Head of Strategy, Research and Design

Fully utilise your expertise
- Leading global insurance organisation

At Allianz, we care for all the things that make you, you. For feeling like you belong. For a place where learning never stops. For growing new skills and opening up exciting possibilities. For your curiosity to thrive and help transform an industry. And when life twists, there’s flexibility for balance and the support you need. We know that flexible work comes in different forms, that’s why we’re embracing hybrid teams - enabling employees to maintain a balance of working both in the office and remote, supporting the needs of both the business and individual. So, come and share your ideas, give back and feel proud to be part of a company doing work that matters across climate change and mental health.

Let’s care for everyone’s tomorrow so we can create a better future together.

**About the Role**:
Reporting to the GM Customer Strategy and Marketing, you will play a pivotal role in steering our research initiatives and design strategies, ensuring they are deeply rooted in empathy and a profound understanding of human behaviors and needs.

Your leadership will not only inspire a team of researchers and designers but also foster a culture of innovation across the entire organization that puts customers at the heart of everything we do.

**Other key aspects of the role**:

- Developing and executing a forward-looking customer strategy that encompasses market analysis, technology trends, and competitive insights to ensure our research and design efforts place us ahead of industry shifts and customer expectations.
- Establishing a framework for managing innovation within the R&D department, setting clear objectives for exploring new territories, technologies, and methodologies that can enhance our product offerings and user experience.
- Integrating human-centered design principles across the proposition development lifecycle, ensuring our products are not only intuitive and accessible but also deeply resonant with our users' needs and motivations.
- Leading both qualitative and quantitative research initiatives to uncover deep insights into customer behaviors and needs. Utilize advanced research methodologies to inform and refine our design and development strategies. Translate research findings into actionable design strategies and proposition improvements.
- Collaborating with product management, engineering, marketing, and other teams to ensure a seamless and integrated approach to product development.
- Analysing the latest trends, tools, and best practices in research and human-centered design, integrating new ideas and technologies to enhance our processes and outputs.
- Managing the research and design budget, ensuring resources are allocated effectively to achieve strategic goals.
- Leading and coaching a team to develop capability, building high performing, collaborative and engaged teams.

**Important to your success**:

- A strong portfolio demonstrating expertise in human-centered design, research methodologies, and successful implementation of user-centric solutions that deliver results.
- Expertise in Advanced Research Methodologies: Demonstrated proficiency in both qualitative and quantitative research methods, including ethnography, user interviews, surveys, and data analytics, to gather deep customer insights and inform design decisions.
- Mastery of Human-Centered Design Tools and Processes: Comprehensive knowledge of human-centered design tools and methodologies, such as personas, journey mapping, usability testing, and prototype development, to create solutions that address real user needs and pain points.
- Technical Proficiency in Design Software: Advanced skills in using design and prototyping software (e.g., Adobe Creative Suite, Sketch, Figma, InVision) to translate insights and ideas into tangible designs and prototypes.
- Data-Driven Decision Making: Ability to leverage data analytics tools and techniques to measure the effectiveness of designs and make informed decisions that enhance user experience and business outcomes.
- In-depth Knowledge of Accessibility and Inclusive Design Principles: Deep understanding of accessibility standards (e.g., WCAG) and inclusive design practices, ensuring products and services are usable by as many people as possible, including those with disabilities.
- Familiarity with Emerging Technologies: Staying abreast of emerging technologies and trends in the design and tech industry (e.g., AI, VR/AR, IoT) to continually innovate and enhance the user experience.
- Strong Technical Leadership: Proven track record of leading multidisciplinary design and research teams, fostering technical excellence, innovation, and a collaborative team environment.
- Exceptional communication, collaboration, and project management skills. Experience working with executive teams and boards.
- Master’s degree in Design, Human-Computer Interaction, Psychology.

**What's on offer?**

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