Lead UX & Design Manager

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Lead UX & Design Manager

Company: Three UK

Location: Newbury, England, United Kingdom

Job Type: Full-time

Category: Design Leadership / UX & Product Design

Date Posted: 2026-09-09

Experience Level: Senior / Lead (10+ years)

Remote Status: Hybrid

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead the User Experience (UX) and User Interface (UI) design strategy and vision for Three UK's Business Digital division.

• Drive design maturity and embed user-centered design principles across all digital products and channels.

• Manage and develop a multidisciplinary team of UX and UI specialists, fostering a high-performing design organization.

• Ensure exceptional customer experiences are delivered, aligning with commercial objectives and long-term business goals through strategic design leadership.

• Act as the primary design authority, influencing investment decisions, roadmap priorities, and overall experience strategy within Business Digital.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned as a senior leadership position within the design function, specifically for the Business Digital arm of Three UK. The emphasis on "Design Capability, Innovation & Industry Leadership" and "UX Strategy & Experience Vision" indicates a strategic focus beyond day-to-day design execution, requiring a candidate who can shape the future of design within the organization and influence executive-level decisions. The hybrid working model with a stated expectation of 2-3 days in the office per week is a key detail for candidates assessing work-life balance and collaboration preferences.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Design Capability, Innovation & Industry Leadership: Serve as the senior design authority for Business Digital; define design principles, frameworks, and operational models. Monitor industry trends, AI-enabled design approaches, and emerging technologies to enhance customer experience and design maturity. Represent Business Digital design in senior governance forums, influencing investment and roadmap decisions.

• Design Systems & Tooling: Develop and manage the Business Digital design system strategy and roadmap, collaborating with Consumer Digital teams to evolve shared components and standards. Cultivate strategic relationships with design technology partners like Figma to maximize platform value and efficiency.

• UX Strategy & Experience Vision: Formulate the long-term user experience strategy for Business Digital, translating customer needs, commercial objectives, and business priorities into a cohesive vision and actionable roadmap.

• Experience & Interaction Design: Oversee the UX and UI design of end-to-end digital journeys across web, app, and portals, ensuring intuitive, user-centered experiences optimized for conversion and self-service. Translate product requirements into clear UX flows, wireframes, and high-fidelity designs.

• Design Leadership & Standards: Establish and maintain design standards, patterns, and best practices across Digital, ensuring alignment with Consumer Digital teams and leveraging shared assets. Uphold accessibility and usability standards across all design outputs.

• User Insight & Testing: Define UX performance measures and success criteria, utilizing customer insights and behavioral analytics to demonstrate design impact and prioritize future improvements. Ensure continuous validation of designs through testing.

• Design Advocacy: Manage the strategic relationship with Consumer Digital design leaders to ensure Business Digital benefits from shared systems, tooling, and best practices. Advocate for Business Digital design requirements in wider Digital forums.

• Team Leadership: Lead, coach, and develop UX and UI designers, building a high-performing team. Set clear direction, priorities, and ensure effective capacity planning aligned with the Business Digital roadmap.

• Cross-functional Collaboration: Partner with Product Owners, Product Managers, Consumer Digital UX, and Technology Digital Engineering to shape and implement feasible, high-quality designs. Support alignment across Digital, Marketing, and Commercial teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a dual focus on strategic design leadership and hands-on team management. The emphasis on "Design Capability, Innovation & Industry Leadership" and "Design Advocacy" suggests a need for a candidate who can not only manage internal teams but also influence external partners and internal stakeholders at a strategic level. The requirement to partner with Consumer Digital teams indicates a significant cross-functional collaboration element, requiring strong communication and influence skills.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Design, Human-Computer Interaction, UX/UI Design, or a related field is typically expected for this level of leadership. Equivalent practical experience will also be considered.

Experience:

• Extensive experience (10+ years) leading UX, product design, or digital design functions within complex, large-scale organizations.

• Proven success in building, mentoring, and leading high-performing design teams, including experience managing senior design practitioners.

• Demonstrable experience defining and executing design strategies that have delivered measurable customer and commercial outcomes.

• Significant experience embedding user-centered design (UCD) approaches and methodologies within product development organizations.

• Experience working in agile product and digital delivery environments, ideally within the Telecommunications or a similarly regulated industry. Required Skills:

• UX Design & Strategy: Deep expertise in user experience design principles, user research methodologies, interaction design, information architecture, and usability testing. Ability to define and articulate a compelling UX strategy.

• UI Design & Visual Design: Strong understanding of visual design principles, typography, color theory, and layout. Proficiency in creating high-fidelity mockups and prototypes.

• Design Systems: Expertise in developing, implementing, and managing design systems, including component libraries, style guides, and governance models.

• Leadership & Team Management: Proven ability to lead, inspire, coach, and develop design teams. Experience in performance management, capacity planning, and fostering a collaborative team environment.

• Stakeholder Management & Influence: Exceptional skills in managing relationships with senior leaders and cross-functional teams, influencing decisions, and advocating for design best practices.

• Accessibility Standards: Thorough knowledge of WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) and experience ensuring digital products meet accessibility requirements.

• Agile Methodologies: Experience working within agile, Scrum, or Kanban frameworks for product development and delivery.

• Enterprise Design Tooling: Significant experience with enterprise-grade design tools and systems, with a stated preference for Figma.

Preferred Skills:

• Figma Proficiency: Advanced skills and experience leveraging Figma for design system management, collaboration, and prototyping.

• Telecommunications or Regulated Industry Experience: Familiarity with the specific challenges and nuances of designing for the telecommunications sector or other highly regulated environments.

• User Research & Analytics: Experience conducting qualitative and quantitative user research, and utilizing behavioral analytics to inform design decisions and measure impact.

• AI-Enabled Design: Awareness and understanding of how AI can be integrated into design processes and workflows.

• Cross-functional Collaboration: Experience working closely with Product Management, Engineering, Marketing, and Business stakeholders.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "extensive experience" requirement and the mention of leading "senior design practitioners" strongly suggest this role is for an established design leader. The emphasis on "measurable customer and commercial outcomes" and "influencing investment decisions" indicates a need for a strategic thinker with a business acumen, not just a design practitioner. The specific mention of Figma as a preferred tool is a key technical requirement.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Design Strategy & Vision: Demonstrate instances where you have defined and executed a comprehensive UX or design strategy that led to significant improvements in customer experience and business outcomes.

• Team Leadership & Development: Showcase examples of building, managing, and mentoring high-performing design teams, including how you fostered growth and improved team capabilities.

• Design System Implementation: Present case studies of designing, implementing, or significantly contributing to a design system, highlighting its impact on consistency, efficiency, and scalability across multiple products.

• Complex Digital Product Design: Provide examples of leading the design of complex digital products or journeys (web, app, portals) from conception through to launch, detailing the user-centered process and outcomes.

• Cross-functional Collaboration & Influence: Illustrate how you have successfully collaborated with product, engineering, and business stakeholders to drive design initiatives and achieve strategic goals.

Process Documentation:

• Workflow Design & Optimization: Document your approach to designing and optimizing end-to-end digital customer journeys, including methodologies for user flow mapping, wireframing, prototyping, and user testing.

• Design System Governance: Outline your framework for managing and evolving design systems, including processes for component contribution, version control, and ensuring adoption across teams.

• Agile Integration: Detail how design processes are integrated within agile development cycles, including participation in ceremonies, sprint planning, and delivering design assets for development.

• Performance Measurement & Iteration: Showcase how you establish UX performance metrics, use data (analytics, research, testing) to measure success, and drive iterative improvements based on insights.

📝 Enhancement Note: Given the senior leadership nature of this role, a portfolio is expected to demonstrate strategic thinking, leadership capabilities, and a track record of driving tangible business results through design. It should go beyond showcasing visual design skills to illustrating process, methodology, and impact. The emphasis on "Design Systems" and "Agile Integration" aligns with modern digital product development practices.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: Based on industry benchmarks for a Lead UX & Design Manager with 10+ years of experience in a major UK city or its commuter belt, and considering the Telecommunications industry, a competitive salary range is estimated to be between £75,000 - £100,000 per annum. This estimate accounts for the seniority of the role, the strategic responsibilities, and the location in Newbury, England.

Benefits:

• Hybrid Working Model: Flexibility to work from home and in the office, with an expectation of 2-3 days per week in the Newbury HQ.

• Flexible Working Hours: Opportunities for flexible scheduling to support work-life balance.

• Pension Scheme: A comprehensive pension plan to support long-term financial security.

• Health & Wellbeing Programs: Access to employee assistance programs, health insurance, and wellness initiatives.

• Generous Annual Leave: A competitive allowance for paid time off.

• Performance-Related Bonuses: Potential for bonuses based on individual and company performance.

• Professional Development: Opportunities for training, conferences, and further education to enhance skills.

• Employee Discounts: Benefits related to Three UK's products and services.

Working Hours: Full-time, 37.5 hours per week, with a standard Monday to Friday schedule, but offering flexibility within this framework.

📝 Enhancement Note: As no salary was provided, an estimated range has been generated based on typical compensation for similar senior design leadership roles in the UK, factoring in the industry and location. The inclusion of "Flexible working hours" alongside "Hybrid working" suggests a commitment to employee well-being and autonomy.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Telecommunications. Three UK is a major player in the UK mobile network operator market, focused on providing connectivity, investing in 5G and digital infrastructure, and aiming to close the digital divide.

Company Size: Three UK is a large enterprise, part of the CK Hutchison Networks group. This scale implies a complex organizational structure, significant resources, and a wide reach.

Founded: Three UK launched in 2003. The company has a history of innovation and growth in the UK market.

Team Structure:

• The Lead UX & Design Manager will lead a multidisciplinary team of UX and UI specialists within the Business Digital division.

• This role requires close partnership with Consumer Digital design teams, indicating a matrixed reporting or strong collaborative structure between different business units' design functions.

• Collaboration with Product Owners, Product Managers, and Technology Digital Engineering teams is essential for end-to-end digital product delivery.

• The role also involves representation in senior governance forums, suggesting interaction with executive leadership and strategic decision-makers. Methodology:

• User-Centered Design (UCD): A core methodology expected to be embedded across the organization, ensuring customer needs are at the forefront of all design decisions.

• Agile Product Development: The team operates within agile environments, requiring iterative design processes, close collaboration with development sprints, and rapid adaptation.

• Data-Driven Decision Making: Emphasis on using customer insights, behavioral analytics, and performance metrics to inform design strategy and prioritize improvements.

• Design Systems: A strategic approach to managing design assets, components, and standards to ensure consistency, efficiency, and scalability across digital products.

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

📝 Enhancement Note: The company description highlights a mission-driven culture focused on connectivity, digital inclusion, and community empowerment. For a design leader, this suggests an opportunity to contribute to meaningful projects with societal impact. The emphasis on "learning as we go" and moving at "pace" indicates a dynamic and potentially fast-evolving work environment.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This is a senior leadership role, equivalent to a Director or Head of Department within a specialized function. It requires not just deep expertise in UX/UI design but also strategic vision, team leadership, and the ability to influence organizational direction. The scope covers the entire Business Digital portfolio.

Reporting Structure: The Lead UX & Design Manager will likely report to a senior executive within the Business Digital division, such as a Head of Digital, Chief Digital Officer, or a VP of Product/Technology. The role also has strong functional reporting lines and collaboration requirements with Consumer Digital design leadership.

Operations Impact: The role's impact is significant, directly influencing the customer experience of Three UK's business clients. By defining the design vision and ensuring high-quality execution, this role drives customer satisfaction, adoption rates, self-service efficiency, and ultimately, commercial success and brand perception for the Business Digital segment. Strategic design leadership can also drive innovation and competitive differentiation.

Growth Opportunities:

• Strategic Leadership Expansion: Potential to expand influence beyond Business Digital to impact design strategy across the entire VodafoneThree organization, or to take on broader product leadership responsibilities.

• Design System Ownership: Deeper involvement in evolving the enterprise-wide design system and establishing design governance across all digital touchpoints.

• Industry Influence: Opportunities to represent Three UK at industry conferences, contribute to thought leadership, and shape future design practices.

• Mentorship & Executive Development: Continued growth in coaching and developing senior design talent, and developing executive-level communication and strategic planning skills.

• Cross-functional Leadership: Potential to move into broader digital product or transformation leadership roles.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is a significant step for an experienced UX/Product Design leader. The growth opportunities are geared towards increased strategic influence, broader organizational impact, and potentially moving into more general digital leadership roles, leveraging their design expertise as a foundation.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: The role is based in Newbury HQ with a Hybrid working model. This suggests a modern office environment designed to support collaboration, with dedicated spaces for focused work and team interactions.

Office Location(s): The primary office location is The Connection, Newbury, RG14 2FN, England. This is Three UK's headquarters, implying access to all company facilities and key decision-makers.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Hub: The office environment is designed to facilitate collaboration, especially for the 2-3 days per week employees are expected to be present. This likely includes meeting rooms, breakout areas, and open-plan spaces conducive to team workshops and discussions.

• Technology Enabled: As a leading telecommunications company, the workspace will likely be equipped with modern technology, including robust Wi-Fi, collaboration tools, and potentially specialized design software setups.

• Cross-functional Interaction: The hybrid model and emphasis on collaboration mean ample opportunities to interact with peers in Product Management, Engineering, Marketing, and other business units, fostering a connected and integrated work experience.

Work Schedule: The standard working hours are 37.5 hours per week, Monday to Friday. The hybrid model and stated flexible working hours provide autonomy in managing personal schedules around core business needs and team collaboration requirements.

📝 Enhancement Note: The hybrid model is a key feature, balancing the need for in-person collaboration and team cohesion with the desire for flexibility. Candidates should consider how they thrive in such an environment and their ability to contribute effectively both remotely and in the office.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A recruiter or HR representative will likely conduct an initial screening to assess basic qualifications, experience, and cultural fit.

• Hiring Manager Interview: A discussion with the hiring manager (likely a senior leader in Business Digital) to delve into experience, leadership style, strategic thinking, and alignment with the role's core responsibilities.

• Team/Peer Interviews: Meetings with potential direct reports (UX/UI designers) and key cross-functional partners (e.g., Product Managers, Engineering leads) to assess collaboration skills, leadership approach, and ability to integrate into the team.

• Portfolio Presentation & Case Study: A crucial stage where candidates present their portfolio, detailing specific projects, their role, the process, challenges, solutions, and measurable outcomes. This may involve a prepared case study focusing on a complex design challenge relevant to Three UK's business.

• Final Interview/Executive Review: Potentially an interview with a more senior executive (e.g., Head of Digital, CTO, or CEO of a relevant division) to discuss strategic vision, leadership philosophy, and overall fit with the company's direction.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Strategic Impact: Focus on projects that demonstrate strategic thinking, not just execution. Highlight how your design decisions drove business value, customer satisfaction, or operational efficiency.

• Leadership & Process: Showcase your ability to lead teams, define processes, and implement methodologies like UCD and design systems. Detail your role in mentoring and developing designers.

• Data & Measurement: Quantify your achievements. Use data, metrics, and user research findings to support your claims about the impact of your work. Show how you measured success and iterated.

• Problem/Solution/Outcome: Structure case studies clearly: define the problem, explain your approach and design solutions, and detail the resulting outcomes and learnings.

• Tailor to Three UK: Research Three UK's business, its digital offerings, and its stated values. Frame your experience and portfolio examples to demonstrate how you can address their specific challenges and contribute to their goals.

Challenge Preparation:

• Design Strategy Exercise: Be prepared for a hypothetical scenario where you need to outline a design strategy for a new digital product or a significant enhancement to an existing one for Three UK's business customers.

• Team Management Scenario: Anticipate questions about how you would handle team conflicts, motivate designers, onboard new talent, or improve team performance.

• Stakeholder Management Challenge: Prepare to discuss how you would manage challenging stakeholders, gain buy-in for design initiatives, or negotiate priorities with Product and Engineering.

• Design System Presentation: Be ready to articulate the benefits of a design system and how you would establish or evolve one within a large organization like Three UK.

📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio presentation is likely a significant component of the interview process for this senior role. Candidates should prepare to articulate their strategic thinking, leadership impact, and ability to drive measurable results through design. The emphasis on "Design Strategy" and "Team Management" suggests interview questions will probe these areas deeply.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Figma: Explicitly mentioned as a preferred enterprise design tool. Proficiency in Figma for UI design, prototyping, design system management, and collaborative workflows is essential.

• Prototyping Tools: Experience with other leading prototyping tools (e.g., InVision, Sketch) may also be beneficial, though Figma is highlighted.

• User Research Platforms: Familiarity with tools for conducting user interviews, usability testing, and surveys (e.g., UserTesting.com, Lookback, Maze).

• Wireframing & Flow Tools: Proficiency in creating wireframes and user flows (e.g., Balsamiq, Miro, Whimsical).

Analytics & Reporting:

• Behavioral Analytics: Experience with tools like Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics, Mixpanel, or Pendo to track user behavior, conversion rates, and feature adoption.

• Data Visualization Tools: Ability to interpret and present data effectively, potentially using tools like Tableau, Power BI, or even advanced Excel/Google Sheets for reporting on UX performance.

• Customer Feedback Tools: Familiarity with platforms for gathering and analyzing customer feedback (e.g., Qualtrics, SurveyMonkey).

CRM & Automation:

• While not directly a design tool, understanding how UX/UI designs integrate with CRM systems (like Salesforce) and automation platforms used in business contexts would be advantageous for understanding the end-to-end customer journey.

📝 Enhancement Note: The explicit mention of Figma is a critical technical requirement. A candidate's ability to leverage this tool for advanced design system management and collaborative workflows will be a key differentiator. Understanding how design impacts business metrics through analytics tools is also crucial for this strategic role.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Customer Centricity: A fundamental value driving all design decisions, ensuring that the needs and experiences of business customers are paramount.

• Collaboration & Connection: Emphasis on working together, both within the design team and across departments, to achieve shared goals. The hybrid model supports this, balancing individual focus with team interaction.

• Innovation & Pace: A culture that encourages forward-thinking, embracing new technologies (like AI in design), and moving quickly to deliver value.

• Inclusion & Belonging: A commitment to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace where everyone feels valued and safe to be themselves. This extends to ensuring designs are accessible to all users.

• Accountability & Impact: A focus on delivering tangible results, measuring the impact of design work, and taking ownership of outcomes.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Partnership: A highly collaborative approach is expected, working closely with Product Management, Engineering, Marketing, and Commercial teams to ensure cohesive product development and business alignment.

• Design System as a Unifier: The design system serves as a key tool for collaboration, ensuring consistency and shared understanding across different teams and digital touchpoints.

• Feedback-Driven: An open culture for providing and receiving constructive feedback, essential for iterative design and continuous improvement, both within the design team and with stakeholders.

• Knowledge Sharing: Encouragement of sharing best practices, learnings, and insights to elevate the design capability across the organization.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company culture emphasizes a blend of innovation, customer focus, and inclusivity. For a design leader, this means fostering a team environment that is both creative and results-oriented, while also being mindful of accessibility and diverse user needs.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Balancing Business & User Needs: Effectively translating diverse business objectives and technical constraints into user-centered designs that delight customers.

• Scaling Design Systems: Ensuring the design system remains robust, scalable, and adopted across a large, evolving digital product portfolio.

• Driving Design Maturity: Continuously elevating the design capability and user-centered mindset across departments that may not have a design-first orientation.

• Hybrid Team Management: Leading and motivating a dispersed team effectively, ensuring strong collaboration and consistent output regardless of location.

• Navigating a Fast-Paced Environment: Adapting to the "pace" of the organization and the telecommunications industry, while maintaining high standards of design quality.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Strategic Design Leadership: Deepening expertise in organizational design, influencing executive strategy, and understanding the broader business impact of design.

• Emerging Technologies: Exploring and integrating AI and other emerging technologies into design workflows and product offerings.

• Industry Best Practices: Staying at the forefront of UX/UI trends, design system evolution, and accessibility standards through conferences, research, and networking.

• Mentorship: Developing leadership skills by mentoring senior designers and potentially contributing to the development of future design leaders within Three UK.

• Cross-functional Acumen: Gaining deeper insights into the telecommunications business, product management, and technology engineering functions.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges presented are typical for senior leadership roles in dynamic tech/telecom environments. The growth opportunities are geared towards expanding strategic influence and technical foresight.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "How would you define and implement a design strategy for Three UK's Business Digital division over the next 1-3 years, considering our goals for connectivity and digital empowerment?" (Focus on aligning design with business objectives, user needs, and innovation.)

• "Describe your approach to building and leading a high-performing, distributed UX/UI design team. How do you foster collaboration and ensure quality in a hybrid work environment?" (Demonstrate leadership, team-building, and hybrid work management skills.)

• "Walk us through a complex digital product or journey you've designed. What was the problem, your role, the process you followed, the key design decisions, and the measurable outcomes?" (Prepare a detailed case study for your portfolio presentation.) Company & Culture Questions:

• "What interests you about Three UK's mission to build a network the UK can count on and close the digital divide? How do you see design contributing to this mission?" (Show understanding of company values and strategic goals.)

• "Our culture emphasizes collaboration and pace. How do you ensure effective collaboration with Product Management and Engineering teams, and how do you balance speed with quality in design delivery?" (Address cross-functional dynamics and agile execution.)

• "How do you measure the impact of design on business outcomes? Provide an example of how you've used data or user insights to drive significant improvements." (Highlight your data-driven approach and business acumen.) Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure for Impact: Begin with a high-level overview of your career and leadership philosophy. Then, present 2-3 key projects that best showcase your strategic thinking, leadership, and ability to drive measurable results.

• Narrative & Context: For each project, clearly articulate the business problem, user needs, your specific role and contributions, the design process and methodologies used, key challenges and solutions, and the quantifiable outcomes (e.g., increased conversion, reduced support calls, improved NPS).

• Demonstrate Leadership: Weave in examples of how you led teams, influenced stakeholders, managed design systems, or improved design processes within your project narratives.

• Visuals & Clarity: Use clear, concise visuals (mockups, flows, data charts) to support your presentation. Avoid overwhelming slides with text.

• Engage & Discuss: Be prepared for in-depth questions. Treat it as a dialogue, inviting feedback and demonstrating your ability to think on your feet and articulate your rationale.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation should focus on demonstrating strategic leadership, a deep understanding of user-centered design principles, and the ability to drive business results through design. Preparing a strong portfolio case study is paramount.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Lead UX & Design Manager position:

• Submit Your Application: Complete the online application form through the provided link on jobs.smartrecruiters.com.

• Tailor Your Resume: Ensure your resume highlights your extensive experience in UX/product design leadership, team management, design strategy, and relevant tools like Figma. Quantify your achievements with metrics whenever possible.

• Prepare Your Portfolio: Curate a portfolio that showcases 2-3 key projects demonstrating strategic impact, leadership, process optimization, and measurable outcomes. Be ready to present this confidently, detailing your role and the impact of your work.

• Research Three UK: Familiarize yourself with Three UK's mission, values, business offerings, and recent digital initiatives. Understand their commitment to connectivity, digital inclusion, and customer experience.

• Practice Interview Responses: Prepare for common interview questions related to design strategy, team leadership, stakeholder management, and your experience with agile methodologies and design systems. Rehearse your portfolio presentation.

⚠️ 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.