At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead a dynamic design team to create impactful health solutions through innovative design.
- Company: Join Havas SO, a forward-thinking agency at the intersection of design and health.
- Benefits: Collaborative culture, creative freedom, and the chance to shape meaningful health narratives.
- Why this job: Make a real difference in health by shaping culture through exceptional design.
- Qualifications: Senior experience in diverse design disciplines and a passion for cultural relevance.
- Other info: Be part of a kind, curious team that values creativity and innovation.
The predicted salary is between 48000 - 72000 £ per year.
Havas SO exists to create meaningful solutions in health that earn real-world impact. We believe design is one of the most powerful tools we have to make that happen — turning complexity into clarity, science into stories, and ideas into experiences that move through culture.
As advertising and design undergo the biggest structural reset in decades, we are building a next-generation creative team: one driven by cultural intelligence, world-class craft, multidisciplinary experimentation and the belief that design can shape human behaviour for the better. We are also a deeply kind, curious, optimistic team. Great humans make great work.
The Role
We’re looking for a Head of Design who is a true hybrid: a craft-obsessed design thinker, a cultural maker, an innovation explorer, and an inspiring leader capable of shaping one of the most exciting design teams in health.
You’ll work across and elevate multiple design disciplines:
- Graphic design and campaign identity
- Experiential and spatial design
- Social-first design and motion
- Editorial and information design
- Animation and moving image
- AI-enabled visual exploration and prototyping
Your remit is both creative and cultural: to set a new bar for design excellence in health, and to help build a team capable of producing work that shapes culture, not just communication.
What You’ll Do:
- Set the design vision for the agency
- Define and champion a design POV rooted in cultural intelligence, meaningful health impact and world-class craft.
- Build a design culture that is brave, exploratory, caring and collaborative.
- Lead multidisciplinary design across brands, campaigns and experiences
- Shape campaign identities, visual worlds and design systems.
- Lead experiential concepts, social design, information design and motion.
- Bring scientific, behavioural and cultural insights to life with emotional clarity.
- Push creative innovation
- Use AI tools and workflows to accelerate exploration, refine craft and unlock new forms of expression.
- Stay ahead of emerging design trends, technologies and aesthetics — translating them into opportunities for the agency and clients.
- Build and nurture a world-class design team
- Mentor, inspire and elevate designers across all levels.
- Hire with care: curious minds, kind collaborators, culturally aware thinkers, optimists by nature.
- Foster a safe, ambitious environment where designers can do the best work of their careers.
- Partner across disciplines
- Collaborate seamlessly with creatives, strategists, scientists, copywriters and experience designers.
- Contribute to ideas upstream — shaping behaviours, not just visuals.
- Ensure design excellence in every output
- Oversee final craft quality across Figma, Adobe Suite, motion, social, experiential and beyond.
- Insist on clarity, beauty and originality in every detail.
What You'll Bring:
- Senior experience across multiple design disciplines (graphic, experiential, social/motion, editorial, identity, digital).
- A portfolio that demonstrates range, depth, emotion and cultural relevance.
- Technical mastery of Figma and the Adobe Creative Suite, with comfort directing motion, animation and 3D workflows.
- Demonstrated experience using AI tools for ideation, visual development, prototyping or production.
- A love of culture — design trends, emerging aesthetics, movements, signals and behaviours.
- Ability to turn scientific or behavioural complexity into visual worlds that feel human, modern and meaningful.
- A leadership style rooted in kindness, curiosity, clarity and optimism.
- A belief that design doesn’t just reflect culture — it builds it.
- Deep motivation to create meaningful solutions in health that earn real-world impact.
Why Join Us
At Havas SO, you will help shape one of the most exciting creative teams in health today… a place where design, culture, science and innovation collide. You’ll lead with craft and kindness. You’ll build a team you’re proud of. And you’ll create work that genuinely makes people’s lives better.
Head of Design in City of London employer: Havas SO
Contact Detail:
Havas SO Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Head of Design in City of London
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Get out there and connect with people in the design industry. Attend events, join online forums, or even hit up local meetups. The more you engage, the better your chances of landing that Head of Design role.
✨Tip Number 2
Show off your portfolio! Make sure it’s not just a collection of your work but tells a story about your design journey. Highlight projects that showcase your ability to turn complexity into clarity, especially in health-related design.
✨Tip Number 3
Prepare for interviews by researching the company culture and values. At Havas SO, they value kindness and curiosity, so be ready to discuss how you embody these traits in your leadership style and design philosophy.
✨Tip Number 4
Don’t forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen by the right people. Plus, it shows you’re genuinely interested in being part of our amazing team.
We think you need these skills to ace Head of Design in City of London
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show Your Passion for Design: When you're writing your application, let your love for design shine through! Share what excites you about the role and how you see design making a real impact in health. We want to feel your enthusiasm!
Tailor Your Portfolio: Make sure your portfolio reflects the range of skills mentioned in the job description. Highlight projects that showcase your experience in graphic, experiential, and social design. We’re keen to see how you can bring clarity and emotion to complex ideas!
Be Authentic: Don’t be afraid to show your personality in your written application. We value kindness, curiosity, and optimism, so let us see the real you! Share stories or experiences that demonstrate these traits.
Apply Through Our Website: We encourage you to apply directly through our website. It’s the best way for us to receive your application and ensures you don’t miss any important updates. Plus, it shows you’re serious about joining our team!
How to prepare for a job interview at Havas SO
✨Know Your Design Vision
Before the interview, take some time to define your own design point of view. Think about how you can champion a design culture that is brave and collaborative, just like what Havas SO is looking for. Be ready to discuss how your vision aligns with their mission to create meaningful solutions in health.
✨Showcase Your Portfolio
Your portfolio is your best friend during the interview. Make sure it highlights a range of design disciplines, from graphic to experiential and social design. Be prepared to explain the emotional depth and cultural relevance behind your work, as this will resonate with their focus on shaping culture through design.
✨Emphasise Collaboration
Havas SO values teamwork across various disciplines. During the interview, share examples of how you've successfully collaborated with other creatives, strategists, or even scientists. Highlight your ability to contribute ideas that shape behaviours, not just visuals, to show you're a team player.
✨Stay Ahead of Trends
Demonstrate your knowledge of emerging design trends and technologies. Discuss how you've used AI tools in your previous projects to enhance creativity and innovation. This will show that you're not only aware of current aesthetics but also eager to push creative boundaries, which is key for the Head of Design role.
