2026 User Experience Executive Placement - 12 Months

TUI Cruises GmbH; Thornaby-on-Tees; On-site; GBP 25,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading global travel company is seeking a User Experience Executive for a 12-month placement based in Thornaby-on-Tees. Candidates should be in their penultimate university year with a focus on providing excellent customer service. This role offers hands-on experience in user-centred design, working collaboratively to enhance the online customer journey. Competitive salary, development opportunities, and a diverse work environment are provided.

Benefits

26 days annual leave plus bank holidays

Travel benefits and discounts

Health and Wellbeing support

Mentorship and development workshops

Qualifications

• Commitment to completing a placement year as part of university.
• Interest in business technology and the travel industry.
• Open-minded and adaptable.

Responsibilities

• Support the DX team with user-centred design practices.
• Collaborate on wireframes and prototypes.
• Understand complex requirements and identify solutions.
• Contribute to user-centred tools like personas and journey maps.
• Participate in optimisation tests across OTA websites.

Skills

Customer service focus

Analytical problem-solving

Communication skills

Creativity

Collaboration

Education

Minimum GCSE grade 4 or C in English and Maths

Degree in a creative subject or Design (expected in 2026)

Job description

Overview

Want to get your career off to a flying start? The sky’s the limit with TUI. We’re the world's number one tourism business, operating in around 180 destinations worldwide, which means limitless global opportunities for you and your future.

As part of our placement programme, you’ll spend one invaluable year working right at the heart of our business – with real responsibilities, and the chance to work on real projects. You’ll gain a unique insight into our exciting and dynamic industry, with exposure to many other functional areas and senior colleagues. You’ll have lots of fun during your time with us, and we’ll ensure you get the support you need every step of the way.

As a User Experience Executive, you’ll have the opportunity to support the delivery of best-in-class user experience solutions across our responsive, multi-national web portfolio – to give our customers the inspiration they need to find and easily book their dream holiday, through simple, usable, engaging, and exciting experiences. To do this you’ll be working collaboratively with UX colleagues, digital designers, and developers in an Agile development environment, and creating and maintaining effective relationships with key business stakeholders.

*This is a 12-month placement which is based in Stockton on Tees; to be eligible to apply you must be in your penultimate year of university.

About our offer

• Starting salary for the role is £24,600 per annum
• Welcome days & introductions
• Structured induction plan
• Direct line manager support plus support from the placement scheme team
• Contact with business directors – through welcome meetings and project presentations
• Monthly team meetings
• Buddies – every new placement gets a buddy from around the business
• Mentors – we provide a mentor to all of our placements
• Investment in your development through workshops
• Social events

Benefits

• Fantastic holiday benefits including discounts, staff rates and late seats
• 26 days annual leave, plus bank holidays
• Experience working for a major global business on an award-winning placement scheme
• Employment opportunities post placement
• Travel opportunities
• Health and Wellbeing support in five key areas – Financial, Health, Social, Community and Career
• Community day – time to spend working at a local charity or community project
• Be Rewarded Platform – savings at high street shops, on days out and more
• Access to all the employee networks

About the job

As a User Experience Executive, you will be reporting to the Digital Experience Manager and be part of a small, semi-autonomous design team. You’ll be helping to deliver enhancements to a range of customer-facing sites that reach thousands of customers on a daily basis. You’ll add value by making their experiences simple, usable, engaging, and exciting. Your key responsibilities will be:

• Supporting the DX team and with the practice of iterative, user-centred design
• Collaborate on the building of wireframes and prototypes across mobile and desktop breakpoints using appropriate tools
• Learn the right techniques and tools to use for the problem at, including cognitive walkthroughs, effective design reviews and ideation sessions
• Work with the DX team to understand complex requirements and edge cases, help to identify solutions that reduce complexity and share your findings to validate and optimise your ideas
• Collaborate with your design colleagues in the team to ensure delivery of effective end-to-end design
• Sharing your ideas and progress on design work through design reviews with DX colleagues
• Support the sharing experience on using new design techniques, tools and methods and being open to learning from others
• Be open minded to the goals and objectives of other pods and help provide effective feedback and support where needed
• Help understand our multi-national customers, their needs, and behaviours
• Contribute to user-centred tools such as personas and journey maps to visualise and share customer empathy with stakeholders
• Collaborate on Digital Research, seeking out, understanding, and keeping up to date with customer insight
• Support in delivery of optimisation tests across all aspects of our OTA websites with an aim to increase conversion

About you

• Focuses on providing unrivalled service to our customers
• Hunger for learning, with a minimum of GCSE grade 4 or C (or equivalent) in English and Maths, and a commitment to completing a placement year (starting in 2026) as part of your third year at university. Ideally your degree subject will be in a creative subject (such as Fine Art) or Design
• Analytical approach to solving problems and creating solutions
• Brings innovative ideas and insights
• Engages and collaborates with others
• Natural drive to achieve both individual and business results with a commercial focus
• Great at communicating with others
• Strategic thinker
• Adapts and shows resilience if faced with adversity
• Hunger for learning, and a commitment to completing your placement year
• A passion for business technology, as well an interest in the travel industry

From a workplace to a place to belong. At TUI we embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion, encouraging everyone to come as you are, because together, our potential is limitless.

We are committed to supporting candidates with disabilities and impairments so if you require any support, please do let us know.

We are part of the Disability Confident Scheme and welcome disabled applicants. As users of the Disability Confident Scheme, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the vacancy.

* We have an under-representation of ethnic minority and disabled colleagues at TUI and therefore welcome applications from people who come from these groups

* Currently TUI is unable to provide visa sponsorship, you must have permanent right to live and work in the UK without sponsorship to be eligible to apply. This includes applicants in possession of a Tier 4 Student visa.

Application Deadline: 23rd January 2026

Please note that we reserve the right to close the vacancy earlier than the stated deadline due to the high volume of applications.

Don\'t miss this opportunity to shape your future and make a meaningful impact on the global travel and tourism industry.