User Experience Lead

London EC1M. Three days per week in the office.

ABOUT IDEAS + OUTCOMES

Ideas + Outcomes transform the future and create lasting value for businesses worldwide. A creative company founded on one truth. When you know your customer, you change the game.

Our work spans retail and ecommerce, healthcare, education, and the public sector. Much of it is complex. Most of it matters.

We are Drum Recommended, rated 9.3/10 by our clients.

THE ROLE

This is a hands-on UX Lead role.

You will own the quality, thinking, and execution of UX across client programmes. You will lead by doing, setting the standard for what good looks like through your own work.

This role carries lead responsibility for UX delivery and quality, without initial line management responsibilities. As the UX practice grows, this is expected to evolve into a formal Head of UX role with people leadership.

You will work on established client programmes where UX already plays a meaningful role, and help deepen its impact across the agency.

You will run UX end to end. Research, synthesis, design, validation, and implementation support. You will work closely with strategy, creative, and delivery teams to ensure user-centred thinking is applied properly, not performatively.

This role is central to strengthening our UX capability in London. In time, it is expected to grow into a Head of UX position as the practice expands.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

UX delivery and ownership

• Lead UX work on client projects, producing core deliverables yourself on complex or high-impact programmes.
• Own the UX approach from discovery through to delivery, ensuring decisions are grounded in evidence and implemented well.
• Set the quality bar for UX across the agency through craft, clarity, and judgement.

User research and insight

• Plan and run end-to-end qualitative and quantitative research.
• This includes usability testing, interviews, contextual research, heuristic reviews, analytics review, and synthesis.
• Translate research into clear insights and practical recommendations that teams can act on.
• Ensure user evidence drives decisions, not opinion or hierarchy.

Design and implementation

• Produce UX artefacts including user journeys, information architecture, user flows, wireframes, prototypes, and design rationale.
• Work closely with visual designers, copywriters, marketers, and developers to ensure usability, accessibility, and feasibility.
• Support delivery teams during build through review, clarification, and validation.
• Ensure WCAG and inclusive design principles are applied appropriately, especially on public sector and education work.

Collaboration and facilitation

• Work directly with client stakeholders to understand goals, constraints, and success measures.
• Facilitate workshops and working sessions to align teams around user needs and priorities.
• Communicate UX thinking clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.

Contribution to growth

• Run expert reviews and audits
• Support proposals and client conversations as a UX subject matter expert when needed.
• Help articulate the value of UX in outcome-focused terms such as conversion, adoption, efficiency, and risk reduction.
• Contribute to case studies, internal learning, and the development of our UX practice over time.

WHO YOU ARE

• You are a hands-on UX practitioner first.
• You are comfortable owning work end to end.
• You are curious, empathetic, and a strong listener.
• You are confident working independently, but collaborative by default.
• You are happy operating in ambiguity and shaping clarity through evidence and thinking.
• You care about quality and outcomes more than process theatre.

EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS

• 6+ years' experience working in UX roles within an agency, consultancy, or UX practice. This must include substantive experience in user research and experience design, not solely visual or web design.
• Proven experience across the full UX lifecycle, from research through to delivery and implementation support.
• Strong grounding in user-centred design, usability principles, and accessibility standards including WCAG.
• Experience working closely with development teams and within real technical constraints.
• Ability to explain UX decisions clearly and calmly to stakeholders at different levels of UX maturity.
• Strong UX design and prototyping skills. Figma experience is expected.
• This role does not require prior people management experience. Leadership is demonstrated through ownership, judgement, and quality of work.

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE

• Consistent improvement in the quality and impact of UX delivery across client programmes.
• UX-related work contributing to 9/10+ client feedback on Drum Recommends.
• At least two strong client testimonials linked directly to UX outcomes within the first 12 months.
• A clear, credible UX capability that clients and internal teams trust.

CAREER PATH

This role is designed to grow.

As the UX practice expands, this position is expected to develop into a Head of UX role, with responsibility for shaping the discipline and supporting future hires. The transition to Head of UX will be driven by practice growth and client demand, not time served alone.

BENEFITS

• Salary: £52,000 - £56,000, depending on experience.
• Pension: Penfold.
• Life Insurance.
• Hybrid Working Policy: 3 days per week in our London office, with flexible hours between 08:00 – 18:00.
• 9 Day Working Fortnight Option: Compress your hours over 9 days to enjoy every other Friday off.
• Annual Leave: 25 days (FTE), plus bank holidays, increasing with service.
• Profit Share: Based on company performance, so everyone benefits from our collective success.
• Recognition: Employee of the Quarter and Year Awards, including an extra half-day holiday for quarterly winners.