Product & Design Lead

Join Barclays as Product and Design Lead, where you’ll be responsible for driving innovation, bringing in fresh approaches from the external market, and developing new-to-market propositions and digital products that are unique and differentiated. You’ll challenge the status quo, leverage emerging technologies, and ensure that user-centered design is at the core of every decision.

To be successful in this role, you should have:

• Innovation Expertise: Experience designing and launching groundbreaking digital products and propositions. A creative mindset with the ability to disrupt traditional approaches and introduce new ideas.
• User-Centered Design & Research: A deep understanding of user research methodologies, insight generation, and validation techniques to create exceptional customer experiences.
• Iterative Prototyping & Implementation: Strong ability and experience translating ideas into concepts, wireframes, prototypes, and refined solutions through ideation and iterative design and testing, collaborating closely with researchers and developers

Some other highly valued skills may include:

• Adaptability & Continuous Learning: A flexible mindset to navigate fast-changing market conditions, fintech disruption, and technological advancements.
• Technology Literacy & Innovation: Strong grasp of digital platforms, AI, and other emerging technologies, with experience of applying strategically to drive innovation.
• Communication & Stakeholder Influence: Ability to effectively collaborate and influence across senior executives, business leaders, and external stakeholders, using compelling storytelling, facilitation and strong negotiation skills.

You may be assessed on the key critical skills relevant for success in role, such as risk and controls, change and transformation, business acumen strategic thinking and digital and technology, as well as job-specific technical skills

This role is based in Glasgow

Purpose of the role

To collaborate, nurture and drive group innovation with internal and external stakeholders to ensure the bank stays at the forefront of innovation and adapts to the rapidly changing landscape in financial services and increasing customer expectations. 

Accountabilities

• Collaboration with a range of stakeholders to develop a portfolio of open innovation and strategic initiatives through experimentation, co-creation, access to innovative technology capabilities, products and services and a global innovation ecosystem.
• Development and delivery of frameworks, ideation, training and tools to build a culture of innovation and knowledge sharing to enable new and creative ideas/solutions that deliver on the bank’s strategy.
• Provision of a global platform and curated ecosystem of partners to inform strategy, drive connectivity and new insights.
• Development of the strategic capabilities and programmes for the bank to deliver on its strategy, supporting the exploration, evaluation and execution of innovation and investment opportunities.
• Management and coordination between external stakeholders/partners and the bank, to successfully deliver joint projects and initiatives.
• Deliver thought leadership and insights to inform strategic decision making and organisational readiness, in conjunction with regular research, identifying emerging technologies and trends.  .
• Development and management of key metrics including key partnerships, innovation initiatives and impact through regular assessments to calculate the return on investment and identify any potential risks and issues.

Vice President Expectations

• To contribute or set strategy, drive requirements and make recommendations for change. Plan resources, budgets, and policies; manage and maintain policies/ processes; deliver continuous improvements and escalate breaches of policies/procedures..
• If managing a team, they define jobs and responsibilities, planning for the department’s future needs and operations, counselling employees on performance and contributing to employee pay decisions/changes. They may also lead a number of specialists to influence the operations of a department, in alignment with strategic as well as tactical priorities, while balancing short and long term goals and ensuring that budgets and schedules meet corporate requirements..
• If the position has leadership responsibilities, People Leaders are expected to demonstrate a clear set of leadership behaviours to create an environment for colleagues to thrive and deliver to a consistently excellent standard. The four LEAD behaviours are: L – Listen and be authentic, E – Energise and inspire, A – Align across the enterprise, D – Develop others..
• OR for an individual contributor, they will be a subject matter expert within own discipline and will guide technical direction. They will lead collaborative, multi-year assignments and guide team members through structured assignments, identify the need for the inclusion of other areas of specialisation to complete assignments. They will train, guide and coach less experienced specialists and provide information affecting long term profits, organisational risks and strategic decisions..
• Advise key stakeholders, including functional leadership teams and senior management on functional and cross functional areas of impact and alignment.
• Manage and mitigate risks through assessment, in support of the control and governance agenda.
• Demonstrate leadership and accountability for managing risk and strengthening controls in relation to the work your team does.
• Demonstrate comprehensive understanding of the organisation functions to contribute to achieving the goals of the business.
• Collaborate with other areas of work, for business aligned support areas to keep up to speed with business activity and the business strategies.
• Create solutions based on sophisticated analytical thought comparing and selecting complex alternatives. In-depth analysis with interpretative thinking will be required to define problems and develop innovative solutions.
• Adopt and include the outcomes of extensive research in problem solving processes.
• Seek out, build and maintain trusting relationships and partnerships with internal and external stakeholders in order to accomplish key business objectives, using influencing and negotiating skills to achieve outcomes.

All colleagues will be expected to demonstrate the Barclays Values of Respect, Integrity, Service, Excellence and Stewardship – our moral compass, helping us do what we believe is right. They will also be expected to demonstrate the Barclays Mindset – to Empower, Challenge and Drive – the operating manual for how we behave.