UX Design Director Head of Interaction

UX Design Director Head of Interaction

Location:

London

Level: CL5/6

Drive the strategic vision, culture, and execution of world-class interaction design across Accenture Song - setting the standard for craft quality, embedding human-centred design at the heart of the business, and ensuring every digital product and service delivers measurable value.

Define and champion interaction design strategy at an organisational level; set standards for conceptual thinking, interaction design, and experience coherence across multi-disciplinary teams; establish governance and ways of working that elevate quality and consistency; lead with a systems-thinking mindset, connecting design strategy to business goals, technology capabilities, and long-term product vision.

Be visionary. Set the standard. Build the culture. Lead with empathy ve strategic clarity. Develop others relentlessly. Hold a high bar. Champion design with courage and conviction.

• 12+ years of progressive industry experience, including 6+ years in senior design leadership or people management roles.
• Demonstrated experience owning and evolving a UX or interaction design practice at an organisational or business-unit level.
• Track record of managing and developing design managers, not just individual contributors.
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience in Design, HCI, or a related field; advanced degree advantageous.

• Define and communicate a bold, long-range vision for interaction design that aligns with organisational strategy and inspires teams at all levels.
• Position design as a strategic business driver; articulate the commercial and experiential return on design investment to C-suite and senior stakeholders.
• Establish a research-led, evidence-based design culture across the organisation.
• Serve as an executive sponsor for design, advocating for resources, headcount, and tooling.
• Model and instil a culture of psychological safety, ambition, and continuous learning.

• Own and evolve the design standards, frameworks, and systems that define quality across all products and services.
• Set the vision for design language and cross-platform experience coherence, from concept through to delivery.
• Create organisational knowledge artefacts - principles, playbooks, and pattern libraries - that scale craft and reduce inconsistency.
• Act as the final creative authority on high-stakes, complex design decisions.

• Build, scale, and retain a world-class design team; develop a talent pipeline through hiring, mentoring, and succession planning.
• Manage a team of senior designers and design managers; set clear performance expectations and create meaningful growth pathways.
• Foster a diverse, inclusive team culture that reflects the breadth of the users we serve.
• Lead organisational design for the UX function, including team structure, roles, and operating model as the organisation scales.
• Champion design career frameworks and ensure equitable, transparent progression across the discipline.

• Own the end-to-end design delivery model across multiple simultaneous programmes, ensuring quality, pace, and alignment with business priorities.
• Introduce and maintain design governance processes, critique cadences, and quality gates.
• Partner with Product, Engineering, Data, and Research leadership to co-define roadmaps and ensure design is embedded at every stage.
• Drive adoption of state-of-the-art methods and emerging design practices.

• Serve as the executive design lead in senior client relationships, building long-term trust and acting as a strategic thought partner.
• Translate complex design strategy into compelling narratives for executive and board-level audiences.
• Lead the design of strategic workshops and co-creation sessions with C-suite stakeholders.
• Identify and shape new business opportunities through design-led thinking.

• Represent Accenture Song as a recognised thought leader; present at major industry conferences and build the studio external profile.
• Cultivate an external network that generates talent, partnership, and innovation opportunities.
• Set the agenda for internal design community initiatives, shaping a studio-wide culture of craft, curiosity, and excellence.

• Proven ability to think at a systems level - connecting interaction, service, brand, and business strategy into a coherent experience vision.
• Deep expertise in human-centred and research-led design practices, with the authority to set organisational standards.
• Mastery of the full design toolkit: experience strategy, interaction design, information architecture, rapid prototyping, and usability evaluation.
• Strong command of design systems thinking and the governance required to maintain them at scale.
• Exceptional communication and storytelling skills; able to influence and inspire at every level of the organisation.
• Commercially literate - able to…