Design Lead - In House Creative Agency

BT Communications Ireland Limited; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

10% on target annual bonus

Private GP 24/7 for you and family

Pension scheme – 5% you + 10% company

Holiday purchase scheme

Discounted BT products

Job summary

BT plc in London is seeking a Design Lead to head the in-house creative agency team, delivering exceptional visual work across brand touchpoints. You will manage a team of designers, maintain brand consistency, and collaborate with cross-functional partners to elevate campaigns.

You will guide design direction, mentor junior designers, and ensure high-quality output across digital, print, social, outdoor, and retail channels, while balancing budget and timelines in a fast-paced environment.

Qualifications

• Strong previous experience in graphic design or visual design roles.
• Experience in managing or leading design teams.
• Strong portfolio demonstrating design excellence across multiple channels and formats.
• Experience working on integrated campaigns from concept through to execution.
• Background working on major consumer brands, ideally in telecommunications or technology.
• Proven track record of maintaining brand consistency across diverse applications.
• Experience managing design production and working with suppliers.
• Demonstrable experience mentoring or developing junior designers.

Responsibilities

• Creative direction
• Work in genuine creative partnership with a Copywriter to develop integrated campaign ideas where the concept drives both the visual and verbal thinking equally.
• Generate bold, culturally relevant ideas that scale across channels while bringing fresh creative thinking to briefs.
• Design direction & leadership: Lead the design execution of campaigns and brand work, translating concepts into visual design.
• Set design standards and quality benchmarks for all visual work, defining what excellent design looks and feels like.
• Partner with the Principal Creative at ideation stage, contributing original concepts and ideas.
• Design excellence & problem solving: Oversee design production across digital, print, social, outdoor, retail; maintain consistency across formats.
• Find creative solutions when briefs have constraints or budget/timeline challenges.

Skills

Graphic design

Design leadership

Brand governance

Campaign experience

Telecommunications brands

Supplier management

Mentoring juniors

Motion design

Tools

Adobe Creative Suite

Figma

InDesign

Job description

Job Title: Design Lead - In House Creative Agency

Job Function: Brand and Marketing

Job Location: GBR-London-BTHQ One Braham

Advertised Salary: Competitive with great benefits

London

Hybrid working - 3 days in the office, 2 days remote

About the role

As Design Lead you'll lead the design team's delivery of exceptional visual work across all touchpoints for your assigned brand. Reporting to the Principal Creative, you'll manage a team of graphic designers and digital designers, ensuring high-quality design output that brings creative concepts to life and maintains brand consistency.

What you’ll be doing

Creative direction

Work in genuine creative partnership with a Copywriter to develop integrated campaign ideas where the concept drives both the visual and verbal thinking equally.

Generate bold, culturally relevant ideas that scale seamlessly across all channels while bringing fresh creative thinking and unexpected connections to every brief.

Design direction & leadership

Lead the design execution of campaigns and brand work, translating creative concepts into outstanding visual design

Set design standards and quality benchmarks for all visual work, defining what excellent design looks and feels like

Partner with the Principal Creative at the ideation stage, contributing original creative concepts and ideas

Design excellence & problem solving

Oversee design production across all channels – digital, print, social, outdoor, retail – maintaining consistency as concepts adapt across formats and applications

Find creative solutions when briefs have complex constraints or technical challenges – balancing creative ambition with practical realities of budget and timeline

Outstanding design skills with a strong portfolio demonstrating craft and versatility across all media – digital, print, motion and animation, and environmental

Brand governance & quality

Champion and evolve the brand’s visual identity, ensuring every piece of creative work meets the highest standards of design quality, consistency, accessibility, and brand integrity

Team management & development

Manage and inspire your team of graphic and digital designers day-to-day, building a collaborative, supportive culture where designers thrive

Assist the Studio Managers to help allocate the work out strategically across the team based on skills, capacity, and development needs – balancing workload sustainably and preventing burnout

Organisation & planning

Manage multiple projects simultaneously with excellent organisational skills and a systematic approach to file management and version control

Collaboration & workflow

Work closely with the Principal Creative to execute their vision; partner with copywriters, digital designers, and strategists to create integrated work

Engage with Account Managers on realistic timelines and delivery; coordinate with production partners, printers, and suppliers on technical requirements

Design systems & process

Develop and maintain design templates, toolkits, and systems that enable efficiency without sacrificing creativity

Establish design processes and workflows that balance quality with speed; implement quality control checkpoints throughout

Ensure design files are properly organised, named, and archived; maintain asset management standards across the team

Communication

Communicate and present creative work effectively, confidently articulating design decisions, embracing feedback, and constructively challenging briefs to achieve the best outcomes.

Essential skills / Experience

• Strong previous experience in graphic design or visual design roles
• Experience in managing or leading design teams
• Strong portfolio demonstrating design excellence across multiple channels and formats
• Experience working on integrated campaigns from concept through to execution
• Background working on major consumer brands, ideally in telecommunications or technology
• Proven track record of maintaining brand consistency across diverse applications
• Experience managing design production and working with suppliers
• Demonstrable experience mentoring or developing junior designers

Technical proficiency

• Expert-level Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign)
• Strong skills in digital design tools (Figma, Sketch, or similar)
• Knowledge of file preparation, technical specifications, and production processes across web, social, print, and outdoor
• Understanding of photography, illustration, and image-making direction
• Working knowledge of motion design/animation tools (e.g after effects) to support concepting and short-form animation content

Desirable skills / Experience

• Previous in-house agency or brand-side design experience
• Background in both digital and traditional design disciplines
• Award-winning design work or industry recognition
• Experience developing design systems or brand guidelines
• Understanding of UX/UI design principles
• Familiarity with motion design or basic animation
• Experience with agile working methodologies

Our Package

Tailored benefits make a real difference. That’s why we offer a comprehensive range to support your growth, wellbeing, and everyday life. You can design the package to suit you and your lifestyle. Your core benefits include:

• 10% on target annual bonus
• Access to an online private GP 24/7 for you and your immediate family
• Market-leading paid carers leave with up to 2 weeks off
• Equalized maternity, paternity, and adoption leave - 18 weeks full pay and 8 weeks half pay
• Discounted EE and BT products, including mobile and broadband
• Market leading Pension scheme – 5% from you and 10% from us
• Holiday purchase scheme

You can select additional benefits, including healthcare, dental, gym memberships and more when you’re ready.

About BT Group

BT Group is the UK’s leading communications group and the holding company behind some of the country’s most recognised brands – including BT, EE, Openreach and Plusnet. Our purpose is as simple as it is ambitious: we connect for good. Our customers include consumers, small, medium and large businesses, public sector organisations and other communications providers.

BT Group’s role is about setting direction, unlocking value and creating the conditions for our brands and businesses to thrive.

Having come through the most capital-intensive phase of our fibre investment, our focus now is on what comes next – simplifying how we operate, using technology and AI to work smarter, and organising ourselves to serve customers better and grow sustainably. Group teams shape strategy, policy, brand, capital allocation and transformation, helping the whole organisation perform at its best.

We have a singular culture that unites all our people: we are customer-first challengers, who are committed, clear and connected. These behaviours unite us as one team to deliver for our colleagues, our customers, our stakeholders and the country. Joining BT Group means working at the heart of a business that matters to the UK, with the opportunity to shape decisions, influence outcomes and help set the future course of one of the country’s most important companies.