We’re the bank that turns possibilities into progress.

We understand our customers, their worlds, and what matters to them. We help them see the opportunities and navigate a rapidly changing world. And we’re simplifying our business so that we can anticipate our customers’ needs and react to them quickly.

Our business is UK centred and covers retail, commercial and private banking customers, with more offshore and further afield. Our services bring together our people’s incredible specialist knowledge with a sense of innovation, and carefully designed technology-driven journeys.

As one of the leading supporters of UK business, we’re using enterprise as a force for change. We’re focusing on the people and communities who have traditionally faced the highest barriers to entry and figuring out ways to remove them.

That includes learning and education, whether directed at young people or building financial confidence in adults. And by fostering a leading learning culture in our business, our people also prosper.

NatWest Group

Join us as a Design Operations Lead

Gain exposure to high-impact initiatives by leading the delivery of mid-size, increasingly complex design operations projects and programmes and managing core operational processesDrive long-term improvements across the function by contributing to the development of design operations and experience design strategies and leading the delivery of associated strategic initiativesDrive the adoption of enterprise-approved AI capabilities across the design organisation, creating scalable guidance, governance, documentation, and best practices that help teams work more effectively and consistently

What you'll do

As a Design Operations Lead, you'll manage design operations activity across the business area, balancing team needs, business goals, and operational constraints to enable successful project and programme delivery. Acting as an escalation point, you'll also remove blockers to maintain momentum and quality, as well as approve design operations deliverables in line with defined authority. You'll ensure effective execution of design operations activities and alignment with the bank’s objectives, while driving consistency and efficiency across ways of working. You will partner with Design Leadership to integrate AI-enabled workflows into design operations, building capability, supporting cultural change, and enabling teams to realise value from emerging technologies.

Moreover, you'll enable collaboration across design disciplines and functions, engaging stakeholders to ensure alignment and successful delivery of strategic initiatives. You'll also create, evolve, and promote design operations guidelines and standards to drive consistency and scalability, while contributing to the growth and maturity of the practice through ongoing knowledge sharing and continuous improvement.

In Addition, You’ll Be

Making process, project, and programme-level design operations decisions informed by data, ensuring outputs are user-centred, inclusive, and aligned with business and project objectivesActing as a key contact for stakeholders managing expectations, supporting understanding, and influencing decisions, as well as managing risks, conflicts, and alignment issues, escalating as necessaryClearly communicating the value and impact of design operations decisions for projects and programmes to a wide range of audiencesUsing structured thinking, empathy, and a systems-level perspective to improve team culture, design processes, and tooling, while maintaining clarity, consistency, and value across operations workflowsSupporting design operations capability through coaching, mentoring, knowledge sharing, and community engagement, while continuously improving your own design operations expertiseTranslating AI experimentation, pilot programmes, and emerging capabilities into scalable guidance, standards, and best practices, leveraging enterprise-approved AI platforms to enhance efficiency, consistency, and effectiveness across the design functionIdentifying opportunities to improve design operations through the responsible use of AI, ensuring teams are equipped with the tools, knowledge, and governance needed to realise value at scaleHoning your leadership skills and capabilities in a collaborative environment by overseeing teams to achieve project goals

The skills you'll need

We’re looking for someone with experience defining and leading design operations processes, projects and programmes at pace using agile delivery methods, and delivering mid-sized, increasingly complex initiatives that support design teams at scale. You should also have a track record of driving structured, scalable, and collaborative operational improvements, informed by both team and business needs.

To succeed in this role, you must bring experience working with multidisciplinary design teams and collaborating effectively with cross-functional partners, alongside demonstrated leadership capabilities. Strong stakeholder management skills are essential, as well as the ability to communicate clearly, manage expectations, articulate the rationale behind your work, and advocate for the value and impact of design.

In Addition, You’ll Need

A deep understanding of user-centred design and comprehensive knowledge of how design operations supports high-performing, inclusive, and strategically aligned design practicesGood knowledge of embedding accessibility and inclusion into design practicesStrong design thinking, operations and process management, planning and delivery, and data analysis skillsExperience supporting design operations capability development through coaching, mentoring, knowledge sharing, and constructive feedbackExperience leading capability development and organisational change initiatives, supporting teams to adopt new tools, processes, and technologies through coaching, enablement, and continuous improvement