UX Design & Research Operations Manager - Fixed Term Contract

We’re looking for a confident, resourceful and flexible Operations Manager to join our multidisciplinary UX Design and Research team. Our team is committed to simplifying the way UXDR works at Tesco. By enabling a culture of high-performance, we can accelerate the strategic role design and research have in shaping our products and services, ultimately increasing the value to our customers, colleagues, and Tesco. The outcome? Delightful and impactful experiences for over 12 million digitally engaged customers and over 300,000 colleagues.

As a UX Design & Research Operations Manager, you’ll be instrumental in optimising how the UXDR team works and the impact it has. You’ll provide operational support, enhancing processes, tools, and platforms. By collaborating with leads, managers, and Heads of Design, you’ll improve operational excellence. Your focus will be supporting our Design System team by improving their operational practices, driving adoption across UXDR, and enhancing satisfaction with the design system.

Working closely with the Design System Manager, Lead Designer, Product, and Engineering teams, you’ll drive adoption of our design system. This will help unlock significant time and resource savings, ensure user experience consistency, promote accessibility, and foster cross-functional collaboration. Teamwork mixed with consistency and expert insight is the recipe for success. You’ll be working with some of the finest UX and UI designers, researchers, UX writers, service designers, data and analytics experts, product managers, and developers.

Here’s a taste of what you can expect:

• You’ll join a business that values your expertise, experience, and insight.
• You’ll be a crucial part of a dedicated team full of individuals from a diverse set of backgrounds who share your determination and motivation.
• You’ll enjoy a hybrid role that builds the perfect work/life balance, helping you be yourself both professionally and personally.
• A benefits package that’s more than competitive.

You will be responsible for:

• Providing hands-on tactical operational support to develop and implement efficient design and research processes, frameworks, and ways of working.
• Maximising the operational capability, value, and impact of a market-leading UX Design and Research practice.
• Supporting the adoption and operationalisation of the Digital Design System (DDS).
• Collaborating with external vendors and internal teams to ensure timely delivery of services and tools.
• Overseeing licensing, access, and budgeting for design and research platforms.
• Working with partners to establish and streamline important usability metrics and ensure their smooth integration throughout the organisation.
• Using data to assist in developing and implementing critical metrics to improve operational efficiency and effectiveness of the UX research and design teams.
• Fostering improved collaboration between design, product, and engineering teams.
• Breaking down silos and enabling a unified approach to design and engineering.
• Implementing key continuous improvement and capability maturity initiatives to realise UXDR strategy.

You will need:

• 2+ years direct experience of user experience, service design or user research.
• 2+ years design operations, project management or product management.
• A strong understanding of design systems and their implementation and experience working with a design system team.
• Proven experience leading improvement programs, optimising operational processes, and using metrics and data to guide decision-making.
• Practical experience in root cause analysis, prioritisation methods, business process analysis, and optimisation.
• Experience in resolving conflicts, facilitating discussions, and promoting collaboration and problem-solving.
• The ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams.
• Familiarity with Lean/Agile and product management concepts, principles, and practices.
• Ability to work independently in a fast-paced environment, proactively tackle problems, and navigate complexity to deliver valuable outcomes.
• Effective in working with a broad range of partners, including senior management, to understand issues, share insights, and create alignment.
• A deep understanding of UX principles and standard methodologies.
• Proficiency in design and project management tools (e.g. Figma, Jira, Aha, Miro, Confluence).
• Excellent project management, organisational, communication, and interpersonal skills.
• A proactive demeanour with a strong interest in personal growth and continuous learning.

What’s in it for you?

We’re all about the little helps. That’s why we make sure our Tesco colleague benefits package takes care of you – both in and out of work.

• Annual bonus scheme of up to 20% of base salary.
• Holiday starting at 25 days plus a personal day (plus Bank holidays).
• Private medical insurance.
• 26 weeks maternity and adoption leave (after 1 year’s service) at full pay, followed by 13 weeks of Statutory Maternity Pay or Statutory Adoption Pay; we also offer 4 weeks fully paid paternity leave.
• Free 24/7 virtual GP service, Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) for you and your family, free access to a range of experts to support your mental wellbeing.

About Us

Our vision at Tesco is to become every customer’s favourite way to shop, whether they are at home or out on the move. Our core purpose is ‘Serving our customers, communities and planet a little better every day’. Serving means more than a transactional relationship with our customers. It means acting as a responsible and sustainable business for all stakeholders, for the communities we are part of and for the planet.

We are proud to have an inclusive culture at Tesco where everyone truly feels able to be themselves. At Tesco, we not only celebrate diversity but recognise the value and opportunity it brings. We’re committed to creating a workplace where differences are valued and make sure that all colleagues are given the same opportunities. We’re proud to have been accredited Disability Confident Leader and we’re committed to providing a fully inclusive and accessible recruitment process.

We’re a big business and we can offer a range of diverse full-time & part-time working patterns across our many business areas, which means that we can find something that works for you. We work in a more blended pattern - combining office and remote working. Our offices will continue to be where we connect, collaborate, and innovate.