Senior Design Researcher (Community of Practice Lead)

Senior Design Researcher (Community of Practice Lead): A Career-Defining Opportunity at Lloyds Banking Group

Are you a visionary Design Researcher with a passion for fostering communities and driving innovation? Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) presents an exceptional opportunity to step into a pivotal role as a Senior Design Researcher, acting as a Community of Practice Lead. This position is designed for individuals who are eager to shape the future of design within a large, impactful organization and leave a lasting legacy.

This role offers a compelling blend of strategic leadership and hands-on involvement, allowing you to influence design practices at a national scale. If you are seeking a position that offers both significant responsibility and the chance to mentor and inspire a community of design professionals, this could be your next career move.

Key Advantages for Aspiring Candidates:

• Impactful Leadership: As a Community of Practice Lead, you will be instrumental in defining and elevating design standards across LBG. You'll have the autonomy to build, grow, and champion world-class design, directly influencing how the organization innovates and delivers value.
• Career Growth and Rotational Opportunity: This role is designed with your career trajectory in mind. The Community of Practice Lead positions are rotational, ensuring fresh perspectives and ongoing development. After a 1-2 year tenure as a Lead, you will transition into a permanent Senior Design Researcher role, providing a clear path for sustained career advancement within LBG.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: You will play a crucial role in integrating Experience Design with Product, Engineering, and the broader Brands, Marketing & Experience (BMX) team. This collaborative environment offers unparalleled opportunities to broaden your understanding and influence across diverse disciplines.
• Industry Influence: This role offers a unique platform to represent your field at senior levels, influencing strategy and championing the voice of design within the Experience Design Leadership Team (DLT) and beyond. You'll also forge valuable connections with external design and tech communities.
• Fostering a Thriving Community: A core aspect of this role is igniting and nurturing a vibrant community of designers. You'll be responsible for orchestrating events, delivering learning experiences, and cultivating a culture of continuous learning, experimentation, and bold thinking, empowering your colleagues to reach new heights.
• Commitment to Innovation: LBG is making significant investments in people, data, and technology, leading to innovative projects and exciting new possibilities. As a Community of Practice Lead, you'll be at the forefront of this transformation, sourcing and embedding groundbreaking design research trends and frameworks.
• Flexible and Inclusive Workplace: LBG embraces flexible working, offering hybrid options to support a healthy work-life balance. They are deeply committed to fostering an inclusive environment that celebrates diversity and ensures all employees feel they belong and can thrive.

Key Considerations for Your Career Path:

• Strategic Vision and Execution: This role requires a strong visionary outlook coupled with the ability to translate that vision into actionable strategies and hands-on delivery. You'll need to be comfortable navigating between high-level thinking and practical implementation.
• Inspiring and Influential Communication: The ability to rally teams and partners around ambitious goals is paramount. Exceptional communication skills are essential for sharing ideas, successes, and for constructively challenging the status quo.
• Data-Driven Approach: A key responsibility will be to measure and communicate the value of your community of practice. Candidates should be comfortable using data to inform decisions and demonstrate impact.
• Adaptability and Resilience: Working within a large organization, you'll need to be agile and organized, energized by solving complex challenges at pace. The ability to foster openness, build agreement, and drive momentum for new ideas will be critical.
• Location Flexibility: While the role offers hybrid working, it requires a commitment to spending time in one of LBG's office sites. The role is based in Manchester, Bristol, Leeds, Halifax, or Edinburgh, so consider which location best suits your needs.
• Rotational Nature: While the rotational aspect offers development opportunities, candidates should be aware that the Community of Practice Lead position is a fixed-term engagement before transitioning to a permanent Senior Design Researcher role.

This Senior Design Researcher (Community of Practice Lead) position at Lloyds Banking Group is more than just a job; it's an invitation to shape the future of design and contribute to an organization that is dedicated to helping Britain prosper. If you possess the drive, vision, and collaborative spirit, this opportunity offers a rewarding and impactful career path.