At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead innovative design strategies and shape airport services for a better guest experience.
- Company: Join a forward-thinking airport innovation team with a collaborative spirit.
- Benefits: Enjoy 25 days leave, profit sharing, private medical insurance, and hybrid working options.
- Other info: Dynamic role with opportunities for mentorship and professional growth.
- Why this job: Be a key player in transforming airport services and making a real impact.
- Qualifications: Experience in service design and strong communication skills are essential.
The predicted salary is between 57036 - 69710 £ per year.
As Strategic Design Lead, you will sit at the centre of the newly established Innovation Team, shaping how the airport evolves its products, services and operations.
You will act as a bridge between innovation and the wider business, helping teams understand, trust and adopt new ways of working.
This role is equal parts strategist, practitioner and leader
- Setting direction while remaining hands-on
- Coaching and growing others while delivering critical work
- Partnering closely with the Digital Lead to influence stakeholders and unlock progress.
You’ll be a driving force within the team bringing clarity and momentum and confidently challenging the status quo to deliver meaningful outcomes.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND ACCOUNTABILITIES
- Define and drive product and service strategy across Now / Next / Later horizons, connecting immediate delivery to longer-term transformation
- Act as a translator between design, technology, data and business, making complex ideas accessible and actionable
- Apply service design, product thinking and systems thinking to real operational challenges, focusing on outcomes over artefacts
- Lead product, service or process initiatives from discovery through to delivery, working alongside your team, wider stakeholders, and third party service providers.
- Facilitate prioritisation of the team’s workplan
- Plan and facilitate user research — interviews, contextual enquiry, workshops — synthesising findings into clear, actionable insight.
- Map current and future-state customer journeys, service blueprints and ecosystem maps that build shared understanding across teams.
- Facilitate co-design workshops, generating alignment and momentum around complex problems.
- Define service principles, design criteria and success metrics that keep work grounded in real user and business needs.
- Collaborate closely with product designers, tech leads and delivery leads to ensure service-level thinking flows into product decisions.
- Partner with the Digital Lead and others in your team to navigate stakeholders and build strong relationships across the business
- Maintain pace and focus within agile sprint cycles, balancing rapid experimentation with meaningful delivery
- Build our service design practice sharing knowledge, developing frameworks and mentoring junior designers, and building a credible and effective innovation practice with the wider organisation
- Contribute to delivering a great guest experience by performing your role with accuracy and efficiency.
Recognising that every task whether guest facing or behind the scenes contributes to supporting the company’s overall LLA Way Strategy and service standards.
- Proactively and positively promote the LLA Way initiatives and projects with all employees and the wider airport community.
TOOLS & CRAFT
- Figma
- Journey Mapping
- User Research
- Workshop Facilitation
- Systems Thinking
- Prototyping
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & EXPERIENCE
- Demonstrable experience in service design working on complex service challenges.
- Experience in product or service management, product design, or strategy consulting is a plus
- Strong prioritisation skills — able to make trade-offs and focus effort where it will have the greatest impact
- Ability to build credibility and trust quickly across senior stakeholders and frontline teams alike
- Strong research skills — you're comfortable recruiting, facilitating, and synthesising across a range of qualitative methods.
- An expert workshop designer and facilitator: you can hold a room, navigate tension and bring groups to clarity.
- Fluency in core service design artefacts — journey maps, blueprints, personas, prototypes — and a thoughtful view on when to use which.
- Ability to work at multiple altitudes: strategic framing one week, detailed interaction flows the next.
- Strong communication and storytelling skills — your work is rigorous but accessible.
- Experience working in agile delivery environments alongside product, engineering, and business teams.
- A collaborative, curious and generous spirit. You bring out the best in the people around you.
OUR BENEFITS
- 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays
- Profit Share Scheme
- Up to 12% employer contribution through our Flexi-Savings Scheme
- Private Medical Insurance and Employee Assistance Programme
- Enhanced sick pay, maternity and paternity pay
- Hybrid working opportunities where business needs allow
- Cycle to Work and Electric Vehicle Salary Sacrifice Schemes
- #J-18808-Ljbffr
Strategic Design Lead in Luton employer: London Luton Airport
As a leading player in the construction and engineering sector, we pride ourselves on fostering a collaborative and innovative work culture that empowers our employees to excel. With competitive salaries, comprehensive benefits, and ample opportunities for professional development, we are committed to supporting your career growth while you contribute to impactful projects in a dynamic environment.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Strategic Design Lead in Luton
✨Leverage Innovation Hubs
Tap into local innovation hubs and research centres. These places often host events and workshops where you can meet like-minded people and industry leaders. Plus, they might have job openings that aren't widely advertised, so keep your ears open!
✨Showcase Your Projects
Turn your past innovation projects into compelling stories. Create a portfolio showcasing your creativity and problem-solving skills. This can give hiring managers a real flavour of what you can bring to the table at companies like London Luton Airport.
✨Connect at Industry Conferences
Make it a point to attend industry conferences and seminars focused on R&D and innovation management. These events are fantastic for networking and often have job boards or career fairs where you can connect directly with firms looking for talent.
✨Use Your University’s Resources
If you're fresh out of university, don't forget to tap into your institution's career services. They often have exclusive partnerships with companies seeking new talent in R&D, especially for full-time roles. It's a good shortcut to landing a gig at places like London Luton Airport.
We think you need these skills to ace Strategic Design Lead in Luton
Some tips for your application 🫡
Showcase Your Creative Thinking:In innovation and R&D management, it's all about thinking outside the box. Make sure your CV highlights any projects or experiences that showcase your creative problem-solving skills. Use specific examples to illustrate how you've developed and implemented innovative ideas in previous roles.
Tailor Your Experience to R&D:When you're crafting your CV, focus on your experience in research and development. Highlight any relevant projects you've worked on, including methodologies used and results achieved. This will show us at London Luton Airport that you understand the R&D process and can contribute meaningfully to our projects.
Let Your Passion Shine in the Cover Letter:For a full-time role like this, your cover letter should reflect your genuine passion for innovation and development. Share your excitement about the opportunity to work at London Luton Airport and touch on how your goals align with our mission. This helps us see your motivation for wanting to join our team!
Quantify Your Achievements:Numbers speak volumes in R&D! Whenever possible, quantify your achievements in your CV. Whether it’s a percentage improvement in project outcomes, the budget size you’ve managed, or the number of successful products you've launched, these figures will help paint a clearer picture of your impact and capabilities.
How to prepare for a job interview at London Luton Airport
✨Show Off Your Innovative Thinking
In an Innovation R&D Management role at London Luton Airport, they're going to want to see how you approach problem-solving. Be ready to discuss previous projects where you introduced a new idea or process. Highlight your ability to think outside the box and provide examples where your innovations drove significant results.
✨Familiarity with Tools and Technologies
Make sure you're clued up on the latest tools and technologies related to innovation management, such as project management software and data analysis platforms. Being able to discuss specific tools you’ve used or have experience with will show London Luton Airport that you’re ready to hit the ground running.
✨Demonstrate Collaboration Skills
Since this is a full-time gig, emphasising your teamwork skills will be essential. In innovation, collaboration often sparks the best ideas, so be ready to talk about how you've worked effectively within cross-functional teams in your past roles. Have concrete examples at the ready!
✨Prepare for Scenario-Based Questions
Expect some scenario-based questions in your interview that reflect real challenges you might face in the role. £At London Luton Airport, they might want to see how you handle tight deadlines or manage conflicting ideas within a team. Prepare some responses that demonstrate your critical thinking and decisiveness in high-pressure situations.
