Unboxed Consulting

Unboxed is an established and well respected design and digital product development agency based in London. We help our clients solve knotty problems, increasing business agility and improving user outcomes. Our multidisciplinary teams combine our core expertise in design and software development with specific relevant domain knowledge to deliver positive change and create meaningful impact.

In recent years, we've focused on delivering technology enabled services in the public sector. Our strategic aim is to expand our influence across public, private and the third sector to address systemic problems in areas such as education, sustainable energy, and health & wellbeing.

We are looking for someone with 12+ years' relevant experience to lead our design team through this period of growth and diversification.

About the role

As Head of Design, you will hold a key leadership role within Unboxed with responsibility for our design team, their practice and a significant influence on our overall strategy.

The role will combine hands-on client work with dedicated time for leadership and other activities to support the following outcomes:

Many opportunities to do interesting and impactful work

This is an exciting period of change and we must take a proactive and creative approach to finding enough of the right kind of work if we are to increase our positive impact on society. The Head of Design will have a significant role to play in that, drawing attention to Unboxed, creating connections for the sales and marketing team to develop into new business opportunities, and ensuring our proposals really resonate with potential customers and stand out from those of our competition.

A cohesive team of motivated, valued and fulfilled designers

Our design team is in a fantastic place. People love working for Unboxed and the support of teammates in what can be quite complex and challenging environments is cited as the thing they appreciate the most. Leadership is also strong throughout the team. The team is currently six people, however our ambition is to double its size over the next two years. The Head of Design will be responsible for ensuring it remains resilient, passionate and committed to doing great work as we grow and expand into new areas.

A consistent, adaptable, effective and fully integrated design practice

Unboxed has always been at the forefront of integrated user-centred design and agile delivery. We have a well established operating model built on embedded principles and values rather than fixed methods and processes. Our approach adapts well in different environments and as new people join the team. The Head of Design will lead this continuous evolution, taking cues from both the team and external inspiration, to enhance our reputation as thought leaders in our field.

Key activities

Delivery of these outcomes will include the following key activities:

• Publicly promoting Unboxed and building new relationships via events, social media and community engagement
• Working with sales & marketing and other colleagues to shape opportunities and prepare and present proposals, defining our proposition from a design perspective
• Engaging senior client stakeholders to find ways in which we can add further value within their organisation
• Providing oversight on multiple projects to ensure the team is well supported and able to deliver value and achieve positive outcomes
• Maintaining and supporting a flexible approach to progression within the design team, including mentoring, coaching and 1-2-1 support as well as critical reflection to promote self-driven development
• Identifying gaps in capability and leading recruitment of new design team members
• Demonstrating behaviours consistent with the Unboxed values of openness and transparency, care and attention, healthy relationships, learning by doing, delivering value and continuous improvement
• Influencing industry thinking through blogs, conference talks, podcasts and other thought leadership activities
• Continuously refining Unboxed's design principles and processes to introduce new thinking whilst maintaining consistent, high quality delivery

Your knowledge and experience

You will be comfortable working across multiple design disciplines, with deep expertise in at least one of our core areas:

• Design research

You should also have a good understanding and experience in other areas of design such as:

• Systems thinking
• Product management
• Front-end development

You will, of course, demonstrate exceptional design leadership skills and an ability to share your knowledge and experience with both designers and non-designers.

We also expect you to have worked within an agile environment, and have a strong drive to work closely and collaboratively with developers, delivery managers and subject matter experts.

You are likely to have experience in several different industries spanning the public, private and third sector.

Core competencies and behaviours

We expect everyone at Unboxed to be:

• Naturally collaborative
• Good communicators (written and verbal)
• Adaptable
• Comfortable with uncertainty and complexity
• Curious and questioning
• Active listeners
• Empathic, humble and generous
• Open and honest
• Always learning
• Passionate about our work
• Reflective, on yourself and the situation

How we work Flexible, hybrid working

In order to ensure individuals get the best work-life balance and can work how best suits them, we've adapted our working practices and London office space to support hybrid working, with most people coming into the office two to three times a week.

We trust our team to do the work they need to to get the job done, and to collaborate closely with their team. If you need to flex that around your life, whether it's caring responsibilities or a workout at the gym, we will work with you to find the right balance of work and life.

Inclusion and wellbeing

At Unboxed, we strive to create an inclusive workplace environment where people can thrive and feel they belong, by promoting a good work life balance, open communication and positive working relationships.

Our success depends on our team, and we want each member to feel fulfilled and valued. We believe individual progression is based on self-reflection and self awareness of where you are coming from, where you are now, and where you want to be. We also believe career progression is most powerful when it's owned by, and driven by you. As part of your progression, you can expect:

• Monthly reflection sessions
• Six-monthly director check ins
• An open and coaching led approach
• Fortnightly design crits with the team

We are an equal opportunity employer and we're committed to further increasing diversity within Unboxed. We believe in fostering an inclusive and equitable workplace that values and embraces the unique perspectives and experiences that each individual brings. We recognise that not everyone will have had the same opportunity to gain relevant experience and therefore welcome applications from UK residents who may have felt excluded from such a role in the past, whether due to age, gender, ethnicity, visible or invisible disability, neurodivergence, education, religion/belief, sexual orientation, or family/care commitments.

Salary bands

We use salary bands to ensure that everyone at Unboxed gets paid fairly in relation to others at the company. We assess what band you are in according to skills, competencies and experience. This role will sit with our Principal band with a salary of £85,000+.

Other benefits

• 25 holiday days per year, on top of the bank holiday allowance
• 10 Innovation Days per year to explore your own ideas
• Holiday flexibility and loyalty bonus benefits
• Maternity and Shared Parental Leave policies
• A generous conference budget
• Flexible working hours and location
• An informal culture of growth
• Monthly 'Linkers and Thinkers' idea-exploring lunches
• Weekly 'Design Club' to share wider thoughts, ideas and opinions with the team

"At Unboxed, designers get the opportunity to work across a variety of impactful projects, with different teams and customers. We have a strong culture of trust and collaboration, which provides a great environment for growth and development. "

Martyn Evans, Director and Head of Product

Application process

To apply for this role, please submit your application to before 17th January 2024. Please include a cover note to explain why you think Unboxed is the place for you, a work history in the form of a CV or LinkedIn profile, and some examples of your work in the form of a portfolio, website, or some case studies.

If we think there could be a good match, the application process is as follows:

• Initial 30 minute call to further discuss the role (5-10 candidates)
• 60 minute interview with a multi-disciplinary Unboxed team to discuss your experience, values and approach (3-5 candidates)
• Practical exercise to assess your competencies and behaviours (3-5 candidates)
• Offer made or feedback provided

We would expect to complete this process within three weeks of the application closing date.