Senior Design Manager

HYF Recruitment; City Of London; Hybrid; GBP 77,000 - 94,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Exceptional benefits

Hybrid work model

Job summary

HYF Recruitment is partnering with a high-profile global US law firm to create a brand-new Creative Design Manager role in London. You’ll shape the London creative function from day one, leading a small team of designers and partnering with senior stakeholders across the US to elevate the firm’s visuals.

You’ll remain hands-on with design across pitches, client materials, digital comms and brand campaigns, balancing strategic leadership with practical execution.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of professional design experience, ideally in sophisticated corporate environments.
• 5+ years’ experience leading or managing designers.
• A standout portfolio showing high-end creative across print and digital.
• Excellent Adobe Creative Suite skills – InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator & Lightroom.
• Figma experience and understanding of UX/wireframing.
• Knowledge of After Effects and motion graphics.
• Strong Microsoft Office skills, especially PowerPoint and Word templates.

Responsibilities

• Lead a small team of designers and define London’s creative function from day one.
• Collaborate with US colleagues and senior stakeholders on visual direction.
• Stay hands-on with design across pitches, client materials, digital comms, and campaigns.
• Drive strategic creative leadership and ownership of visual output.

Skills

Design leadership

Creative direction

UX wireframing

Brand design

Tools

Adobe InDesign

Adobe Photoshop

Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Lightroom

Figma

After Effects

PowerPoint

Job description

A design manager role with a difference....

City of London | £85k + exceptional benefits

Hybrid – 3 days office / 2 days home

9.30am–5.30pm | Permanent | Full-time

What if your next design leadership role gave you the chance to build something from the ground up, rather than simply inherit what’s already there?

I’m working with a high-profile global US law firm that is creating a brand-new Creative Design Manager position in its London office.

And this is what makes it interesting…

You’ll be shaping the London creative function from day one.

You’ll lead a small team of designers, work closely with creative colleagues across the US, partner with senior stakeholders and help define how the firm presents itself visually to clients and the wider market.

But importantly, this isn’t a role where you’ll spend your days managing from the sidelines.

You’ll still be designing.

You’ll have the opportunity to get hands-on with a genuinely varied mix of work — from high-end pitches, presentations and client-facing materials to digital communications, brand projects and creative campaigns.

Think strategic creative leadership + hands-on design + genuine ownership.

You’ll work closely with the Associate Director of Brand & Creative, helping set creative direction and raising the bar for the firm’s visual communications across the London office.

WHAT THEY’RE LOOKING FOR

• 8+ years’ professional design experience, ideally within professional services or another sophisticated corporate environment
• 5+ years’ experience leading/managing designers
• A standout portfolio demonstrating high-end creative across print and digital
• Excellent Adobe Creative Suite skills – particularly InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator & Lightroom
• Figma experience and a good understanding of UX / wireframing
• Knowledge of After Effects / motion graphics
• Strong Microsoft Office skills, particularly PowerPoint and Word template development

WHY THIS ONE?

Because opportunities to step into a senior design lead role where you can genuinely shape the function rather than simply manage it don’t come around that often.

You’ll have the scale and resources of a global firm behind you, access to an international creative network, a talented team to lead and plenty of opportunity to keep your hands firmly in the creative work.

If you're an experienced designer who wants more influence, more ownership and a bigger creative voice, this could be a very interesting next move.