Jobs Companies AKQA Group Design Director (FTC)

About this Group Design Director (FTC) role at AKQA

AKQA · Onsite · London

At AKQA (part of WPP), we believe in the imaginative application of art and science to create ideas, products, and services that move the world forward. We exist at the intersection of design, technology, and culture — creating work that is as meaningful as it is beautiful.

The Opportunity

As Group Design Director, your opportunity is to define what comes next.

You will lead the vision, shape the work, and set the benchmark for digital craft across brand and product experiences. This role guides ideas from first thought to final execution, ensuring that every digital interaction is intelligent, innovative, and unforgettable.

You are a creative leader and a maker at heart, balancing bold, systemic thinking with meticulous craft. You know how to build teams, elevate talent, and cultivate an environment where great ideas thrive. Under your leadership, global product storytelling and launch experiences will sit at the core — moments where every detail matters, and every interaction carries meaning.

This role is embedded within a client team in London and requires onsite collaboration in the client studio three days per week.

This is a 6–9 month rolling fixed-term contract, offered on a hybrid basis

 

ROLE REQUIREMENTS

  • Uphold Design Excellence: Define and uphold the creative vision and standard across all digital brand, product, and interactive launch experiences.
  • Lead Product Storytelling: Drive the end-to-end creative process for global product launches — from early-stage narrative concept through to final digital execution and delivery.
  • Be Hands-On with Craft: Maintain an active, hands-on approach where needed, sitting alongside designers to guide UI, interaction design, and visual craft at key execution moments.
  • Navigate Embedded Dynamics: Collaborate within a joint, cross-functional team of both AKQA and client-side designers, UX specialists, writers, and technologists.
  • Solve Complex Challenges: Translate sophisticated product strategies and technical inputs into simple, compelling, and elegant digital narratives.
  • Act as a Trusted Partner: Act as a confident creative partner, presenting and defending ambitious design work to senior internal stakeholders.
  • Mentor and Cultivate Talent: Mentor and develop creative talent, fostering a high-performing, collaborative, and inclusive team environment.
  • Pioneer Modern Workflows: Champion and implement modern design technologies and workflows — including motion design, spatial interfaces, rapid prototyping, and AI-assisted design tools.
  • Ensure Visual Consistency: Establish tight creative feedback loops and design reviews to ensure absolute consistency across complex digital ecosystems.
  • Balance Ambition with Rigour: Drive creative ambition while maintaining the discipline and focus required to deliver on high-stakes, time-sensitive launch schedules.

 

QUALITIES AND CHARACTERISTICS

  • A Master of Craft: A visionary creative leader with a relentless, uncompromising commitment to digital design craft, layout, typography, and detail.
  • Launch-Experienced: Deep, proven expertise in leading digital product launches, connected-experience storytelling, and interactive campaigns for global premium brands.
  • Systemic Thinker: Strong expertise in building and scaling digital brand systems, interactive ecosystems, and responsive web platforms.
  • Diplomatic and Adaptable: Experienced working within embedded or client-side team structures, with the communication skills and diplomacy to lead within an integrated creative model.
  • Natural Mentor: A supportive, inspiring leader who is genuinely invested in the growth of their team members.
  • Compelling Storyteller: A brilliant communicator and presenter, able to articulate the "why" behind design decisions and inspire stakeholders.
  • Strategic & Practical: Both a high-level conceptual thinker and a pragmatic problem-solver who can roll up their sleeves and design.
  • Technically Curious: Forward-thinking and curious about emerging technology and how it translates into the future of human-device interaction.

 

Explore our extensive range of benefits here.

 

We believe great work happens when we're together, fostering creativity, collaboration, and connection. That's why we’ve adopted a hybrid approach including required in-office days. If you require accommodations or flexibility, please discuss this with the hiring team during the interview process.

AKQA is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without discrimination or regard to particular characteristics. We are committed to fostering a culture of respect in which everyone feels they belong and has the same opportunities to progress in their careers.


About WPP

WPP is the trusted growth partner for the world’s leading brands. We unite cutting-edge media intelligence and data solutions, world-class creativity, next-generation production, transformative enterprise solutions and expert strategic counsel in a single company – powered by exceptional talent and our agentic marketing platform, WPP Open, to help our clients navigate change, capture opportunity and deliver transformational growth. For more information, visit WPP.com.

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About AKQA

CORE VALUES

Our founding values guide our work and the philosophy of our firm:

 

Innovation – pioneering ideas combined with the application of technology, to achieve lasting improvements in performance for our clients.
Service – outstanding service to our clients and colleagues, so we retain exceptional people and create trust-based relationships with clients.
Quality – adhere to the highest professional standards and superior quality.
Thought – recommending the best solutions through the most rigorous thinking process.

 

TEAMWORK

AKQA provides the highest quality ideas and innovation services to clients around the world. Our consistent track-record of results achieved for clients have set our firm apart. Through our focus on our core values, thought-leadership, rigorous delivery, and industry initiatives, AKQA is today one of the world’s most influential companies. Our goal is to become a high-performance environment where the most talented people flourish. With our perfectionist approach, people join AKQA for the opportunity to do the best work of their careers.

 

We create digital products, services and immersive experiences that are useful, usable, delightful and enjoyed by millions. We employ a rapid ideation and prototyping process that focuses on getting pilots into market quickly, helping clients make a sustained impact, increase their relevance and expand their connection. By embracing a pioneering approach that continues to lead and define the industry, we deliver cohesive blueprints that fulfil audience needs and surpass business goals.

 

LONG-TERM COMMITMENT

AKQA is committed to helping our team develop into the best possible practitioners and to providing them with an unparalleled foundation for their career. We help develop well-rounded professionals acquire leadership skills more quickly than at other organisations. Our employees benefit from the trusted long-term nature of our client relationships as well as the cultural alignment between the client and our own organisation, creating an optimum environment to deliver the work without any compromises.

 

 

ORGANISED TO SUCCEED

The core motivation at AKQA is product excellence. Although we are part of WPP, AKQA operates as an independent firm. Organically grown, our team works as a single firm, without geographic division. This means we can bring the best resources from our network to provide solutions for our clients.

 

In addition to our own Future Lions initiative, we have formed partnerships with many of the world’s leading universities so we can hire their best graduates. We combine youth and energy with maturity and experience to form a community that has a unique diversity of knowledge and exceptional professional judgement.

 

DEVELOPMENT

In addition to on-the-job training, AKQA offers a menu of training through the AKQA Academy and WPP Professional Development. This comprehensive curriculum of formal training is designed to equip our team with the substantive creative, engineering, business acumen, communications, management and analytical skills required to have professionally rewarding careers. AKQA Academy and WPP Professional Development courses are taught by leaders in their fields including AKQA’s own senior team and respected external experts.

 

To maintain the continuous focus on our core values, and provide a clear career path for our team, all of our Managing Directors and Executive Partners are promoted from within AKQA.

All AKQA employees and clients are invited to participate in the AKQA Insight and AKQA Tech.Insight thought leadership programmes. These comprise a series of informative lectures and Q&A sessions with authors, artists, athletes, scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs who are recognised leaders in their respective disciplines.

 

DIVERSITY

We believe that diversity is vital to AKQA’s ability to provide our clients with the best recommendations and are committed to fostering a varied and inclusive work environment. We provide our employees with the canvas, tools and confidence to help them advance their careers in a way that best suits them.

 

 

SUSTAINABILITY

At AKQA we believe everything a company does should be about taking the responsibility to be respectful towards the community and the environment. We consider community and pro-bono work to be an important commitment of our employees. We encourage our team to devote their skills to a broad range of pro-bono and community activities, working with myriad charitable and not-for-profit organisations. AKQA is part of WPP’s Sustainability initiatives. WPP is ranked no. 49 in an annual round-up of the World’s Greenest Companies.

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