Role: Digital Design Director

Location: London, United Kingdom

About the role:

The Digital Design Director leads all digital design output for the studio. You will own the end-to-end design process - from early-stage UX thinking through to build-ready developer handover - setting quality standards, guiding the team, and ensuring every touchpoint is user-focused, on-brand, and technically sound.

You will work closely with creative, strategy, and development leads, and act as the primary digital design voice in client conversations. You will be accountable for the financial performance of your design workstreams and for integrating AI-assisted tools and workflows across the studio.

What you will be doing:

• Lead digital design across UX, UI, application design, and platform experiences — from concept through to build-ready delivery.
• Define and maintain the studio's design systems, component libraries, and digital consistency standards across all products and touchpoints.
• Create and direct user journeys, wireframes, prototypes, and high-fidelity interface designs to a consistently high standard.
• Collaborate closely with creative, strategy, and development teams to deliver technically sound, visually compelling digital work.
• Lead developer handover, ensuring files, prototypes, specifications, and documentation are accurate and production-ready.
• Establish and maintain best practice across UX, UI, accessibility, responsive design, and digital innovation.
• Integrate AI-assisted design tools and workflows into studio processes - setting quality benchmarks, building team capability, and sharing best practice across the OLIVER network.
• Present and communicate design thinking clearly and confidently to internal teams, senior stakeholders, and client leadership.
• Lead, develop, and inspire the digital design team - setting clear expectations, providing structured feedback, and building a culture of craft and continuous improvement.
• Partner with the Head of Design and client stakeholders to align digital output with strategic and business objectives.
• Oversee annual design budgets across your workstreams - including cost estimation, resource planning, supplier oversight, and reporting on financial performance to client and OLIVER stakeholders.

What you need to be great in this role:

Digital Design Expertise

• Demonstrable expertise leading digital design across UX, UI, application design, and complex platform-based experiences.
• Deep knowledge of user-centred design, interaction design, responsive design, and accessibility best practice.
• Strong command of design systems, digital workflows, and developer handover processes.
• Experience collaborating with development teams, with a clear understanding of technical feasibility and implementation constraints.
• Expert-level proficiency in Figma; strong working knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite and relevant prototyping tools.
• Exceptional visual design skills - typography, layout, and brand expression in digital environments.

Leadership and Client Partnership

• A track record of leading and developing digital design teams, with a structured, outcomes-focused approach to people management and mentoring.
• Confident communication and presentation skills, with experience presenting complex design work to senior client and stakeholder audiences.
• Ability to manage multiple workstreams and align cross-functional teams around a clear digital design vision.
• Experience managing account- or studio-level budgets and reporting on financial performance to senior stakeholders.
• Strategic integration of AI-assisted design tools across studio projects and operational workflows.
• Experience setting AI quality standards and governance for a team or studio.
• Ability to train and upskill the team on AI tool usage and best practice for digital design.
• Agentic approach to complex creative and technical challenges - systematic, clear, and outcome-oriented.
• Active interest in AI's evolving role in digital design, with a commitment to sharing insight and innovation across the studio and wider OLIVER network.

Req ID: 18823

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