Head of Design

Head of Design

Location: Leeds
Salary: £55,000 to £65,000
Contract: 12-month maternity cover
Working pattern: Hybrid, with a minimum of three days in the office

The Opportunity

We are working with a leading digital agency to appoint a Head of Design on a 12-month maternity cover contract, starting in December 2026.

This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced creative leader to take ownership of a multidisciplinary design function, shaping creative output across brand, digital, campaigns and performance marketing.

Working closely with senior stakeholders across the business, you will play a key role in setting creative direction, developing talent and ensuring consistently high standards across client projects. This is a strategic leadership position for someone who can bring together different creative disciplines, challenge thinking and deliver work that combines creativity with commercial impact.

The Role

• Lead and inspire a multidisciplinary design team, driving creative excellence across brand, digital, campaigns, UX/UI, motion and performance creative.
• Set the creative vision and direction across a diverse portfolio of client projects, ensuring work is strategically aligned, distinctive and effective.
• Collaborate with senior stakeholders across digital, performance, activation and client services to deliver integrated creative solutions.
• Act as a senior creative partner to clients, presenting ideas, challenging briefs and building strong, trusted relationships.
• Support new business activity, contributing to pitches, proposals and the development of compelling creative concepts.
• Develop and mentor creative talent, fostering a collaborative culture that encourages innovation, accountability and continuous improvement.
• Oversee creative quality, ensuring work meets the highest standards from initial concept through to final delivery.
• Manage team capacity, resource allocation, budgets and utilisation to ensure projects are delivered efficiently and profitably.
• Champion new ideas, emerging trends and innovative approaches to creative problem-solving.

About You

• Proven experience in a senior creative leadership role, such as Head of Design, Head of Creative, Design Director or Creative Director.
• Experience working within a digital, creative or integrated agency environment.
• A strong portfolio demonstrating creative direction across multiple disciplines, including brand, digital and campaign-led work.
• Experience leading and developing multidisciplinary creative teams, bringing together different skill sets to deliver outstanding work.
• Confident presenting creative concepts and strategic recommendations to senior clients and stakeholders.
• Strong commercial awareness, with experience managing budgets, resources, project delivery and team utilisation.
• The ability to balance creative ambition with client objectives, business priorities and measurable outcomes.
• A collaborative leadership style, with the confidence to challenge ideas, influence decision-making and raise creative standards.
• A broad understanding of digital design, UX/UI, performance creative and emerging creative technologies.

What's on Offer?

• Salary of £55,000 to £65,000.
• A senior leadership position with genuine influence over creative direction and agency output.
• The opportunity to lead a talented, multidisciplinary creative team.
• Exposure to a varied portfolio of clients and projects across multiple creative disciplines.
• A collaborative working environment that values strategic thinking, innovation and creative excellence.
• Hybrid working, with a minimum of three days per week in the office.
• A 12-month maternity cover contract, starting in December 2026.

This role would suit a commercially minded creative leader who combines strategic vision, strong people leadership and excellent creative judgement, and who enjoys bringing people together to deliver exceptional work.