UX Designer (12 Month FTC)

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: UX Designer (12 Month Fixed-Term Contract)

Company: Lloyds Banking Group

Location: Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Job Type: FULL_TIME, TEMPORARY

Category: UX/UI Design, Product Design Operations

Date Posted: May 28, 2026

Experience Level: 5-10 Years

Remote Status: Hybrid (2 days in office per week)

🚀 Role Summary

• Design and deliver end-to-end user experiences, ensuring cohesive customer journeys across digital platforms.

• Collaborate closely with a full design team, taking ownership of design output and presenting effectively to stakeholders.

• Leverage and contribute to a central design system, balancing business requirements with user needs and advocating for customer inclusion and accessibility.

• Translate user research and usability testing findings into actionable design improvements.

• Adapt designs to technical constraints while guiding the creation of optimal end-user experiences.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is a 12-month fixed-term contract (FTC) focused on User Experience (UX) and Interaction Design within a large financial services organization. The core responsibilities highlight a need for strong design ownership, stakeholder communication, and the ability to work within established design systems and frameworks. The emphasis on balancing business needs with user requirements, and advocating for inclusive design, points to a strategic UX role rather than purely visual design.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• End-to-End User Experience Crafting: Skillfully design cohesive customer journeys by integrating content and UI elements, utilizing components from a central design system.

• Prototyping and Visualization: Bring designs to life using various prototyping software (e.g., Sketch, InVision, Figma, Axure, Adobe XD) to create interactive user flows.

• Stakeholder Alignment & User Advocacy: Balance business requirements with user needs by gathering user research and rationale, diplomatically pushing back when necessary to champion customer interests.

• Platform Adaptability & Guidance: Adapt designs to the technical constraints of different platforms while providing expert guidance on creating the best possible end-user experience.

• Customer Inclusion & Accessibility Champion: Advocate for and implement inclusive and accessible design principles to ensure products are usable by customers of all ages, backgrounds, and technical abilities.

• Design System Contribution: Proactively recommend improvements and extensions to the existing design system to benefit both the project and fellow designers.

• Research Interpretation & Application: Interpret quantitative and qualitative user research data provided by dedicated research teams to inform and refine interaction design decisions.

• Design Delivery & Collaboration: Communicate effectively with development teams to ensure designs are implemented to specification and meet accessibility standards.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities emphasize a hands-on approach to design, requiring the ability to translate complex user needs and business objectives into tangible, user-friendly interfaces. The mention of "diplomatically push back" and "advocate customer inclusion" suggests a need for strong communication and influencing skills, crucial for operations professionals in cross-functional environments.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a strong portfolio demonstrating equivalent practical experience in UX/Interaction Design is paramount.

Experience: A minimum of 5 years of dedicated experience in User Experience (UX) Design or Interaction Design is required.

Required Skills:

• Advanced UX/Interaction Design: Proven experience in crafting end-to-end user experiences and interaction flows.

• Prototyping Software Proficiency: Expertise in using tools such as Sketch, InVision, Figma, Axure, or Adobe XD to create high-fidelity prototypes.

• Design System Application & Enhancement: Experience working with existing design systems and the ability to propose improvements or extensions.

• User Research Interpretation: Ability to interpret and apply insights from quantitative and qualitative user research and usability testing.

• Stakeholder Communication & Presentation: Strong ability to articulate design decisions, rationale, and user needs clearly to internal customers, stakeholders, and development teams.

• Accessibility & Inclusive Design Principles: Deep understanding and practical application of WCAG guidelines and inclusive design practices.

• Cross-functional Collaboration: Experience working collaboratively with design teams, researchers, and developers.

Preferred Skills:

• Financial Services Industry Experience: Familiarity with the complexities and regulatory environment of the financial services sector.

• Visual Design & Layout Skills: Complementary skills in visual design and layout for a holistic approach.

• Agile Methodologies: Experience working within Agile or other iterative development frameworks.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirement for 5+ years of experience, coupled with the emphasis on interpreting research and communicating with stakeholders, suggests this role is for a mid-to-senior level designer. The preference for financial services experience indicates a need for an understanding of industry-specific user behaviors and regulatory considerations, which is a key differentiator for operations roles in this sector.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Case Studies Demonstrating End-to-End Design: Showcase projects that illustrate the entire UX design process, from initial research and ideation through to prototyping, testing, and final delivery.

• User-Centric Problem Solving: Highlight instances where user needs were identified and addressed through innovative design solutions, detailing the problem, your approach, and the outcome.

• Design System Integration Examples: Include examples of how you've used or contributed to design systems, demonstrating an understanding of component-based design and scalability.

• Accessibility & Inclusion Focus: Present projects that specifically address accessibility requirements, showing how you've ensured designs are usable by a diverse range of users.

• Prototyping & Interaction Details: Provide interactive prototypes or detailed walkthroughs of key user flows, showcasing your ability to define complex interactions.

Process Documentation:

• User Research Synthesis: Demonstrate how you translate raw user research findings (qualitative and quantitative) into actionable design requirements and user personas.

• Iterative Design Workflow: Illustrate your process for iterating on designs based on feedback from user research, usability testing, and stakeholder reviews, including any A/B testing conducted.

• Cross-functional Handoff Procedures: Show how you effectively communicate design specifications and collaborate with development teams to ensure accurate implementation, including any documentation or process employed for handoffs.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a UX Designer role, especially within a large organization like Lloyds Banking Group, a robust portfolio is critical. It should not just showcase final designs but the process behind them. Emphasizing how the candidate interprets data, collaborates, and iterates will be key. The mention of a "central design system" implies a need to demonstrate an understanding of component libraries and scalable design practices.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: £61,344 - £68,160 per annum.

Benefits:

• Pension Contribution: A generous pension contribution of up to 15%.

• Performance Bonus: An annual performance-related bonus.

• Share Schemes: Access to share schemes, including free shares.

• Lifestyle Benefits: Discounts on shopping and other lifestyle-related perks.

• Holiday Entitlement: 30 days of annual leave, in addition to bank holidays.

• Wellbeing Support: A range of wellbeing initiatives to support employee health.

• Parental Leave: Generous parental leave policies.

Working Hours: 35 hours per week, full-time.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range provided is competitive for a UX Designer role with 5+ years of experience in the UK, particularly in a major financial hub like Edinburgh. The benefits package is comprehensive, reflecting the offerings of a large, established financial institution and aligning with typical expectations for full-time permanent roles, even for FTCs.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Financial Services. Lloyds Banking Group is one of the UK's largest financial institutions, offering a wide range of banking and financial services. This context means a strong focus on customer trust, security, regulatory compliance, and serving a broad customer base.

Company Size: Large Enterprise (tens of thousands of employees globally). This scale implies structured processes, established design systems, and a significant impact on millions of customers.

Founded: 2009 (formed from the merger of Lloyds TSB and HBOS). The company has a long heritage through its constituent brands, indicating a blend of tradition and modern innovation.

Team Structure:

• Design Team Collaboration: The role explicitly mentions working "collaboratively alongside a full design team," suggesting a structured design department with specialists in UX, UI, research, and potentially content design.

• Cross-functional Integration: The UX Designer will interact with various internal customers, development teams, and user research teams, highlighting a highly collaborative and integrated working environment.

• Reporting: While not explicitly stated, in large organizations, UX Designers often report into a Head of Design, UX Manager, or Product Lead, with close ties to Product Management and Engineering.

Methodology:

• Agile & Iterative Development: The "hybrid working" and emphasis on adapting to technical constraints suggest an agile or iterative development approach.

• Data-Driven Design: Strong reliance on user research (quantitative and qualitative) and usability testing is a core part of the design process.

• Design System-Centric: The role emphasizes utilizing and contributing to a central design system, promoting consistency and efficiency across multiple products.

Company Website: https://www.lloydsbankinggroup.com/

📝 Enhancement Note: Lloyds Banking Group's status as a major financial institution dictates a culture that values stability, customer focus, and innovation. For a UX Designer, this means navigating complex requirements while ensuring a positive and accessible experience for a diverse customer base. The emphasis on a "full design team" and "central design system" indicates a mature design practice.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: Mid-to-Senior UX Designer. The requirement for 5+ years of experience and the expectation of taking "full ownership" and presenting to "stakeholders" indicates a level beyond junior or entry-level. This role is for a designer who can operate independently on significant parts of the user journey.

Reporting Structure: The role implies reporting to a design lead or manager, with close collaboration with product managers, developers, and user researchers. This structure allows for mentorship and exposure to broader product strategy.

Operations Impact: This UX Designer will directly impact customer satisfaction, digital engagement, and conversion rates by improving the usability and accessibility of the bank's digital products. Their work contributes to the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the bank's digital service delivery.

Growth Opportunities:

• Specialization: Opportunity to deepen expertise in specific areas of UX, such as accessibility, service design, or user research interpretation.

• Design System Contribution: Develop leadership skills by contributing to and influencing the evolution of a large-scale design system.

• Cross-functional Leadership: Gain experience in influencing product direction and collaborating with diverse teams, potentially leading to product management or senior design roles.

• Industry Exposure: Gain valuable experience within the complex and highly regulated financial services sector, which is a significant career asset.

• FTC to Permanent Potential: While a fixed-term contract, strong performance can sometimes lead to opportunities for permanent positions within the organization.

📝 Enhancement Note: The FTC nature of this role means growth opportunities are primarily focused on skill development and project impact within the 12-month period. However, the exposure to a large enterprise and a mature design practice offers significant learning potential and can be a strong stepping stone for future roles, either within Lloyds Banking Group or elsewhere in the industry.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Hybrid Working Model. Employees are expected to spend at least two days per week (40% of their time) at one of the company's office sites. This balances remote flexibility with in-person collaboration.

Office Location(s): Edinburgh, specifically at the New Uberior House Head Office. This indicates a central, well-equipped office environment conducive to collaborative work.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Hubs: Offices are likely designed with collaborative spaces, meeting rooms, and potentially dedicated "design studios" to facilitate teamwork and brainstorming.

• Technology Access: Employees will have access to company-provided hardware, software licenses (including design tools), and robust IT infrastructure necessary for design work.

• Team Interaction: The hybrid model allows for focused individual work remotely and in-person collaboration sessions, feedback workshops, and team alignment meetings when in the office.

Work Schedule: 35 hours per week, full-time. The hybrid model offers flexibility in structuring the working week, allowing for a balance between office presence and remote work, while maintaining core working hours.

📝 Enhancement Note: The hybrid model is a key feature, requiring individuals to be comfortable managing their time across both remote and in-office settings. The expectation of 2 days in the office in Edinburgh suggests opportunities for face-to-face interaction with colleagues, which is beneficial for design critiques and team cohesion.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

**Interview Process