Lead Product Designer - Fixed Term Contract

ParentPay Group; United Kingdom; Remote; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading product design firm is seeking a Lead Product Designer for a fixed-term contract in the UK. You'll lead and mentor a team while remaining hands-on in design work, fostering a positive team culture. This remote role requires strong leadership skills and emotional intelligence to drive design quality and collaboration across teams.

Qualifications

• Experience in line management or mentoring within design teams.
• Ability to deliver high-quality design work through hands-on involvement.
• Strong emotional intelligence and a collaborative approach.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage a team of Product Designers, supporting their growth.
• Balance leadership with active design work, ensuring high outcomes.
• Foster a positive team culture and drive design quality.

Skills

People leadership experience

Design excellence

Hands‑on ability

Emotional intelligence

Proactivity and ownership

Job description

Lead Product Designer - Fixed Term Contract

Department: Product

Employment Type: Fixed Term - Full Time

Location: Remote, UK

Description

We’re looking for a Lead Product Designer who thrives in both leadership and hands‑on design.

You’ll play a dual role, mentoring and managing designers, while actively contributing to day‑to‑day product design work. You're someone who solves challenges with a proactive mindset, uplifts others, and leads with positivity and empathy.

This is a great opportunity to shape not just what we build, but how we work as a Research and Design team. You’ll lead by example, guiding best practices, coaching individuals, and creating a culture of collaboration, curiosity, and continuous improvement.

While this is a remote role, you need to be base in the UK.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and manage a team of Product Designers, supporting their professional growth, goal setting, and performance reviews
• Be hands‑on: balance leadership with active design work—rolling up your sleeves to help deliver excellent outcomes
• Create a positive and inspiring team culture: foster empathy, kindness, and a can‑do attitude
• Drive design quality: provide feedback and ensure consistency across products in line with our design system
• Empower the team: help team members become more confident in research, prototyping, and presenting work
• Champion collaboration: bring energy to cross‑functional teams and maintain strong partnerships with Product, Engineering, and stakeholders
• Actively supports and drives the strategic initiatives of the leadership team, while continuously seeking opportunities to enhance Ways of Working.
• Identify opportunities and remove blockers: spot gaps or inefficiencies and act to resolve them constructively
• Bring a solutions‑first mindset: you seek to solve, not add to, problems—moving ideas forward with positivity
• Takes ownership in developing and fostering a supportive, encouraging team culture where creativity and innovation can thrive.
• Effectively manage multiple concurrent work streams, prioritising initiatives and ensuring timely delivery

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

• People leadership experience: you’ve line managed designers or mentored others and enjoy supporting career development
• Design excellence: you set a high bar and help others meet it through clear feedback and shared best practices
• Hands‑on ability: you still love getting involved in the work and actively contribute to design delivery
• Emotional intelligence: you lead with empathy, are open to feedback, and create a safe environment for collaboration
• Proactivity and ownership: you take initiative, bring energy, and help move the team forward