Design Lead for Private Sector and Financial Services

Company Description

Version 1 has celebrated over 26 years in the IT industry and continues to be trusted by global brands to deliver IT solutions that drive customer success. Version 1 has several strategic technology partners including Microsoft, AWS, Oracle, Red Hat, OutSystems and Snowflake. We’re also an award-winning employer reflecting how employees are at the heart of Version 1.

We’ve been awarded: Innovation Partner of the Year Winner 2023 Oracle EMEA Partner Awards, Global Microsoft Modernising Applications Partner of the Year Award 2023, AWS Collaboration Partner of the Year - EMEA 2023 and Best Workplaces for Women by Great Place To Work in UK and Ireland 2023.

As a consultancy and service provider, Version 1 is a digital-first environment and we do things differently. We’re focused on our core values; using these we’ve seen significant growth across our practices and our Digital, Data and Cloud team is preparing for the next phase of expansion. This creates new opportunities for driven and skilled individuals to join one of the fastest-growing consultancies globally.

Job Description

We are looking for a visionary design leader with a passion for shaping our Design capability for private sector customers and in particular Financial Service clients. You will be ambitious to grow Version 1’s design presence in the Private sector and Financial Services, with a proven track record of successful Design business development. You will be a driven self-starter, able to work collaboratively with commercial, delivery and technology focused colleagues. This role will play to your strengths with an equal mix of business development, customer and staff engagement, and design advisory, all contributing to excellent delivery outcomes.

You will understand and appreciate our Strength in Balance model, which promotes Customer Success (excellent customer experience, proactive engagement), Strong Organisation (prudent profit and loss management), and Empowered People (developing people). Our Core Values are incredibly important to us, guiding everything we do, and will resonate with you personally.

Responsibilities

• Reporting to the Head of Design capability filling a senior role in Version 1’s Digital, Data and Cloud (DDC) Practice.
• Scale and Growth: Drive the scaling of the design function in the private sector and financial services, ensuring that the Design team is well-prepared to meet the demands of a growing organisation.
• Commercial focus: Contributing to Sales and Pre-sales activities including proposals, Terms of Reference documents, customer presentations, demonstrations, and proof of concepts.
• Design Leadership: Provide leadership for Design in the Private Sector and Financial Services across multiple locations, ensuring alignment with Version 1 and our customers’ strategies.
• Collaboration: Working collaboratively with other DDC Heads of Capability, Design and Technology Principals, Sector Leads, Delivery Managers and Portfolio Directors to ensure joined up approach and contribute to high customer satisfaction scores.
• Budget and Staff Management: Responsible for shaping the budget and staffing allocation effectively within Design private sector, ensuring optimal chargeability and demand management across projects.
• People development: Develop and recruit Design Principals fostering trust, building collaboration, and nurturing a culture of sharing, working in the open and innovation.
• Design thinking: Responsible for running Design Thinking sessions internally and externally with customers, educating people on the strengths and benefits of incorporating design thinking to solve problems.
• Design strategy and standards: Define and execute the Design strategy, working closely with Delivery and Technology Sector and Capability leads.
• Quality: Accountability for Design standards and best practices in solution design & project delivery across Private Sector and Financial Services.
• Innovation: Stay updated on industry trends, emerging technologies and design methodologies. Champion their adoption when relevant to the company's goals.
• Compliance and regulation: Ensure adherence to regulatory requirements including accessibility and privacy standards, security protocols and industry standards

Qualifications

Your experience

• Proven ‘at scale’ experience managing large, distributed Design capability operating within multidisciplinary teams.
• Extensive hands-on Design leadership experience
• Working knowledge of Design and Systemic Thinking approaches and ability to apply service standards from different industry sectors to enhance Private Sector work.
• Good understanding of legislation affecting content, handling data and protecting users
• Good understanding of desi