Design Director

Design Director

Full-Time 60000 - 80000 £ / year (est.) No home office possible
Havas SO

At a Glance

  • Tasks: Lead a dynamic design team to create impactful health solutions through innovative design.
  • Company: Join Havas SO, where creativity meets culture and science.
  • Benefits: Collaborative environment, mentorship opportunities, and a chance to shape the future of design.
  • Other info: Be part of a kind, curious, and optimistic team dedicated to excellence.
  • Why this job: Make a real-world impact while pushing creative boundaries in health design.
  • Qualifications: Strong portfolio, mastery of design tools, and a passion for cultural relevance.

The predicted salary is between 60000 - 80000 £ 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 Design Director 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 lead a small, high-potential team (3 designers), with the opportunity to shape its future growth. You’ll work across and elevate multiple design disciplines:

  • Graphic design and campaign identity
  • AI-enabled visual exploration and prototyping
  • Social-first design and motion
  • Experiential and spatial design
  • Editorial and information design

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

  1. Set the design standard for the agency
    • Set and uphold an exceptional standard of craft across every output
    • Be hands-on — shaping, refining and elevating design work
    • Champion taste, restraint and clarity in a complex category
  2. Lead multidisciplinary design across brands, campaigns and experiences
    • Shape campaign identities, visual worlds and design systems
    • Strong experience across digital, motion and social-first design
    • Lead experiential concepts, social design, information design and motion
    • Bring scientific, behavioural and cultural insights to life with emotional clarity
  3. Push creative innovation
    • Use AI tools to accelerate exploration, prototyping and visual development
    • Identify where AI can enhance craft, not replace it
    • Stay experimental — bringing new tools and approaches into the team
  4. 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
    • Collaborate seamlessly with creatives, strategists, scientists, copywriters and experience designers
    • Contribute to ideas upstream — shaping behaviours, not just visuals
  5. 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 Bring

  • 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 but 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.

Design Director employer: Havas SO

At Havas SO, we pride ourselves on being an exceptional employer that fosters a culture of kindness, curiosity, and optimism. As a Design Director, you will not only lead a talented team but also have the opportunity to shape the future of design in health, driving innovation and excellence in a collaborative environment. With a focus on meaningful solutions and real-world impact, we offer a unique chance to grow professionally while making a difference in people's lives.
Havas SO

Contact Detail:

Havas SO Recruiting Team

StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫

We think this is how you could land Design Director

✨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 Design Director 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. Havas SO is all about kindness, curiosity, and optimism, so be ready to share how you embody these traits in your leadership style and design philosophy.

✨Tip Number 4

Apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen. Plus, it shows you’re genuinely interested in being part of our amazing team that’s shaping the future of design in health.

We think you need these skills to ace Design Director

Design Thinking
Cultural Intelligence
Graphic Design
Campaign Identity Development
AI-enabled Visual Exploration
Social-first Design
Motion Design
Experiential Design
Editorial Design
Information Design
Mentoring and Leadership
Collaboration
Prototyping
Technical Mastery of Figma
Adobe Creative Suite

Some tips for your application 🫡

Showcase Your Craft: Make sure your portfolio is front and centre! We want to see your range, depth, and how you turn complex ideas into stunning visuals. Highlight projects that demonstrate your mastery of design tools like Figma and Adobe Suite.

Be Authentic: Let your personality shine through in your application. We’re all about kindness and curiosity here at StudySmarter, so don’t be afraid to show us who you are and what drives your passion for design.

Tailor Your Application: Take the time to align your experience with our mission. Show us how your skills can help shape culture and create meaningful solutions in health. The more relevant your application, the better!

Apply Through Our Website: We encourage you to apply directly through our website. It’s the best way for us to keep track of your application and ensure it gets the attention it deserves. Plus, it shows you’re keen to join our team!

How to prepare for a job interview at Havas SO

✨Showcase Your Craft

Make sure to bring a portfolio that not only highlights your technical skills but also demonstrates your ability to turn complex ideas into clear, engaging designs. Be prepared to discuss specific projects where you’ve set high standards and how you’ve elevated the work of your team.

✨Emphasise Cultural Intelligence

Since Havas SO values cultural relevance, think about how your design work has engaged with or influenced culture. Prepare examples that showcase your understanding of cultural trends and how you've used them to create meaningful solutions in your past roles.

✨Be Ready to Innovate

Familiarise yourself with AI tools and be ready to discuss how you’ve used them in your design process. Think of ways you can push creative boundaries and how you can integrate new technologies to enhance your team's output without losing the human touch.

✨Demonstrate Leadership Style

Havas SO is looking for a leader who embodies kindness and curiosity. Prepare to share your approach to mentoring and inspiring your team. Discuss how you foster a collaborative environment and how you’ve helped others grow in their careers while maintaining a positive team culture.

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