Director, UX Operations

Unum Ireland; Chattanooga (TN); On-site; USD 109,000 - 224,000; Full time

Job summary

Unum is seeking a Director, UX Operations & Design Program Management to scale UX across value streams, align priorities, and govern portfolio delivery. You will lead workforce enablement, demand/capacity management, and cross-team dependencies while guiding ResearchOps, budgeting, and executive reporting.

The role emphasizes enterprise leadership and measurable outcomes. Responsibilities include portfolio planning, pod formation, stakeholder management, and development of KPI dashboards to

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience in UX, design operations, program management, research operations, business operations, organizational development, or a related field.
• 10+ years of progressive leadership experience in UX, DesignOps, program or portfolio management, ResearchOps, studio operations, workforce planning, or a comparable multidisciplinary environment.
• Experience leading employees and developing UX talent through coaching, performance management, and career development.
• Ability to direct complex, multi-team portfolios and scalable delivery models across design, research, content, accessibility, product, and engineering.
• Experience with portfolio planning, dependency management, risk resolution, resource allocation, capacity planning, onboarding, and executive reporting.
• Working knowledge of Agile and scaled delivery, the product design lifecycle, design systems, research repositories, UX tooling, governance, and design-to-development workflows.
• Experience managing budgets, vendors, contracts, service performance, and relationships with Procurement, Finance, Change, and Technology.
• Ability to translate operational and program data into decisions, KPIs, investment recommendations, and executive communications.
• Strong change leadership, facilitation, negotiation, and stakeholder-management skills in a complex matrix.

Responsibilities

• Lead UX talent, culture & workforce enablement
• Develop workforce strategies balancing employee talent, external partners, capability needs, funding, and changing demand.
• Maintain enterprise visibility into UX demand, capacity, utilization, skills, staffing risks, and deployment across value streams.
• Lead pod formation, staffing, onboarding, and deployment; resolve resource conflicts and recommend hiring or sourcing actions.
• Maintain capability inventories, skills matrices, succession insights, and resource-planning models.
• Provide direct leadership, coaching, performance management, and career development for UX professionals.
• Build an inclusive culture grounded in accountability, customer focus, knowledge sharing, and continuous learning.
• Direct the UX portfolio & design program management practice
• Own portfolio planning and operating rhythms for UX initiatives across multiple teams, value streams, and senior stakeholders.
• Translate business priorities into integrated roadmaps, program plans, milestones, decision points, and measurable outcomes.
• Lead dependency management across design, research, product, engineering, finance, change, and delivery; remove barriers and resolve escalated issues.
• Establish standards for intake, prioritization, status reporting, risk and issue management, change control, and executive decision support.
• Direct resource-planning ceremonies and align UX capacity with product and delivery plans in Agile and scaled delivery environments.
• Oversee portfolio dashboards and executive communications that surface progress, tradeoffs, risks, financial implications, and required decisions.
• Mentor program managers and design leads in planning, stakeholder management, facilitation, and outcome-based delivery.
• Operate and evolve the scalable UX Pod Model Define and continuously improve the UX operating model for a distributed, pod-based delivery organization.
• Establish scalable engagement models, governance, quality controls, and ways of working across design, research, content, accessibility, product, and engineering.
• Oversee UX roadmaps, priorities, workflows, operational services, budgets, and tooling investments.
• Govern design systems, pattern libraries, component inventories, and experience standards with Design and Engineering leaders.
• Strengthen design-to-development alignment and consistent implementation quality.
• Develop KPIs and dashboards for capacity, efficiency, quality, throughput, adoption, delivery health, and business impact.
• Scale research operations & knowledge systems Establish ResearchOps capabilities supporting dedicated researchers and governed practitioner-led research.
• Oversee repositories, insight libraries, taxonomies, templates, participant management, and knowledge practices.
• Create standards making research consistent, compliant, discoverable, reusable, and connected to portfolio decisions.
• Coordinate research governance, privacy, compliance, and operational support.
• Apply AI and automation responsibly to improve synthesis, findability, reuse, and efficiency.
• Manage financials, vendors, & commercial performance Own UX operational budgets, forecasts, resource assumptions, and portfolio financial reporting.
• Lead the partner operating model, including selection, onboarding, integration, performance management, contracting support, and renewals.
• Monitor partner quality, utilization, outcomes, risks, and return on investment through scorecards and governance reviews.
• Partner with Procurement, Finance, Technology, and UX leadership on sourcing, commercial outcomes, and capacity flexibility.
• Ensure external teams integrate with internal standards, tools, governance, and ways of working.
• Improve scale, speed, quality, and cost effectiveness through strategic partner use.

Skills

Leadership

Stakeholder management

Agile

Scaled delivery

Coaching

Performance management

Budgeting

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Tools

UX tooling

Job description

General Summary

The Director, UX Operations & Design Program Management leads the operating systems, portfolio practices, workforce strategies, and enablement capabilities that allow UX to scale effectively across value streams. The role elevates design program management from project coordination to enterprise portfolio leadership, combining people leadership with accountability for UX demand and capacity, cross-team dependencies, studio and ResearchOps services, tooling, governance, budgets, executive reporting, and strategic partners. The Director establishes clear operating rhythms, anticipates delivery risk, enables rapid pod formation, and ensures design and research work aligns to business priorities and delivers measurable quality and value.

Principal Duties & Responsibilities

• Lead UX talent, culture & workforce enablement
• Develop workforce strategies balancing employee talent, external partners, capability needs, funding, and changing demand.
• Maintain enterprise visibility into UX demand, capacity, utilization, skills, staffing risks, and deployment across value streams.
• Lead pod formation, staffing, onboarding, and deployment; resolve resource conflicts and recommend hiring or sourcing actions.
• Maintain capability inventories, skills matrices, succession insights, and resource-planning models.
• Provide direct leadership, coaching, performance management, and career development for UX professionals.
• Build an inclusive culture grounded in accountability, customer focus, knowledge sharing, and continuous learning.
• Direct the UX portfolio & design program management practice
• Own portfolio planning and operating rhythms for UX initiatives across multiple teams, value streams, and senior stakeholders.
• Translate business priorities into integrated roadmaps, program plans, milestones, decision points, and measurable outcomes.
• Lead dependency management across design, research, product, engineering, finance, change, and delivery; remove barriers and resolve escalated issues.
• Establish standards for intake, prioritization, status reporting, risk and issue management, change control, and executive decision support.
• Direct resource-planning ceremonies and align UX capacity with product and delivery plans in Agile and scaled delivery environments.
• Oversee portfolio dashboards and executive communications that surface progress, tradeoffs, risks, financial implications, and required decisions.
• Mentor program managers and design leads in planning, stakeholder management, facilitation, and outcome-based delivery.
• Operate and evolve the scalable UX Pod Model Define and continuously improve the UX operating model for a distributed, pod-based delivery organization.
• Establish scalable engagement models, governance, quality controls, and ways of working across design, research, content, accessibility, product, and engineering.
• Oversee UX roadmaps, priorities, workflows, operational services, budgets, and tooling investments.
• Govern design systems, pattern libraries, component inventories, and experience standards with Design and Engineering leaders.
• Strengthen design-to-development alignment and consistent implementation quality.
• Develop KPIs and dashboards for capacity, efficiency, quality, throughput, adoption, delivery health, and business impact.
• Scale research operations & knowledge systems Establish ResearchOps capabilities supporting dedicated researchers and governed practitioner-led research.
• Oversee repositories, insight libraries, taxonomies, templates, participant management, and knowledge practices.
• Create standards making research consistent, compliant, discoverable, reusable, and connected to portfolio decisions.
• Coordinate research governance, privacy, compliance, and operational support.
• Apply AI and automation responsibly to improve synthesis, findability, reuse, and efficiency.
• Manage financials, vendors, & commercial performance Own UX operational budgets, forecasts, resource assumptions, and portfolio financial reporting.
• Lead the partner operating model, including selection, onboarding, integration, performance management, contracting support, and renewals.
• Monitor partner quality, utilization, outcomes, risks, and return on investment through scorecards and governance reviews.
• Partner with Procurement, Finance, Technology, and UX leadership on sourcing, commercial outcomes, and capacity flexibility.
• Ensure external teams integrate with internal standards, tools, governance, and ways of working.
• Improve scale, speed, quality, and cost effectiveness through strategic partner use.

Job Specifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience in UX, design operations, program management, research operations, business operations, organizational development, or a related field.
• 10+ years of progressive leadership experience in UX, DesignOps, program or portfolio management, ResearchOps, studio operations, workforce planning, or a comparable multidisciplinary environment.
• Experience leading employees and developing UX talent through coaching, performance management, and career development.
• Ability to direct complex, multi-team portfolios and scalable delivery models across design, research, content, accessibility, product, and engineering.
• Experience with portfolio planning, dependency management, risk resolution, resource allocation, capacity planning, onboarding, and executive reporting.
• Working knowledge of Agile and scaled delivery, the product design lifecycle, design systems, research repositories, UX tooling, governance, and design-to-development workflows.
• Experience managing budgets, vendors, contracts, service performance, and relationships with Procurement, Finance, Change, and Technology.
• Ability to translate operational and program data into decisions, KPIs, investment recommendations, and executive communications.
• Strong change leadership, facilitation, negotiation, and stakeholder-management skills in a complex matrix.

Preferred Qualifications

• IAAP CPACC, WAS, or CPWA
• SAFe Agilist, Scrum, or equivalent Agile certification
• Prosci Change Management Certification
• Human-Centered Design, UX, or DesignOps certification (NN/g, HFI, LUMA, or equivalent)

Company

Company: Unum

Our company is built on helping individuals and families, and this starts with our employees. We want employees to maintain a positive balance, which is why we provide access to the benefits and resources they need to invest in themselves. From our onsite fitness facilities and generous paid time off to employee professional development programs, we are committed to helping employees live and work their best – both inside and outside the office.

Unum is an equal opportunity employer, considering all qualified applicants and employees for hiring, placement, and advancement, without regard to a person's race, color, religion, national origin, age, genetic information, military status, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, or protected veteran status.

The base salary range for applicants for this position is listed below. Unless actual salary is indicated above in the job description, actual pay will be based on skill, geographical location and experience. $109,100.00-$224,000.00

Additionally, Unum offers a portfolio of benefits and rewards that are competitive and comprehensive including healthcare benefits (health, vision, dental), insurance benefits (short & long-term disability), performance-based incentive plans, paid time off, and a 401(k) retirement plan with an employer match up to 5% and an additional 4.5% contribution whether you contribute to the plan or not. All benefits are subject to the terms and conditions of individual Plans.

At Unum Group, we’re a Fortune 500 company and leading international provider of workplace benefits and services, helping workers and their families thrive for more than 175 years. Through our Unum and Colonial Life brands, our company offers disability, life, accident, critical illness, dental and vision insurance; leave and absence management support; and behavioral health services. Our 10,000+ employees work across operations in the US, UK and Poland, as well as our dedicated Technology Centre in Ireland. Unum Group is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations for any applicant with a disability. If you are disabled and need a reasonable accommodation to participate in the application or hiring process, please contact us by submitting a request here.