Design Manager - FT Specialist

Company & Department Context

Here at the The Financial Times, gold-standard journalism is just the beginning. 500-people strong, our Product and Tech team keeps us ahead of the ever-changing digital landscape by delivering cutting-edge products to over one million digital subscribers every day. Our plans for growth rely on a diverse, dedicated and dynamic group of product, tech, delivery and data specialists - everyone’s welcome in this friendly, forward-thinking team. And with entrepreneurial spirit, intelligence and opportunity at every turn, there’s no limits to where your FT career will take you.

Learn more about the FT, including announcements and career opportunities, at aboutus.ft.com.

FT Specialist brings together a portfolio of 17 niche digital publications, some with more than 160 years of tradition.

Position Summary

We’re looking for a Design Manager to join the Product Design team in our Sofia Office.

This role involves direct line management of the FT Specialist design team of 6 designers.

The FT Specialist design team work on established products such as Investors’ Chronicle, FTAdviser and The Banker, plus various other new specialist audience products that we are experimenting with.

You’ll work with other team leads from Product Management, Engineering, Research and Delivery to input into product strategy, inform OKRs and product approach, plan and manage team workloads, and ultimately be accountable for all design activities and outputs. 

Your team are end-to-end product designers who work in fully empowered squads of engineers, researchers, product managers, with support from and access to relevant stakeholders from around the FT such as editorial, marketing, and sales.

The Design Manager  role also involves broader leadership responsibilities across the whole design and research team (35+). You’ll partner with 4 other Design and Research Managers to upskill our team, enrich our excellent team culture, encourage collaboration, and ensure we deliver quality experiences across the entire portfolio.

What has the team been up to recently?

In 2023, the FT Specialist team has

• Launched new products: including Sustainable Views
• Kicked off a major rebrand and repositioning of a flagship title
• Grown the design team from 3 to 6 designers, and user research from 1 to 2
• Run Customer Journey Mapping workshops with cross-functional teams
• Completed Jobs-to-be-Done research for a major audience segment

In 2024, we expect to implement a  multi-brand design system, create a stronger team culture of critique and collaboration, lead the creation of compelling visions for various products, and much more.

What you’ll do:

• Be accountable for delivering high-quality and consistent experiences for FT Specialist
• Manage and develop your team, including planning for team growth and succession
• Coach and mentor your team to improve our design process and quality of output
• Oversee the implementation of a design system to increase quality, consistency and efficiency
• Understand and input into product strategy, partnering with product leadership
• Identify opportunities for design initiatives and gain the support to implement them
• Increase the design maturity in FT Specialist and raise the profile of the FT design team externally
• Partner with the Specialist user research team to ensure alignment across initiatives

Apply if:

• You have led design teams of at least 3-4 people, working across a diverse portfolio
• You have defined and implemented best practices in the design process, and coached on raising quality
• You have a track record of getting things done, and of leading change
• You are passionate about developing people and supporting them to be part of diverse, inclusive and high-performing teams
• You have an empathetic leadership style and you build strong relationships based on trust and credibility
• You’re customer and metrics-obsessed and understand how product changes might impact our goals

In Return, We Can Offer You

• Annual bonus scheme
• 25 days paid leave
• 24/7 Employee Assistance Program
• Life Insurance (after first 6 months)
• Enhanced Maternity and Paternity Leave policy
• Food Vouchers
• Multisport Card
• Work-life balance and work from home practice
• Both in house and external training programs
• Your own training dedicated budget (for conferences, courses etc.)

Anything else?

Don’t forget to send over your CV!

The Financial Times Ltd. committed to equality of opportunity. We are determined to create a diverse group at all levels of our Company and we welcome all members of the community we serve to apply for openings with us.