operational discipline. The emphasis on responsibility and sustainability is also a key differentiator in the entertainment industry.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Managing Scale & Complexity: Effectively overseeing design operations for over 30 diverse global brands requires sophisticated process management and resource allocation.

• Balancing Speed & Quality: Maintaining high creative standards while operating at the pace required by the dynamic entertainment industry and the need for rapid campaign deployment.

• AI Adoption & Integration: Successfully embedding AI into the creative workflow, managing potential resistance to change, and ensuring ethical and effective use of the technology.

• Cross-Brand Consistency: Ensuring a unified brand voice and visual identity across a broad portfolio while allowing for brand-specific nuances.

• Measuring Design ROI: Clearly demonstrating the tangible business impact and return on investment of design initiatives to stakeholders.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Advanced AI in Design: Deepen expertise in leveraging AI for creative tasks, exploring new tools and methodologies.

• Global Marketing Operations: Gain broader insights into the operational complexities of marketing across different international markets.

• Strategic Leadership: Enhance skills in executive-level communication, strategic planning, and organizational leadership.

• Industry Trends: Stay at the forefront of trends in design, marketing, and the gaming/entertainment industry through conferences, training, and internal knowledge sharing.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role presents significant challenges that are also rich with opportunities for professional growth, particularly in the areas of operational leadership, technological adoption, and strategic impact within a major global organization.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe your approach to establishing and maintaining a global design vision across multiple brands. How do you ensure consistency while allowing for brand individuality?" (Focus on strategic frameworks, brand guidelines, and process.)

• "How would you champion and integrate AI into our design team's workflow? What are the key considerations, and how would you measure its impact?" (Prepare to discuss specific AI tools, implementation strategies, and ROI metrics.)

• "Walk us through a time you successfully scaled a design function or implemented a new process to improve efficiency and output. What were the challenges, and how did you overcome them?" (Use a STAR method approach, highlighting operational improvements and leadership.) Company & Culture Questions:

• "What do you know about Entain and the betting/gaming industry? How do you see design contributing to our success in this competitive market?" (Research Entain's brands, market position, and recent news.)

• "Describe your leadership style and how you foster a collaborative and innovative culture within a creative team." (Align your style with Entain's values and the needs of a hybrid workforce.)

• "How do you measure the success of design initiatives, and how would you report on the ROI of creative work to senior leadership?" (Prepare to discuss key performance indicators and reporting mechanisms.) Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Executive Summary: Begin with a brief overview of your career and the key themes your portfolio represents (e.g., leadership, operational efficiency, AI innovation).

• Curated Selection: Choose 3-5 of your most impactful projects that best demonstrate your leadership, strategic thinking, operational capabilities, and experience with AI or process improvement.

• Narrative Arc: For each project, clearly outline the business challenge, your strategic approach, your specific role and leadership, the execution details, and the quantifiable results.

• Operational Focus: Explicitly highlight instances where you implemented processes, managed teams at scale, or leveraged technology to achieve objectives.

• AI Integration Case: If possible, dedicate a segment to a project showcasing AI adoption, detailing the "why," "how," and "what" of its impact.

• Q&A Readiness: Anticipate questions about your process, decision-making, and how you handle challenges.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process will likely test your ability to think strategically, lead operationally, and articulate your value proposition clearly, backed by concrete examples from your portfolio.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Head of Design position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on SmartRecruiters, ensuring your CV is up-to-date and tailored to the role's requirements.

• Portfolio Customization: Curate your design portfolio to specifically highlight projects demonstrating leadership, strategic thinking, operational process implementation, AI integration, and measurable business impact across multiple brands. Prepare case studies that align with the responsibilities outlined.

• Resume Optimization: Ensure your resume clearly articulates your 10+ years of experience, emphasizing leadership roles, team management (especially large and multi-location teams), and achievements in driving creative excellence and operational efficiency. Integrate keywords like "creative leadership," "brand guardianship," "AI integration," and "process optimization."

• Interview Preparation: Practice presenting your portfolio, focusing on telling compelling stories of strategic challenges, your leadership approach, operational solutions, and quantifiable results. Prepare answers to common strategy, leadership, and company-specific questions.

• Company Research: Thoroughly research Entain, its brands, its position in the betting and gaming market, and its recent initiatives. Understand their commitment to innovation and responsible entertainment.

⚠️ Important Notice: This enhanced job description includes AI-generated insights and operations industry-standard assumptions. All details should be verified directly with the hiring organization before making application decisions.

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