Ux Design Team Lead in Ledston

As User Experience (UX) Design Lead you will be accountable for the user experience design across all YBS group digital channels. You’ll lead a team of 12 UX Designers within an Agile delivery environment and work in partnership with Product Owners, Developers, Content Designers and SMEs to deliver an outstanding experience design capability. This is a strategic leadership role that combines creative hands‑on design expertise with people leadership.

This is a hybrid role with remote working and regular onsite presence in our central Leeds and Bradford offices. Fixed Term Contract – 6 months.

As User Experience UX Design Lead, you will have a deep understanding of good experience design and how to mature and modernise capability in your team. You will work alongside other design leads in Content Design, User Research and Service Design to build a modern, creative, responsive and influential design practice that improves outcomes for our customers.

You will:

• Lead, coach, mentor and develop a team of 12 UX designers to build their practice, maturity, strategic thinking skills and confidence.
• Act as a role model, demonstrating exceptional levels of skill in collaboration, constructive challenge and strategic thinking.
• Support the team in developing a more collaborative product design culture.
• Work closely with the Design Squad lead and Delivery Manager to plan project resource and solve design problems.
• Act as a primary advocate for user‑centered design and support designers in effective communication of design rationale to developers and business stakeholders.
• Partner closely with Product Management and Engineering to ensure UX practice is fit for purpose by proactively identifying future capacity and capability needs.
• Further develop and maintain high standards of usability, accessibility and design quality.
• Facilitate design thinking workshops, ideation sessions, and strategic alignment activities and coach your team in these areas.

You’ll be an experienced Senior or UX Lead with demonstrable experience in leading and mentoring Designers. In addition, you’ll bring:

• Demonstrable experience of leading a team through transformative change.
• Proven experience leading design strategy across multiple products, platforms, or product portfolios.
• Passion for innovation, continuous improvement, and building high‑performing teams.
• Proven experience of coaching, developing, maturity and building advanced skills in a design team.
• Ability to influence senior stakeholders and drive strategic decisions through evidence‑based design practices.
• Excellent communication, facilitation and stakeholder management skills.
• Expertise in design systems and scalable UX frameworks.
• Strong knowledge of accessibility standards, inclusive design principles and regulatory compliance.
• Advanced proficiency with modern design systems, prototyping software, and design tools (Figma preferred).

At YBS we don’t have shareholders, we have members. We care about people and that includes you. So here, you’ll be respected for who you are, you’ll be able to bring your whole self to work, and you’ll have everything you need to build a long and rewarding career.

Flexibility. We offer a range of flexible working options without unsocial hours, which can help you find a healthy work‑life balance. Whether it’s finishing early for an appointment or fitting your studies and hobbies in around your working hours, we can help make it work for you.

Development. We want you to feel challenged here. Whatever your ambitions, we’re committed to helping you develop your skills and move ahead in your career journey. From day one, we’ll set you up for success with a brilliant induction and full training plan, all designed to get you up to speed quickly.

Inclusivity. We’re passionate about creating an inclusive environment where everyone is welcome and able to be themselves. If you’ll go the extra mile to help our members, you’ll fit right in and feel you belong here.

We offer lots of fantastic rewards that you can make the most of in and out of work, including:

• Holiday. You’ll get 25 days plus Bank Holidays, as well as the option to buy up to a further 5 days.
• Bonus. At YBS we work collaboratively and share in our success together, so when we reach our goals we’re all rewarded with an on target bonus of 7% of eligible pay (with the opportunity to earn up to a maximum 15%).
• Pension. We know how important it is to save towards the future, that’s why we’ll contribute up 11% into your YBS pension.
• Healthcare. Health and wellbeing are an important part of life at YBS, when you join us you’ll have access to a range of health benefits to suit your life including private medical insurance, dental and healthcare plans.
• My Benefits. When you join YBS you’ll have access to our self‑service benefits portal, where you can access a range of retail, hospitality and health discounts.