UX Manager in Oxford

Oxford Nanopore Technologies is changing the way the world understands biology. Our real‑time, scalable sequencing technology enables anyone, anywhere, to analyse any living thing from pocket‑sized devices all the way to population‑scale systems.

About the Role

We are seeking an exceptionally motivated and experienced UX Manager to join our dynamic team. Reporting to the Customer Platforms Director, you will be a key leader in driving the delivery of exceptional user‑centred experiences across our digital products and services, with a primary focus on our Corporate Website. If you are passionate about blending strategic vision with hands‑on design expertise to create intuitive and meaningful digital experiences, we want to hear from you.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead UX Strategy: Support the Customer Platforms Director in defining and executing the UX strategy, ensuring seamless alignment with broader Customer Experience (CX) goals and brand identity.
• Deliver Design Excellence: Create and oversee the delivery of high‑quality, user‑centred design solutions from concept to implementation.
• Own Information Architecture: Take ownership of the structural information architecture for our digital estate, ensuring content is organised, labelled, and arranged to maximise user findability and engagement.
• Optimise User Journeys: Map and refine stakeholder journeys across the digital ecosystem, maintaining brand and user experience continuity at every touchpoint.
• Design and Govern Templates: Lead the design of reusable templates and individual pages, ensuring they are structured, accessible, and aligned with brand and UX best practices, contributing to a cohesive design system.
• Visualise Complex Data: Create designs that effectively communicate complex content, balancing innovative creative thinking with technical feasibility and best practice principles.
• Drive Collaboration: Work closely with cross‑functional teams and stakeholders to gather insights, define requirements, and ensure a unified user experience across all digital platforms.
• Champion User Research: Plan and oversee user research, usability testing, and analysis of user feedback to identify key opportunities for improvement and inform data‑driven design decisions.
• Communicate Designs: Produce and review wireframes, prototypes, and design mock‑ups, effectively communicating design concepts and interactions to development teams.
• Foster Design Culture: Establish and promote design principles, guidelines, and best practices, advocating for user‑centred design and fostering a culture of empathy, creativity, and continuous improvement.
• Stay Current: Keep up‑to‑date with industry trends, emerging technologies, and UX/design best practices, applying relevant innovations to enhance digital experiences.

What You’ll Bring

The successful candidate will demonstrate a blend of strategic thinking, technical understanding, and collaborative spirit:

• Strategic & CX Focus: Proven ability to translate business objectives and Customer Experience strategy into clear, actionable UX and information architecture plans.
• Information Architecture Mastery: Extensive experience in structuring complex digital estates, including advanced skills in navigation design, content hierarchy, and end‑to‑end journey mapping.
• Deep User‑Centric Mindset: A strong understanding of user behaviour, needs, and motivations, focused on delivering intuitive, effective, and meaningful design solutions.
• Communication Skills: Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to effectively present and advocate for design concepts, challenge thinking, and collaborate across all levels of the organisation.
• Creative Discipline: Ability to balance UX best practices and design standards with creative innovation to deliver engaging and differentiated digital experiences.
• Experience & Education: A minimum of 6 years of progressive professional experience in UX design, coupled with a bachelor’s degree or similar professional qualification in a related field (e.g., Human‑Computer Interaction, Interaction Design, User Experience Design).
• Portfolio: A strong, demonstrable portfolio showcasing successful UX and information architecture projects.
• Tool Proficiency: Expertise in UX design and prototyping tools such as Figma, or similar.
• Development Awareness: A solid understanding of modern software development practices, ideally within a Vue.js environment.

You are a motivated, positive self‑starter who values teamwork and can interact and engage effectively with staff at all levels.