Product Design Manager

Cleo; London; Hybrid; GBP 106,000 - 137,000; Full time

Job summary

Cleo is seeking a Product Design Manager to lead design initiatives and product strategies for new experimental projects. This role entails overseeing a team of designers, ensuring high standards of craft and execution, and working closely with cross-functional partners. The ideal candidate will have extensive leadership experience in product design, a passion for creating engaging user experiences, and will thrive in a fast-paced environment.

Benefits

Competitive compensation package

Flexibility in work schedule

Opportunity for progression

25 days annual leave

Hybrid-first work model

Private medical insurance

Mental health support

Generous pay increases

Qualifications

• Extensive experience in leading product design teams across multiple squads.
• Demonstrated track record of overseeing high-quality mobile products.
• Strong understanding of brand and modern user experience.

Responsibilities

• Design strategy and execution across all product touchpoints.
• Support team growth through coaching and performance management.
• Translate company vision into actionable design strategies.

Skills

Leadership

Communication

User Experience (UX) Design

Visual Design

Job description

We strongly encourage applications from people of colour, the LGBTQ+ community, people with disabilities, neurodivergent people, parents, carers, and people from lower socio-economic backgrounds.

If there’s anything we can do to accommodate your specific situation, please let us know.

About Cleo

Most people come to Cleo to do work that matters. Every day, we empower people to build a life beyond their next paycheck, building a beloved AI that enables you to forge your own path toward financial well-being.

Backed by some of the most well-known investors in tech, we’ve reached millions of people to support them throughout their financial lives, from their first paycheck to their first home and beyond. We're hitting headlines too. This year, Forbes named us as one of their Next Billion Dollar Startups , and we were crowned the 'Hottest Tech Scaleup' at the Europas.

We're moving through uncharted territory with brand new design challenges around conversation, UI, brand, TOV and applied machine learning AI that don’t have much precedent yet. We’re using all that to help people improve their financial health, solving money problems that make a very real and tangible difference to our users.

The Role

You’ll be the Product Design Manager across Cleo New Bets Pillar. Focusing on all things experimental, new ideas and 0-1. Reporting to our VP, Design andpartnering with Product and Engineering leadership, you’ll help shape product strategy and design impact across both pillars and manage 4 Product Designers across 5 squads.

As part of our design leadership team, you’ll work closely with our other Product Design Managers, Head of Content Design, and Head of User Research to bring consistency, quality and focus to all parts of Cleo’s product and playing a key role in building and nurturing a high-performing, supportive and world-class design chapter.

What you’ll be doing:

Design strategy and execution

• Enabling best in class design work through setting, supporting and overseeing the highest quality of craft, thinking and execution across all touchpoints
• Establishing and maintaining design processes and best practices that enable efficient and scalable design solutions within all your squads and across pillars with your counterpart design leaders
• Creating and setting a design strategy for Plus and Builder that helps to establish Cleo as a chat-based financial coach that drives ongoing, long-term value for our users
• Working with product and engineering leaders to translate and align company-wide vision and strategy to Plus and Builder pillar’s strategy, OKRs and impact
• Helping squads prioritise and ship high-impact work that ranges from improving the user experience of existing features to thinking strategically about future iterations

People leadership

• Supporting team and individual growth through coaching, setting performance standards, and career development
• Being a key contributor to people initiatives including hiring, learning and development, org design and progression frameworks
• Creating a culture and collaborative environment for designers to do their best work and being a champion for their success

About you:

• You have previous, extensive experience in leading and managing high-performing product design teams across multiple squads or areas of a product
• You can demonstrate a previous track record of overseeing and launching several high-quality, high-impact and successful mobile products and features with a focus on polished and engaging visual/UI design, strong understanding of brand, and modern, innovative user experience
• You are comfortable setting, communicating and driving design direction and vision in fast-paced, complex and/or ambiguous environments
• You have previous experience of working with cross-functional partners in product and engineering to build and co-own product strategy, OKRs and responsible for both user and commercial impact
• You have great leadership and communication skills - a master storyteller with demonstrated ability to influence stakeholders and executives, and get the whole company excited about your design vision and how it links to the company and product strategy.
• You thrive working at pace in a startup environment with a “make it happen” mindset to get pragmatic solutions shipped and you “learn at speed” to iterate and improve
• You’ll be an inspiring people leader. On the team and across Cleo, you’ll foster a culture of collaboration, inclusivity and innovation

Not essential, but a bonus if you also have:

• Experience designing in regulated industries or working with compliance teams
• Experience in behavioural science or designing conversational/chat-first experiences

How long will the process take?

We aim to move as fast as possible. Usually 3-4 weeks is enough time for us all to get to know each other.

• Step 1: An initial call with a member of our Talent Team to learn more about your experience and why you want to work at Cleo
• Step 2: An interview with our VP Design to learn about the impact and execution you and your team’s work and your leadership style
• Step 3: A case study presenting an end-to-end example demonstrating shaping and driving high-quality, high-impact work and product strategy
• Step 4: 2x final 45 minutes interviews covering people leadership and Cleo values and behaviours

What do you get for all your hard work?

• A competitive compensation package (base + equity) with regular reviews. You can view our public progression framework and salary bandings here : this role is PD5 and paying £106,905 - £136,800
• Work at one of the fastest-growing tech startups, backed by top VC firms like Sofina, Balderton & EQT Ventures.
• A clear progression plan. We want you to keep growing. That means trying new things, leading others, challenging the status quo and owning your impact. Always with our complete support.
• Flexibility: We treat you as humans first, employees second. Because we can’t fight for the world’s financial health, if we’re not healthy ourselves. This means all the usual perks but it also means flexibility. We take pride in being a flexible workplace that trusts our Cleople to deliver their best work, giving you the autonomy to structure your day around morning drop-offs to school or daily dog walks.
• Hybrid-first: Join our hybrid-first team, where we blend the best of both remote and in-office work. We expect our team members to be in our London office 1-2 times a week. On Thursdays, we buy you lunch but you can come to the office on whichever days work best for you!
• Other benefits;
  • Generous pay increases for high-performers and high-growth team members
  • Equity top-ups for team members getting promoted
• 25 days annual leave a year + public holidays (+ an additional day for every year you spend at Cleo)
• Company-wide performance reviews every 8 months e.g every 2 terms, in line with our termly cycles (Jan-April, May-Aug, Sept-Dec):
• Private Medical Insurance via Vitality, dental cover, and life assurance
• Enhanced parental leave
• 1 month paid sabbatical after 4 years at Cleo
• Regular socials and activities, online and in-person
• We'll pay for your OpenAI subscription
• Online mental health support via Spill
• And many more!

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LinkedIn Profile

Design Managers at Cleo are 'player-coaches' and responsible for setting and maintaining high standards in design craft and execution.We are looking for applicants that can demonstrate recent experience, and appetite, to be hands-on as required. If you can share any recent examples of work you and your team have delivered please include here:

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