Role - Lead UX Manager
Contract - Permanent
Shift pattern - Full Time
Workplace - Nottingham Support Office
Closing Date - 28th Feb 2025
Recruitment Partner: Matthew Nelligan
Reporting To - Head of UX
About the role
As a Lead UX Manager at Boots, you’ll lead the UX for your product area(s) to support delivering Boots’ digital roadmap to create the digital future of Boots, whilst also providing line management to the UX Leads.
Line management of UX Leads: You’ll provide dedicated line management to the UX Leads, nurturing their personal and professional growth while offering guidance and support to help them navigate any challenges they face in leading their UX squads effectively. This enables the UX Leads to lead their UX squad of multidisciplinary UX team members through our User Centred Design process, ensuring strong collaboration and impactful human-centred outcomes.Lead the UX for your area(s) You’ll lead a squad(s) of multidisciplinary UX team members through our User Centred Design process. Responsible for leading all UX activities from beginning (discovery) to end (delivery), spanning all UX disciplines. Utilising expertise from Centers of Excellence (CoEs) where necessary (e.g. accessibility, content design, service design etc.). Working closely and cross-functionally with our partners in Product, IT, Optimisation and Digital Experience (DX).UX backlog contributor Involved in driving the UX strategy for your area(s). Utilising user insights to continuously improve the user experience and help deliver our long-term strategy. Partnering with the Product Managers to contribute to the product vision and backlog, advocating for the users’ needs and goals.Quality & Coherency Responsible for your squad(s) delivering quality UX artefacts during the agile development cycle. Ensuring UX research and design balances the needs of the user, the goals of the business, the technical feasibility and accessibility compliance. Taking into consideration the holistic user experience and how your product area interacts with different product areas. Working within our User Centred Design (UCD) process, design system and brand style guides, challenging and evolving these when appropriate.Active member of the UX leadership team Co-evolve our ways of working to create efficiencies and job satisfaction for the UX team. Promote team building and communication. Provide practical leadership, coaching and development to the junior and middleweight members of the team, empowering them to develop their technical and soft skills to be at their best.Empowers the Team Works directly with the Head of UX and Design Programme Manager to break down challenges into manageable steps and delegating effectively to help team members feel in control.Key activity - Project Initiation Upon receiving a project, you will expand the brief, define the UX approach based on our User-Centred Design (UCD) process, scope and create a project plan of tasks, estimates and resourcing requirements.Key activity - Direction Throughout the research and design stages, you will oversee and provide clear UX direction. Taking accountability for UX delivery in your area. Utilising your stakeholder relationships and team leadership skills to successfully balance the users needs, the business goals and technical restrictions,Key activity - Problem definition You will focus on ensuring the problem space and scope is clearly defined, before ideation begins. Consolidating the insights gained from the empathy and research stages, into problem statements to be solved in design.
What you’ll need to have5-8 years experience in a UX role, with supporting portfolio (or case studies) to showcase your abilities.Senior UX practitioner Strong UX skill set and experience, spanning the whole User Centred Design (UCD) process. Comfortable at any point of the UCD process. Beneficial to have deeper specialism in a certain UX area (e.g. user research, product design, content design, service design, accessibility).In depth knowledge of User Centred Design (UCD) principles and best practices. Experience with user research and UX discovery methodologies. Skilled and confidently able to use research, data and insights to understand user needs, frame the problem and then ensure designs enhance user experience and satisfaction.Experience designing for accessibility compliance to level AA of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).Excellent communication skills with the ability to storytell, pitch and influence UX rationale in a language appropriate for your audience. To all levels of the organisation.People leadership experience providing coaching or mentoring to leads, researchers and designers. Experience of line management experience and delivering through a team is essential. Experiencing of managing managers is beneficial.
Proactive and driven, able to tackle challenges independently without relying heavily on others. You bring solutions alongside problems, taking initiative to resolve issues without needing direction. You create a positive and productive environment by staying focused, even in high-pressure situations with competing priorities. Your ability to prioritise and maintain clarity ensures progress toward goals, fostering collaboration when needed while leading with confidence and assurance. Keeping others informed and updated to communicate issues and progress.Self-Motivated and Solution-OrientedHigh Emotional Intelligence Demonstrates strong self-awareness of how emotions and actions impact colleagues and the wider team. Uses this awareness to inspire, motivate, and build trust. Stays calm and focused under pressure, even when managing competing priorities or challenges across UX squads, modeling a steady and composed approach. Provides clear, consistent, and factual communication to reduce uncertainty and foster confidence. Serves as a role model for calm, stability, reliability, and resilience, creating a supportive and trusting team environment.Stakeholder management Capable of identifying, engaging and communicating with cross-functional stakeholders to co-create and implement user-centred design solutions that enhance user satisfaction and drive business growth.Project management experience in developing detailed project plans, including estimates, timelines, resource allocation, and deliverables. Proficient in managing project progress, coordinating with cross-functional teams, and ensuring that UX design solutions are delivered on schedule, within scope, and meet quality standards, while adapting to any changes or challenges that arise.Agile and lean UX methodologies (essential).Degree in UX Design, Human-Computer Interaction, or a related field (beneficial).
Our benefits
Boots Retirement Savings Plan
Discretionary annual bonus
Generous employee discounts
Enhanced maternity/paternity/adoption leave pay and gift card for anyone expecting or adopting a child
Flexible benefits scheme including holiday buying, discounted gym membership, life assurance, activity passes and more.
Access to free, 24/7 counselling and support through TELUS Health, our Employee Assistance Programme.
We have a great range of benefits in addition to the above that offer flexibility to suit you - find out more at boots.jobs/rewards. Please note, any salary estimates given on third-party sites are not provided or endorsed by Boots and may not be accurate.
Why Boots
At Boots, we foster a working environment where consideration and inclusivity help everyone to be themselves and reach their full potential. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer, passionate about embracing the diversity of our colleagues and providing a positive and inclusive working environment for all. As the heart of everything we do at Boots, it's with you, we change for the better.
What's next
If Successful one of our talent team will contact you and discuss the role with you in person.
If you require additional support as part of the application and interview process, we are happy to provide reasonable adjustments to help you to be at your best.
Boots is a Ban the Box employer and will consider the suitability of applicants with criminal convictions on a case-by-case basis.