Design Manager - Internal Products & Platforms

About Us

Here at the FT, gold-standard journalism is just the beginning. 500-people strong, our Product & Tech team keeps us ahead of the ever-changing digital landscape by delivering cutting-edge products to over one million digital subscribers every day. Our plans for growth rely on a diverse, dedicated and dynamic group of product, tech, delivery and data specialists - everyone’s welcome in this friendly, forward-thinking team. And with entrepreneurial spirit, intelligence and opportunity at every turn, there’s no limits to where your FT career will take you.

Our commitment to diversity and inclusion in the workplace

At the FT, we give all employees a voice so that diverse perspectives are heard and valued. We believe that a supportive workplace is one where employees feel they can be themselves at work. We'll continue to remove barriers for all, and in particular barriers facing employees from underrepresented groups.

The Role Overview

As the leader of the Internal Products & Platforms design team, you'll manage a small but impactful team of four designers. Your team's responsibilities encompass an integral range of Internal Products, including Origami, the Financial Times design system, Spark our CMS and on occasion Core Platforms used by approx 2000 internal employees.

Collaborating with other Design and Research Managers, you'll work towards developing team capabilities, maintaining a positive team culture, optimising efficiency, and ultimately ensuring high-quality experiences across the entire product portfolio.

To achieve these goals effectively, you'll work closely with team leads from Product Management, Engineering, Research and Delivery. Your input will be instrumental in shaping product strategy, defining OKRs and managing team workloads while taking accountability for all design activities and outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

• Design system vision and strategy: Collaborate with senior leadership and peers to formulate and communicate a clear vision, strategy, and roadmap for Origami
• Drive design system adoption: Create documentation, self-service tools and contribution models to facilitate and scale design system adoption
• Mentor and coach designers: Help designers improve their design craft by utilising clear design standards set out in the design system 
• Team leadership: Manage and develop a small, highly motivated team of designers
• Influence product strategy: Collaborate with Product and Tech partners to plan and shape current and future initiatives, deploying your team to maximum effect

What we’re looking for

• A seasoned Design System champion with multi brand experience
• Demonstrable examples of enabling career progression 
• A User Experience advocate who’s comfortable taking decisive action when required
• An expert collaborator who’s great at relationship building and stakeholder management
• A B2B enthusiast who recognises the power of Internal Products in relation to a broader Product portfolio

Required Experience 

• A portfolio showcasing key responsibilities through experience or demonstrable case studies
• Demonstrated proficiency in design system best practices 
• Experience and familiarity working on Internal Products
• Experience of and knowledge working in Figma and relevant tools
• An expert in all forms of communication

What’s in it for you? Our Benefits

Our benefits vary depending on location, but we are committed to providing best in class perks across all our offices as well as an inclusive environment to develop your career. Examples of our benefits include; generous annual leave allowances, flexible working (including working from home for 2-3 days per week), medical cover, parental packages, subsidised gym memberships and Giving Back opportunities. Full details of our benefits can be found here.

Further Information

The FT is committed to providing an inclusive working environment for all. We are an equal opportunities employer who seeks to recruit and appoint the best talent regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, socio-economic background, religion and/or belief. We have implemented a hybrid working model and we also promote flexible working and will consider specific requests around flexibility for all roles where it can be accommodated. Please let us know if you require any reasonable adjustments as part of the application process or to enable you to attend an interview. If you would like to discuss your requirements, or have any questions, please send an email to [email protected] and a member of our team will be happy to help.