Lead Designer - Design Systems (VP)

Lead Designer - Design Systems (VP) Location: London (On-site) Employment Type: Permanent Sector: Financial Services / FinTech Contract: 12 Months Rate: up to £700/day Inside

The Opportunity An innovativedigital banking organisation is seeking a LeadDesigner - Design Systems (VP) to play a pivotal role in shaping thefuture of customer experience across its digital products. This is anopportunity to join a highly collaborative, product-led environment wheredesign excellence, accessibility, and innovation are at the heart of everythingdelivered. Working within amature Design & Customer Experience function, you will lead the evolutionof a large-scale design system that powers customer-facing products across weband mobile platforms. You'll partner closely with Product Designers,Researchers, Engineers, and senior business stakeholders to create seamless,consistent experiences used by millions of customers.

Key Responsibilities

Lead the strategic development and evolution of the organisation's design system.

Drive consistency, quality, and usability across digital customer journeys.

Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to deliver customer-centric solutions.

Align design system initiatives with broader business and product objectives.

Champion design system adoption and influence stakeholders across the organisation.

Utilise customer insights, analytics, and research to inform design decisions.

Define standards, governance, and best practices for scalable design.

Stay ahead of emerging design trends, tools, and technologies.

Promote accessibility standards and inclusive design practices.

Mentor and support designers while fostering a culture of collaboration and innovation.

Required Experience

Extensive experience in Product Design and Design Systems within complex digital environments.

Strong portfolio showcasing end-to-end design thinking and system-led approaches.

Proven ability to translate customer and business requirements into scalable design solutions.

Experience working within agile, cross-functional product teams.

Strong stakeholder management and communication skills.

Expertise in modern design tools, particularly Figma.

Experience designing for iOS, Android, and responsive web platforms.

Knowledge of usability testing, prototyping, and UX research methodologies.

Strong understanding of accessibility standards, including WCAG 2.2.

Demonstrated success driving design system adoption across multiple teams.

Desirable Experience

Experience within Financial Services, Banking, or FinTech environments.

Degree in Design, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) or a related discipline.

Experience leading teams, influencing senior stakeholders and scaling design operations.

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