Head of Experience Design

Head of Experience Design

Broadlands Business Campus, Horsham | Hybrid | Permanent

Ready to redefine what digital experiences can be?

At Benchmark, one of the UK’s leading financial planning businesses and part of Schroders Plc, we’re searching for an exceptional Head of Experience Design to lead the vision, strategy, and delivery of seamless, user-centric journeys across all our digital platforms—desktop, tablet, and mobile.

About the Role

You’ll shape the future of our digital products, collaborating closely with Product, Technology, and Marketing teams to drive innovative user experiences at scale. From developing a comprehensive UX strategy to leading research initiatives and ensuring design excellence from concept to launch, your influence will be felt at every level of the business. You’ll be the champion of our customers—integrating their needs into every decision—and will work with agile teams (using SAFe principles) on projects that impact thousands of financial advisers and their clients nationwide.

What You’ll Do

• Develop and execute a cohesive UX vision that aligns with our business strategy and drives measurable impact.
• Lead and mentor a growing team of researchers and designers, fostering a culture of creativity, learning, and collaboration.
• Champion a research-driven approach, running user studies and synthesizing insights that move our products forward.
• Own and continuously improve our design systems, pattern libraries, and research repositories.
• Collaborate cross-functionally to support multiple projects, ensuring the highest standards of digital accessibility and design quality.
• Serve as a critical business partner—presenting UX roadmaps, leading stakeholder workshops, and advocating for the best-in-class customer experience.

What You’ll Bring

• Proven senior experience in user experience, product, or service design—ideally working across all digital customer touchpoints.
• Strategic mindset: you see how user experience fits into the big picture and leverage data to inform continuous improvement.
• Mastery of tools like Figma, strong UI/UX principles, and expertise in user testing, journey mapping, and pattern design.
• Track record of leading and inspiring design teams, managing competing priorities, and engaging senior stakeholders.
• Understanding of Design Thinking and agile delivery environments.
• Degree in Design, HCI, Behavioural Science, or hands-on equivalent experience.
• Industry-specific experience in financial services is a bonus, but curiosity and drive to make a difference are a must.

Why Benchmark?

With over 50 acquisitions in the past few years, we’re rapidly expanding and highly innovative—backed by the stability and scale of Schroders Group (£750bn+ in assets). You’ll get to work at our state-of-the-art campus near Horsham (with on-site gym, coffee shop, restaurant, and dedicated shuttle from the train station), bring your vision to life across the UK, and enjoy plenty of opportunities for growth.