Head of Design

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Head of Design

Company: Good Energy

Location: Chippenham, Wiltshire, United Kingdom

Job Type: Permanent - Full Time

Category: Design Leadership / Product Experience

Date Posted: 11 August 2026

Experience Level: 10+ Years

Remote Status: Hybrid

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead the strategic direction and execution of customer experience design across Good Energy's digital platforms, including web, app, and operational touchpoints.

• Shape and foster a high-performing, collaborative design culture that prioritizes customer-centricity, innovation, and continuous improvement.

• Partner closely with Product, Engineering, Commercial, and Operations leaders to embed design thinking into all stages of product development and business strategy.

• Drive the creation of scalable design systems and patterns to ensure consistency, efficiency, and a seamless end-to-end customer journey.

• Influence senior leadership and cross-functional teams to champion design quality and customer experience as key business differentiators.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned as a senior leadership position within the Technology department, reporting directly to the Chief Product Officer. The emphasis is on strategic influence, team leadership, and shaping the overall customer experience, extending beyond traditional design execution to impact business decisions.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Define and articulate the end-to-end customer experience vision, ensuring seamless and intuitive journeys across supply, installation, and service offerings.

• Develop and champion a clear design strategy that simplifies complex energy-related processes, builds customer trust, and aligns with business objectives.

• Oversee the creation, implementation, and evolution of robust design systems and scalable patterns to ensure consistency and efficiency across all user interfaces and experiences.

• Build, mentor, inspire, and develop a multidisciplinary design team, fostering a culture of curiosity, creativity, collaboration, and high standards.

• Embed design principles and practices deeply into the product development lifecycle, ensuring early involvement in problem definition and solution validation.

• Collaborate closely with Product and Engineering leadership from discovery and research through to delivery and iteration, ensuring tight alignment on goals and execution.

• Champion customer-centered design principles and evidence-based decision-making, leveraging research, analytics, and experimentation to drive continuous experience improvements.

• Actively influence senior stakeholders across Product, Engineering, Commercial, Operations, and the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) by bringing clarity and confidence to discussions on customer experience, prioritization, and strategic trade-offs.

• Drive innovation by exploring and integrating emerging technologies like AI, automation, and personalization to enhance both customer and designer experiences.

• Position design quality and customer experience as strategic differentiators for Good Energy, contributing to its mission of accelerating the transition to cleaner energy.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a dual focus on strategic vision setting and hands-on leadership. The role requires not only defining the "what" and "why" of the customer experience but also leading the "how" through team management, process implementation, and cross-functional collaboration. The emphasis on influencing beyond the design team is a critical aspect of this senior leadership position.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a strong portfolio and demonstrable experience in leading design initiatives within complex digital environments are paramount. A background in Design, Human-Computer Interaction, Psychology, or a related field would be beneficial.

Experience: A minimum of 10 years of progressive experience in design roles, with at least 5 years in a leadership capacity, managing and growing design teams within digital, customer-focused organizations. Proven experience in delivering high-quality consumer experiences across web and/or mobile applications is essential.

Required Skills:

• Design Leadership: Proven experience leading and mentoring multidisciplinary design teams, fostering a positive and high-performing design culture.

• UX/UI Design Expertise: Deep understanding of user experience (UX), user interface (UI), and interaction design principles, with a strong portfolio showcasing successful consumer-facing digital products.

• Service Design: Ability to map and optimize complex customer journeys and operational processes across multiple touchpoints.

• Systems Thinking: Capacity to understand and design for interconnected platforms, APIs, services, and scalable digital ecosystems.

• Design Systems: Experience in building, evolving, and advocating for design systems and scalable patterns to ensure consistency and efficiency.

• Customer-Centricity: A strong commitment to understanding and advocating for customer needs, supported by research, analytics, and continuous experimentation.

• Stakeholder Management & Influence: Demonstrated ability to build strong relationships with senior leaders and influence strategic decisions across Product, Engineering, Commercial, and Operations.

• Product Development Lifecycle: Familiarity with agile methodologies and experience embedding design within product development processes from discovery to delivery.

• Strategic Vision: Ability to define a clear design vision that aligns with business goals and simplifies complex customer challenges.

Preferred Skills:

• Energy/Regulated Industry Experience: Previous experience in the energy, utilities, telco, fintech, or other regulated industries.

• Digital Transformation: Experience working in organizations undergoing significant digital or product transformation initiatives.

• AI/Automation/Personalization: Exposure to or experience with AI-enabled experiences, automation, or personalization strategies.

• Cross-functional Collaboration: Proven success in partnering deeply with Product Management and Engineering leadership.

• Data Analysis & Experimentation: Experience leveraging analytics and A/B testing to inform design decisions and measure impact.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Essentials" section strongly implies a need for hands-on design craft alongside leadership. Candidates should be prepared to discuss their personal design contributions and strategic thinking, not just their management capabilities. The preferred skills indicate a strong advantage for candidates who can adapt best practices from similar complex, regulated, or evolving industries.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• A comprehensive portfolio showcasing end-to-end design leadership and significant contributions to customer-facing digital products.

• Case studies demonstrating the ability to simplify complex customer journeys and operational processes, highlighting the impact on user experience and business outcomes.

• Examples of how design systems were implemented or evolved to drive consistency, efficiency, and scalability.

• Evidence of strategic influence, detailing how design insights informed business decisions and shaped product strategy beyond a single product or channel.

• Demonstrations of collaboration with Product and Engineering teams, illustrating a deep integration into the development lifecycle. Process Documentation:

• Showcase examples of how design processes were documented, standardized, and improved within previous roles.

• Illustrate experience in creating and maintaining design documentation, including user flows, wireframes, prototypes, and design system guidelines.

• Provide evidence of how design research, user testing, and data analysis were integrated into the design process to inform iterative improvements.

• Detail how design feedback loops were established and managed to ensure continuous refinement of user experiences and operational efficiency.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a Head of Design role, the portfolio is crucial for demonstrating strategic thinking, leadership impact, and the ability to drive systemic change. Candidates should focus on showcasing their ability to influence at a senior level and their experience in scaling design capabilities and processes within an organization.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: £80,000 - £100,000 per year.

Explanation: This range is typical for a senior leadership position like Head of Design in the UK, especially in specialized sectors like renewable energy and technology, considering the required experience level (10+ years) and the responsibilities associated with shaping company-wide customer experience strategy and leading a team. The location in Wiltshire, while not a major metropolitan hub, still commands competitive salaries for such a critical role.

Benefits:

• Work from Home Allowance: £500 annual allowance (paid monthly) to support home office costs.

• Travel Allowance: £500 annual allowance (paid monthly) to support commuting costs to the Chippenham office.

• Annual Development Allowance: £500 to invest in personal and professional growth, applicable to current or future roles.

• Annual Bonus: A 20% company-wide bonus scheme, rewarding collective teamwork and overall business results.

• Holiday Entitlement: 25 days of annual leave, plus a day off for your birthday, additional days for long service, and bank holidays. Option to buy additional leave is also available.

• Ethical Pension Plan: Provided by Aviva, with employer-matched contributions up to 7.5% of base salary.

• Flexible Working: Offers formal and informal flexible working options, supporting work-life balance.

Working Hours: 37.5 hours per week, Monday to Friday.

📝 Enhancement Note: The benefits package is comprehensive, with a strong emphasis on supporting hybrid work (WfH and travel allowances) and professional development. The 20% annual bonus is a significant incentive, reflecting the company's focus on collective achievement. The pension contribution is competitive for senior roles.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Renewable Energy / Utilities. Good Energy is a pioneer in the UK's renewable energy sector, focusing on providing clean energy and expanding into broader energy services like generation, storage, and trading. This industry context implies a mission-driven culture focused on sustainability and climate action.

Company Size: While not explicitly stated, Good Energy is a well-established, mid-to-large sized company within the UK energy market, suggesting a structured but potentially agile environment. The presence of a dedicated Technology department with a Chief Product Officer indicates a significant investment in digital capabilities and product development.

Founded: Good Energy was founded in 1999, positioning it as an early mover in the renewable energy space. This history suggests a company with established values and a long-term vision, now adapting to new technological frontiers and customer expectations in the evolving energy landscape.

Team Structure:

• The Head of Design reports to the Chief Product Officer (CPO), indicating a close alignment between design strategy and overall product vision.

• The design team is described as "multidisciplinary," likely encompassing UX designers, UI designers, service designers, and potentially UX researchers.

• Close collaboration is expected with Product Management, Engineering, Commercial, and Operations departments, suggesting a matrixed or highly integrated team structure. Methodology:

• Customer-Centric Design: A core tenet of the role, emphasizing understanding and prioritizing customer needs.

• Evidence-Based Decision Making: Design choices are expected to be informed by research, analytics, and experimentation.

• Systems Thinking: A focus on designing for interconnected platforms and services, not just isolated features.

• Agile Product Development: Design is expected to be embedded within product development cycles, working closely with agile teams.

• Innovation: Encouragement to explore emerging technologies like AI and automation to improve experiences.

Company Website: https://www.goodenergy.co.uk/

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's mission to accelerate the transition to cleaner energy is a significant cultural driver. Candidates passionate about sustainability and impact will find this role particularly appealing. The emphasis on digital transformation and customer experience suggests a forward-thinking approach within a traditionally regulated industry.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This is a senior leadership role (Head of) within the Design function, reporting to the Chief Product Officer. It signifies responsibility for a significant team, strategic planning, and influencing company-wide product and customer experience direction. The role requires operating as a senior organizational leader, not just a design specialist.

Reporting Structure: The Head of Design reports directly to the Chief Product Officer (CPO). This structure places design at a high level within the product organization, ensuring direct input into product strategy and vision.

Operations Impact: The Head of Design has a direct impact on Good Energy's ability to achieve its strategic goals by creating intuitive, trusted, and seamless customer experiences. This directly influences customer acquisition, retention, satisfaction, and the company's ability to scale its clean energy services. By shaping customer journeys, the role contributes significantly to revenue generation and operational efficiency.

Growth Opportunities:

• Strategic Leadership: Opportunity to shape the long-term design strategy and influence the overall product roadmap and business direction.

• Team Development: Grow and develop a high-performing design team, fostering talent and building design capability within the organization.

• Cross-Functional Influence: Expand influence across the business, becoming a key voice in strategic decision-making and cultural development.

• Industry Expertise: Deepen knowledge within the renewable energy sector and stay at the forefront of digital innovation in a rapidly evolving industry.

• Potential Advancement: Possible progression to roles like VP of Product, Chief Experience Officer, or similar senior leadership positions within Good Energy or the broader tech/energy sector.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role offers a significant opportunity for impact and growth. The emphasis on influencing beyond the design team and contributing to broader business strategy suggests a career path that can lead to executive-level product and technology leadership.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Hybrid working model, with a primary office located in Chippenham, Wiltshire. The office is described as fully accessible.

Office Location(s): Chippenham, Wiltshire, United Kingdom.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Environment: The hybrid model is designed to balance remote flexibility with in-office collaboration, suggesting opportunities for team interaction and cross-functional engagement.

• Operations Tools & Technology: While not explicitly detailed, it's reasonable to assume the design team will have access to modern design software, collaboration tools, and potentially advanced analytics platforms, given the company's focus on digital transformation.

• Team Interaction: The expectation of one day per week in the office for this role facilitates direct interaction with design team members, product managers, engineers, and other stakeholders.

Work Schedule: Full-time hours are 37.5 per week, operating Monday to Friday. The company offers both formal and informal flexible working options, promoting work-life balance alongside the hybrid structure.

📝 Enhancement Note: The hybrid policy, requiring one day per week in the office, is geared towards maintaining team cohesion and enabling spontaneous collaboration. Candidates should be comfortable with this model and prepared to travel to Chippenham regularly.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: Likely a review of CV and portfolio by a recruiter or hiring manager to assess fit with core requirements.

• Hiring Manager Interview: A deeper dive into leadership experience, strategic thinking, and team management capabilities. This stage will heavily focus on the portfolio.

• Team/Stakeholder Interviews: Meetings with peers (e.g., Product, Engineering leads) and potentially direct reports to assess collaboration style, cultural fit, and specific domain knowledge.

• Presentation/Case Study: Candidates may be asked to present a portfolio review or a hypothetical design challenge relevant to Good Energy's business. This will likely assess their approach to problem-solving, strategic thinking, and communication skills.

• Final Interview: Potentially with the CPO or another senior executive to discuss vision, strategic impact, and overall fit within the leadership team.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Strategically: Select 3-5 impactful projects that best demonstrate your leadership, strategic thinking, and ability to drive significant customer experience improvements.

• Focus on Impact: For each project, clearly articulate the problem, your role, the strategic approach, the solutions implemented, and quantifiable business/customer outcomes (e.g., increased conversion, improved satisfaction, reduced operational costs). Use metrics wherever possible.

• Showcase Systems Thinking: Highlight projects where you've designed for interconnected services or implemented scalable design systems.

• Demonstrate Leadership: Explain how you mentored your team, influenced stakeholders, and embedded design into product development processes.

• Tell a Story: Structure your presentation to clearly articulate the narrative of each project, emphasizing your decision-making process and strategic rationale.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Business: Research Good Energy's mission, current services, market position, and strategic goals. Understand the challenges and opportunities in the renewable energy sector.

• Anticipate Design Problems: Consider common customer pain points in energy supply, installation, and management. Think about how digital solutions could improve these.

• Prepare for Strategy Questions: Be ready to discuss your design philosophy, how you build and lead teams, how you balance customer needs with business objectives, and your approach to innovation.

• Practice Presentation: Rehearse your portfolio walkthrough and any potential case study presentation to ensure clarity, conciseness, and confidence.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process for a Head of Design role will be rigorous, focusing heavily on strategic leadership, influence, and the ability to articulate complex design thinking. The portfolio is the primary tool for demonstrating these capabilities. Candidates should prepare specific examples that illustrate their impact on business strategy and team development.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design & Prototyping Software: Figma, Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop), InVision, Axure, or similar industry-standard tools for wireframing, UI design, prototyping, and user flow mapping.

• Design System Management: Tools for managing design system libraries, documentation, and version control (e.g., Zeroheight, Storybook, internal CMS).

• Collaboration Platforms: Slack, Microsoft Teams, Jira, Confluence for team communication, project management, and documentation.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Web Analytics: Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics, or similar for tracking user behavior, conversion rates, and website performance.

• Product Analytics: Mixpanel, Amplitude, Pendo, or similar for in-depth product usage analysis, user segmentation, and feature adoption tracking.

• Data Visualization: Tableau, Power BI, Looker Studio (formerly Google Data Studio) for creating dashboards and communicating insights to stakeholders.

CRM & Automation:

• CRM Systems: Salesforce, HubSpot, or similar for understanding customer data and journey mapping.

• Customer Service Platforms: Zendesk, Intercom, or similar to understand customer support interactions and identify areas for service design improvement.

• A/B Testing Tools: Optimizely, VWO, Google Optimize for running experiments to validate design hypotheses.

📝 Enhancement Note: While specific tools are not listed, it's expected that a Head of Design will be proficient with modern design tooling and have a strong understanding of how to leverage analytics and CRM data to inform design decisions and measure impact. Familiarity with platforms used in regulated industries or those undergoing digital transformation would be advantageous.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Customer Obsession: A deep commitment to understanding and serving customer needs, making them central to all design and business decisions.

• Sustainability & Impact: A drive to contribute positively to the environment and society through the company's mission and operations.

• Collaboration & Teamwork: An emphasis on working together across departments to achieve shared goals, valuing diverse perspectives.

• Innovation & Curiosity: A culture that encourages exploration, experimentation, and continuous learning to stay ahead in a dynamic industry.

• Integrity & Trust: Upholding high ethical standards in all dealings, building trust with customers, employees, and partners.

• Efficiency & Simplicity: Striving to make complex processes and systems intuitive and easy to use for both customers and internal teams.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Partnership: Design is expected to work in close partnership with Product Management and Engineering, forming integrated product teams.

• Open Communication: A culture that encourages open feedback, constructive challenge, and transparent dialogue between teams and leadership.

• Data-Informed: A collaborative approach that leverages data and insights to inform decisions and validate strategies.

• Shared Ownership: Fostering a sense of collective responsibility for the customer experience and business outcomes.

📝 Enhancement Note: The values align strongly with a mission-driven company in the clean energy sector. Candidates should be prepared to discuss how they embody these values in their leadership and design practice, particularly in fostering collaboration and driving impact.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Simplifying Complexity: The energy sector is inherently complex, with intricate customer journeys and operational processes. Simplifying these into intuitive digital experiences is a significant challenge.

• Balancing Stakeholder Needs: Effectively managing diverse expectations from customers, regulators, commercial teams, product, and engineering requires strong negotiation and influence skills.

• Driving Systemic Change: Implementing new design systems, processes, and a customer-centric mindset across a company can be met with resistance and requires sustained effort.

• Pace of Innovation: Keeping pace with technological advancements (like AI) and evolving customer expectations in a rapidly changing market while ensuring robust, reliable solutions.

• Hybrid Team Management: Effectively leading and fostering a cohesive, high-performing design team in a hybrid work environment, ensuring consistent quality and collaboration.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Strategic Leadership Development: Opportunities to hone skills in executive communication, strategic planning, and organizational leadership.

• Industry Immersion: Deepen expertise in the renewable energy sector, understanding its unique challenges, regulatory landscape, and technological advancements.

• Emerging Technology Exploration: Hands-on experience with AI, automation, and personalization technologies, and their application in customer experience.

• Mentorship & Coaching: Opportunities to mentor and develop a talented design team, fostering their career growth.

• Cross-functional Exposure: Gain broader business acumen by working closely with commercial, operational, and technical leaders across the organization.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges presented are typical for senior leadership roles in dynamic, complex industries. The growth opportunities are substantial, offering a path for significant career advancement and impact.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "How would you approach defining the design vision for Good Energy's integrated energy ecosystem, and what key principles would guide your strategy?" (Focus on strategic thinking, understanding of complex systems, and customer-centricity.)

• "Describe a time you had to influence senior stakeholders to adopt a new design approach or prioritize a customer experience initiative. What was your strategy, and what was the outcome?" (Assess influence, communication, and ability to drive change.)

• "How do you foster a culture of innovation and experimentation within a design team, especially when balancing it with established processes and operational constraints?" (Evaluate leadership style, approach to creativity, and risk management.)

• "Walk us through your process for building and scaling a design system. What are the key challenges, and how do you ensure adoption across product and engineering teams?" (Gauge technical expertise, process orientation, and collaboration skills.) Company & Culture Questions:

• "What attracts you to Good Energy's mission, and how do you see design playing a role in accelerating the transition to cleaner energy?" (Assess alignment with company values and mission.)

• "How would you integrate design into Good Energy's existing product development and operational workflows, particularly in a hybrid work environment?" (Understand their approach to embedding design and collaboration.)

• "Describe your leadership philosophy. How do you motivate and develop a design team to achieve high standards and drive impact?" (Evaluate leadership style and team-building capabilities.) Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure for Impact: Organize your presentation logically, starting with the company/project context, then the problem, your strategic approach, your specific role and contributions, the solutions, and finally, the measurable results and learnings.

• Quantify Success: Use data and metrics to demonstrate the impact of your work. For example, "Increased conversion rate by X%," "Reduced customer support queries by Y%," "Improved user satisfaction scores by Z points."

• Highlight Leadership & Influence: Clearly articulate how you led teams, collaborated with stakeholders, and influenced decision-making. Use "I" when describing your direct contributions and "we" when discussing team efforts.

• Be Prepared for Deep Dives: Anticipate questions about your design choices, trade-offs made, challenges encountered, and alternative approaches considered.

• Tailor to Good Energy: Whenever possible, draw parallels between your past projects and the challenges or opportunities Good Energy faces.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation should focus on showcasing strategic thinking, leadership presence, and a deep understanding of how design drives business value. Candidates should be ready to articulate their impact with concrete examples and data.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Head of Design position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on the Good Energy careers portal.

• Portfolio Customization: Curate your portfolio to highlight 3-5 of your most impactful leadership projects. Focus on case studies that demonstrate strategic vision, customer journey simplification, design system implementation, and cross-functional influence. Quantify your achievements with relevant metrics.

• Resume Optimization: Tailor your resume to emphasize leadership experience, team management, strategic design thinking, and experience in customer-focused digital environments. Use keywords such as "Design Leadership," "UX Strategy," "Service Design," "Systems Thinking," "Stakeholder Management," and "Product Transformation."

• Interview Preparation: Practice articulating your design philosophy, leadership approach, and how you drive business impact through design. Prepare to walk through your portfolio with clarity and confidence, focusing on strategic rationale and measurable outcomes.

• Company Research: Thoroughly research Good Energy's mission, values, current product offerings, and market position in the renewable energy sector. Understand their commitment to sustainability and their digital transformation journey.

⚠️ 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.