[Hiring] Director of Product Design @Twinkl

Role Description

We’re looking for an experienced and visionary Director of Product Design to drive the overarching design strategy across our entire product portfolio. You will scale and lead a mature team of design leaders and practitioners, champion design-led innovation, and ensure our product experiences deliver profound user value while accelerating our business growth.

• Scaling a Mature Design Culture:
  • Standardise and advocate for a deeply integrated, user-centric product design philosophy across the entire global organisation.
  • Establish scalable frameworks that allow design-thinking and continuous discovery to flourish across both product and non-product business units.
• Strategic & Operational Leadership:
  • Define, articulate, and execute the long-term design and research vision aligned with Twinkl’s multi-year business strategy.
  • Mentor and grow design managers and lead practitioners, fostering a high-performing culture of innovation, accountability, and psychological safety.
• Design Governance:
  • Establish the quality benchmarks and operational standards (DesignOps) for all design initiatives.
  • Shift from day-to-day asset approval to driving systemic experience quality, consistency, and research-backed decision-making across all product lines.
• Enterprise Design Systems:
  • Champion the evolution and adoption of a unified, functional design system and toolkit.
  • Partner with Engineering, Product, and Brand executives to ensure the system drives cross-functional efficiency, time-saving workflows, and a cohesive brand experience at scale.
• Executive Collaboration & Influence:
  • Act as a peer to senior leadership across Engineering, Product, Data, Marketing, and Education teams.
  • Present high-level experience strategies to executive stakeholders, aligning product design initiatives directly with company-wide objectives and growth targets.
• Organisational Team Development:
  • Strategically recruit, structure, and scale a multi-tiered and multi-disciplinary product design function.
  • Optimise the team to effectively serve the end-to-end ecosystem, including learner apps, the core website, and teacher tools.
• Executive Customer Advocacy:
  • Serve as the ultimate champion for the customer at the leadership table.
  • Partner with the user research function to uncover deep, forward-looking insights into the behaviours and needs of educators and students globally.
  • Ensure accessibility, inclusivity, and ethical design are institutionalised standards, not afterthoughts.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in UI/UX product design, with at least 4+ years in a senior leadership/management role (managing managers or leading multi-disciplinary teams).
• Desirable experience leading teams of UX researchers.
• Proven track record of scaling design organisations, implementing DesignOps, and delivering complex, multi-platform ecosystem solutions.
• A sophisticated portfolio or case studies demonstrating strategic design leadership, organisational design, and the measurable business impact of your team’s work.
• Exceptional executive presence, storytelling, and negotiation skills.
• Deep understanding of global accessibility standards (WCAG) and inclusive design frameworks.
• Experience navigating the EdTech landscape, scalable gamification, or integrating emerging technologies like AI into user experiences is highly desirable.

Benefits

• A friendly, welcoming and supportive culture. We believe work should be fun and always put people before process.
• Flexible working with fully remote and hybrid working options - early bird or night owl? No problem - our flexible working policy helps you work the hours that suit you best.
• 33 days annual leave per year, pro rata. You decide which public holidays to recognise. After 2 years of employment, your annual leave entitlement will accrue year on year up to 38 days annual leave.
• An additional day of annual leave, a Me Day, to take time for yourself.
• Charity day to volunteer and support a registered charity of your choice.
• Westfield Health (including Health Club discount and Westfield Rewards discount and cashback).
• Learning and Development opportunities, with opportunities for internal mobility across various departments / areas of the business.
• 4 x annual salary death in service life assurance.
• Enhanced pension after long service.
• Enhanced parental and adoption leave after long service.
• Quarterly awards designed to reward and recognise our wonderful Twinkl employees.
• Seasonal events for all UK employees so you can catch up with your new colleagues in person.
• Twinkl Subscription.