Director, UX Operations

Description

The company's Carlow technology centre is a software development and IT services hub that supports the company's income protection business in the US. The IT professionals there design and build solutions and business applications that change how the company operates.

This director role runs the people, processes, tools and operating practices that let UX grow across the whole organization. It covers UX workforce planning, portfolio and program management, DesignOps, ResearchOps, governance, tooling, budgets and external partners.

You will work with Design, Research, Product, Engineering and business leaders to match UX capacity to business priorities, get ahead of delivery risks, and make sure teams have the skills and support to produce strong customer experiences.

Responsibilities

• Plan UX talent and workforce, weighing internal staff against external partners, skill gaps and shifting demand.
• Coach and develop UX professionals, covering performance, career growth and engagement.
• Oversee UX capacity, skills, utilization and staffing across value streams.
• Decide resourcing, form pods and deploy people to close capacity or capability gaps.
• Build an inclusive, collaborative culture centred on customer results and steady improvement.
• Plan and deliver a portfolio of UX initiatives across several value streams.
• Turn business priorities into clear roadmaps, plans, milestones and measurable outcomes.
• Manage dependencies, risks and delivery problems across UX, Product, Engineering and the business.
• Set standards for prioritization, reporting, governance and executive decisions.
• Produce portfolio reports on progress, risks, capacity and investment choices.
• Design and keep improving the UX operating model and its scalable, pod-based delivery approach.
• Create consistent ways of working across Design, Research, Content, Accessibility, Product and Engineering.
• Oversee UX workflows, tools, design systems, operational services and investments.
• Improve how design and development work together to keep implementation quality consistent.
• Define and track KPIs for capacity, efficiency, quality, delivery health and business impact.
• Build ResearchOps practices that make research consistent, effective and compliant.
• Run research repositories, insight libraries, templates and knowledge sharing.
• Make insights easy to find, reuse and link to business and portfolio decisions.
• Use AI and automation responsibly to speed up work, share knowledge and reuse insights.
• Manage UX budgets, forecasts and financial reporting.
• Oversee external UX partners, including onboarding, performance, quality and contract renewals.
• Track partner performance, utilization, outcomes and value.
• Work with Procurement, Finance and Technology on sourcing and flexible capacity.
• Make sure external partners follow internal UX standards and ways of working.

Requirements

• A bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience in UX, DesignOps, program management, ResearchOps, business operations or a related field.
• At least 10 years of progressively senior experience in UX operations, DesignOps, portfolio or program management, ResearchOps, or a similar multidisciplinary setting.
• A track record of leading and developing people, including coaching, performance management and career development.
• Experience running complex portfolios that span several teams across UX, Product, Engineering and other functions.
• Strong skills in workforce and capacity planning, resource allocation, dependency and risk management, and executive reporting.
• A good grasp of Agile delivery, UX and design lifecycles, design systems, research operations and UX tools.
• Experience managing budgets, vendors, contracts and strategic partnerships.
• Strong analytical, change leadership, communication, negotiation and stakeholder management skills.
• Preferred: IAAP CPACC, WAS or CPWA certification.
• Preferred: SAFe Agilist, Scrum or an equivalent Agile certification.
• Preferred: Prosci Change Management certification.
• Preferred: a human-centred design, UX or DesignOps certification such as NN/g, HFI or LUMA.

Conditions

Based in Carlow, with a hybrid working model.

Benefits

• Development and promotion opportunities, backed by continuous learning programs, IT certifications and third-level tuition reimbursement.
• Flexible working arrangements, including hybrid, and well-being initiatives.
• Competitive pay, an annual performance-based bonus, reward programs and 25 days of annual leave.
• Paid health insurance and a pension scheme.
• Paid maternity, paternity and adoptive leave.
• Opportunities to take part in charity and community activities.