Head of Design and Research in Milton

Informa is a leading academic publishing, business intelligence, knowledge, and events business, creating unique content and connectivity for customers all over the world. Taylor & Francis is one of the world’s largest publishers of high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarly journals, books, e-books, and reference works. Our purpose is to foster human progress through knowledge.

Design is at the heart of how Taylor & Francis delivers value to its users. As Head of Product Design, you will lead the design function to create intuitive, accessible, and delightful experiences at scale across our digital ecosystem. This high-impact strategic role involves setting the design vision, building a world-class team, and embedding design thinking throughout product development.

Design Leadership & Strategy

• Own the end-to-end design strategy for T&F's products and services, championing user-centred thinking at every level.
• Build and evolve a comprehensive design system that enables consistency, speed, and quality across all product surfaces, platforms, and content types.
• Establish design principles and standards that scale across a multi-region, multi-product organization while allowing for contextual flexibility.
• Drive innovation in design practice, exploring emerging paradigms including AI-assisted design, personalization at scale, accessibility-first thinking, and inclusive design.
• Define and track design success metrics, establishing how design impact is measured and communicated across the organization.
• Anticipate future user needs, positioning design as a strategic function that shapes product roadmaps.

Team & Culture

• Hire, develop, and inspire a high-performing team of UX Designers, UI Designers, and Researchers.
• Create a culture of critique, collaboration, and continuous learning within the design function.
• Advocate for the role of research and evidence in shaping product direction.
• Mentor and grow design talent, creating clear career pathways and development opportunities.
• Build design capability across the organization, coaching non-designers in design thinking and user-centred approaches.

Cross-Functional Partnership & Influence

• Work closely with the Head of Product Management and Head of Data & Intelligence to align design with product strategy.
• Collaborate deeply with Engineering to ensure design intent is realized in the final product.
• Partner with Content, Editorial, and Commercial teams to ensure design serves both user needs and business goals.
• Contribute to the VP Product leadership team, representing the design perspective in strategic decisions.
• Present and defend design decisions at executive level, translating design rationale into business impact.
• Build design advocacy across the organization, elevating the visibility and influence of design.

Operational Excellence

• Establish scalable design processes and rituals that balance speed with quality.
• Manage design operations, including tooling, workflows, critique processes, and cross-functional handoffs.
• Balance strategic vision with tactical delivery.
• Navigate ambiguity and complexity, making sound decisions with incomplete information.

Qualifications

• Significant experience in product design, with a demonstrated success in a design leadership role.
• Strong portfolio demonstrating design quality, systems thinking, and strategic impact.
• Deep knowledge of user research methodologies and how to integrate insight into design practice.
• Experience building and evolving design systems that serve multiple products.
• Confident communicator and storyteller, able to present and defend design decisions at executive level.

Strategic & Leadership Capabilities

• Strategic thinker who can connect design decisions to business outcomes.
• Exceptional people leader with a track record of hiring, developing, and retaining top design talent.
• Collaborative influencer who builds trust and credibility across functions.
• Systems thinker who sees connections, patterns, and opportunities.
• Comfortable with ambiguity, able to provide clarity and direction.
• High agency and ownership mindset.

Technical & Domain Knowledge

• Expertise in modern design tools and practices.
• Familiarity with data-driven design, personalization, and AI-driven experiences.
• Understanding of mobile-first and offline-capable design patterns.
• Knowledge of accessibility standards and inclusive design principles.
• Experience working across hybrid, multi-region teams.

At Taylor & Francis we care about our colleagues, promoting work-life balance, wellbeing, and flexible working. You will be joining a thriving business, working alongside an exceptional group of people. We believe that the skills and experience you bring to Taylor & Francis are invaluable.

This role is based in the UK and you must have the right to work and live in the UK. We believe that great things happen when people connect face-to-face. That's why we work in-person with each other, or with customers and partners, three days a week or more.

Please note that our Milton Park office will be relocating to Oxford city centre in late 2027 / early 2028.

Taylor & Francis is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We believe in and value diversity of people and thought, fostering a supportive and inclusive environment where all colleagues can learn and succeed as their true selves.