What is the type of contract for this position?

The contract for this position is a Full-time contract

Is telecommuting possible for this position?

No, telecommuting is not possible for this position

Product Design Director job at Xero

Xero is a beautiful, easy-to-use platform that helps small businesses and their accounting and bookkeeping advisors grow and thrive.

At Xero, our purpose is to make life better for people in small business, their advisors, and communities around the world. This purpose sits at the centre of everything we do. We support our people to do the best work of their lives so that they can help small businesses succeed through better tools, information and connections. Because when they succeed they make a difference, and when millions of small businesses are making a difference, the world is a more beautiful place.

Product Design Directors are responsible for the design direction and vision for product areas and initiatives within a portfolio, working in partnership with GM Product Design, Product DesignPrincipal, Design Leadership Team and product and engineering leaders.

You’ll support, contribute to and coordinate with the overall design direction of a global design team as well as providing local leadership for the team members in your office location. You’ll lead a group of passionate Product Design Managers and Product Designers, supporting and growing their capabilities through design critique, mentorship and coaching. You’ll help define the standards and refine our design practice to drive operational excellence within your team and the delivery of consistent and beautiful product experiences for our customers.

You’ll lead by example, contributing design solutions and deliverables. Partnering with Product GMs and Engineering leaders for product areas within a portfolio, you’ll help define product strategy, promote the value of design and ensure quality of relationship and work product. You’ll build strong relationships with all parts of the business to help define viable approaches / methodologies in line with relevant industry standards and best practices.

What you'll do:

Collaborate with others on the Design Leadership Team to continuously cultivate a vibrant team culture, work on strategies, problem solve and respond to team or organisational needs.
Provide vision and enthusiasm, supporting your managers and designers to continuously challenge themselves and their work.
Identify and prioritise future roles based on team workload, wellbeing, development and business priorities.
Recruit, onboard and manage new Product Design Managers and Product Designers as we continue to grow.
Provide direction, mentoring, coaching and feedback, enabling team members to hone their skills as designers, communicators and influencers, and deliver beautiful and meaningful experiences for customers.
Partner with the Design Operations team to manage logistical aspects like team budgets and performance.
Encourage and enable team members in their career development, identifying opportunities for them to grow and achieve their goals.
Work with your team to ensure high quality outputs are delivered in a timely, efficient way to meet business objectives within your product areas or portfolio.
Maintain standards and rigour across the practice, through product principles, process and systems.
Align your team to the overall strategy of Design, collaborating with your peers across product portfolios to connect the dots, reviewing your teams performance, running design critique efforts and managing resource requests for your product areas or portfolio.
Introduce new technologies, techniques and design tools to improve performance and process.
Encourage and support team members to collaborate effectively across Design, Research,Product, Engineering and Product Marketing to fulfil user needs and business objectives across your product areas or portfolio.
Partner with peers across Product and Engineering to define strategies and objectives, scope road maps, agree priorities and plan work programs to support high quality, high value outcomes.
Contribute to Product visions, along with plans for evolutionary, iterative updates, that allow the Product vision to be realised over time in partnership with Product, Strategy and Engineering.
Collaborate with peers across other product areas to understand connections and opportunities to learn from what others have done, leverage each other's work or work in more efficient ways.
Build strong collaborative partnerships with peers across Product and Engineering, promoting the value of design and advocating for designers
Work with Product peers to set timeframes and develop plans with the team, enabling them to work efficiently and deliver within agreed timeframes.

What you'll bring with you:

An inclusive, collaborative approach that aligns with our values and contributes to making Xero a great place to work
You’re well-organised, passionate, pragmatic and empathetic
Expert communication skills
Thoughtful, effective, leadership skills
Experience leading a team of designers working on complex products or experiences
A wide range of experience within the Product or Design industries
Experience working closely with a range of stakeholders including developers and other designers
A portfolio that demonstrates high-quality design outcomes, contributing to user experience and business value
Experience or expertise across the entire design process from uncovering customer needs and pain points, to executing elegant interfaces

Why Xero?

At Xero we support many types of flexible working arrangements that allow you to balance your work, your life and your passions. We offer a great remuneration package including shares plus a range of leave options to suit your well-being. Our work environment encourages continuous improvement and career development and you’ll get to work with the latest technology.

Our collaborative and inclusive culture is one we’re immensely proud of. We know that a diverse workforce is a strength that enables businesses, including ours, to better understand and serve customers, attract top talent and innovate successfully. We are a member of Pride in Diversity, in recognition of our inclusive workplace. So, from the moment you step through our doors, you’ll feel welcome and supported to do the best work of your life.

Please note that we currently require all employees and contractors to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to work from a Xero office, or engage in any face-to-face Xero business. Xero will work with anyone who is not vaccinated, or prefers not to disclose their vaccination status, to determine if any reasonable accommodations can be provided to ensure their role can be performed safely whilst the restriction is in place.

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Product Design Director

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