Associate Design Director (AI & Tech)

DEPT

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR EXPERIENCE DESIGN Zürich, Hybrid DEPT® is a Growth Invention company built to help the world’s most ambitious brands grow faster. Operating at the intersection of technology and marketing, our 4,000+ specialists deliver growth invention services across Brand & Media, Experience, Commerce, CRM, and Technology & Data. We’re 50|50 tech and marketing, partner-led, and first to move. Clients include Google, Lufthansa, Meta, eBay, and OpenAI. We have been certified B Corp and Climate Neutral since 2021. JOB PURPOSE This role is part of our Experience & Engineering team in the DACH region. We combine technology and experience design to create emotive yet conversion-focused CX platforms, Apps, Online Shops and Design systems at scale and speed. Our specialty is digital experiences and communication that change perceptions and shape new behaviours to make a difference in the market. As Associate Director, you will lead pitches to win new business in DACH and EMEA and oversee projects for key accounts to develop user-centered experiences that drive measurable growth. Your focus will be on ensuring outstanding design quality to win and retain clients.  WHAT YOU’LL DO: * Design excellence: As Lead Designer for pitches and key accounts, you’ll set the standard for award-winning design that ensures user, brand, and business requirements are not just met but exceeded. * Delivery accountability: You are responsible for the design quality and the successful delivery of your pitch or project team. You not only set the direction and monitor quality, but also work closely with the core team to ensure overall success. * Teamwork and collaboration: You will work closely with other departments, such as Strategy, UX, Content, and Technology, and be part of international teams across the EMEA region. * Thought leadership: You will act as an internal and external voice, showcasing our pioneering work through speaking engagements and industry contributions to build our reputation as a growth innovation company. WHAT YOU BRING: * Craft focus: Over 15 years of experience in brand design, experience design (UX/UI), motion design and large-scale design systems.  * Professional Experience: Proven work history of working in dynamic agency environments, collaborating with international brands, and managing senior stakeholders. * Portfolio: Outstanding track record across the entire design value chain. From developing compelling design visions to executing actionable UI and motion design tasks. Your portfolio showcases impressive results and measurable business growth. Industry awards aren't a must, but very welcome. * Tech and AI savvy: Not only are you curious about digital trends, AI and new technologies, you are also committed to incorporating relevant innovations into your work. * Communication and influence: The ability to translate design visions into compelling presentations that inspire and win over both high-level decision-makers and operational teams. Comprehensive professional language skills in German and English (C1 level) are required. WE OFFER * Flexible, hybrid working policy (2 days from the office, depending on location); * 25 days holiday with the opportunity to take unpaid leave; * Flexible health budget and Wellness & personal day.  * Learning & development budget. * Referral bonus program. * Occasional breakfast & lunch at the office, Smoothie Tuesday. * Stay happy and healthy with a contribution to your health through the OpenUp platform. * You can choose to work from the spacious and barrier-free location in Zurich; in Bern you can expect a small but nice and fully equipped office where you can hit the keys in peace. * Social events, plenty of opportunities to connect with colleagues through organised activities and celebrations. * A reputation for doing good. DEPT® has been a Certified B Corp® since 2021 and named ‘Agency of the Year’ at both The Lovies and The Webby Awards. * Awesome clients. Whether big or small, local or global — at DEPT® you’ll get the opportunity to work with clients of all sizes and across all industries. And we celebrate all of our successes together! * The opportunity for possibility. We want to enable you to do what you do best and help you develop your skills further with training, development and certifications. * Global annual DEPT® Cares Month in which employees come together and donate their skills to support local charities. WHY DEPT®? We are a Growth Invention company built to help the world’s most ambitious brands grow faster. Operating at the intersection of technology and marketing, we create what is next by pioneering ideas, acting fast, and moving further because standing still just is not in our DNA. We are drawn to people who stay curious, move with intent, and never stop inventing. Our culture runs on three values: better together, relentlessly curious, and get sh*t done. It is how we work, how we grow, and how we make things that matter. At DEPT®, you will find the freedom to explore, the space to collaborate, and the trust to make a real impact for our clients, for each other, and for the world we are helping to build. DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION  At DEPT®, we take pride in creating an inclusive workplace where everyone has an equal opportunity to thrive. We actively seek to recruit, develop, nurture, and retain talented individuals from diverse backgrounds, with varying skills and perspectives. Not sure you meet all qualifications? Apply, and let us decide! Research shows that women and members of underrepresented groups tend not to apply for jobs when they think they may not meet every requirement, when in fact they do. We believe in giving everyone a fair chance to shine. We also encourage you to reach out to us and discuss any reasonable adjustments we can make to support you throughout the recruitment process and your time with us. Want to know more about our dedication to diversity, equity, and inclusion? Check out our efforts here.

DEPT

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR EXPERIENCE DESIGN (D/F/M) Hamburg, Berlin, Hybrid DEPT® is a Growth Invention company built to help the world’s most ambitious brands grow faster. Operating at the intersection of technology and marketing, our 4,000+ specialists deliver growth invention services across Brand & Media, Experience, Commerce, CRM, and Technology & Data. We’re 50|50 tech and marketing, partner-led, and first to move. Clients include Google, Lufthansa, Meta, eBay, and OpenAI. We have been certified B Corp and Climate Neutral since 2021. JOB PURPOSE This role is part of our Experience & Engineering team in the DACH region. We combine technology and experience design to create emotive yet conversion-focused CX platforms, Apps, Online Shops and Design systems at scale and speed. Our specialty is digital experiences and communication that change perceptions and shape new behaviours to make a difference in the market. As Associate Director, you will lead pitches to win new business in DACH and EMEA and oversee projects for key accounts to develop user-centered experiences that drive measurable growth. Your focus will be on ensuring outstanding design quality to win and retain clients.  WHAT YOU’LL DO: * Design excellence: As Lead Designer for pitches and key accounts, you’ll set the standard for award-winning design that ensures user, brand, and business requirements are not just met but exceeded. * Delivery accountability: You are responsible for the design quality and the successful delivery of your pitch or project team. You not only set the direction and monitor quality, but also work closely with the core team to ensure overall success. * Teamwork and collaboration: You will work closely with other departments, such as Strategy, UX, Content, and Technology, and be part of international teams across the EMEA region. * Thought leadership: You will act as an internal and external voice, showcasing our pioneering work through speaking engagements and industry contributions to build our reputation as a growth innovation company. WHAT YOU BRING: * Craft focus: Over 15 years of experience in brand design, experience design (UX/UI), motion design and large-scale design systems.  * Professional Experience: Proven work history of working in dynamic agency environments, collaborating with international brands, and managing senior stakeholders. * Portfolio: Outstanding track record across the entire design value chain. From developing compelling design visions to executing actionable UI and motion design tasks. Your portfolio showcases impressive results and measurable business growth. Industry awards aren't a must, but very welcome. * Tech and AI savvy: Not only are you curious about digital trends, AI and new technologies, you are also committed to incorporating relevant innovations into your work. * Communication and influence: The ability to translate design visions into compelling presentations that inspire and win over both high-level decision-makers and operational teams. Comprehensive professional language skills in German and English (C1 level) are required. WE OFFER: * Flexible, hybrid working policy (1-2 days at the office, depending on location); * Company pension scheme. * Occasional breakfast/lunch at the office, Smoothie Tuesdays. * Stay happy and healthy with a contribution to your health through the OpenUp platform; * €50 personal monthly allowance via our dedicated benefits apps for use across daily expenses and lifestyle perks. * Future Bens - Exclusive access to sustainable, healthy products at attractive deals. * Social events, plenty of opportunities to connect with colleagues through organised activities and celebrations. * A reputation for doing good. DEPT® has been a Certified B Corp® since 2021 and named ‘Agency of the Year’ at both The Lovies and The Webby Awards. * Awesome clients. Whether big or small, local or global — at DEPT® you’ll get the opportunity to work with clients of all sizes and across all industries. And we celebrate all of our successes together! * The opportunity for possibility. We want to enable you to do what you do best and help you develop your skills further with training, development and certifications. * Global annual DEPT® Cares Month in which employees come together and donate their skills to support local charities. WHY DEPT®? We are a Growth Invention company built to help the world’s most ambitious brands grow faster. Operating at the intersection of technology and marketing, we create what is next by pioneering ideas, acting fast, and moving further because standing still just is not in our DNA. We are drawn to people who stay curious, move with intent, and never stop inventing. Our culture runs on three values: better together, relentlessly curious, and get sh*t done. It is how we work, how we grow, and how we make things that matter. At DEPT®, you will find the freedom to explore, the space to collaborate, and the trust to make a real impact for our clients, for each other, and for the world we are helping to build. DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION  At DEPT®, we take pride in creating an inclusive workplace where everyone has an equal opportunity to thrive. We actively seek to recruit, develop, nurture, and retain talented individuals from diverse backgrounds, with varying skills and perspectives. Not sure you meet all qualifications? Apply, and let us decide! Research shows that women and members of underrepresented groups tend not to apply for jobs when they think they may not meet every requirement, when in fact they do. We believe in giving everyone a fair chance to shine. We also encourage you to reach out to us and discuss any reasonable adjustments we can make to support you throughout the recruitment process and your time with us. Want to know more about our dedication to diversity, equity, and inclusion? Check out our efforts here.

Beam

At Beam, you get to do work that matters for the world. We’re solving the world's toughest social problems with an incredible team, tech and AI. And we’re growing fast 🚀 It’s not easy. Nothing worth doing ever is. Join a company at the forefront of social impact, driving first-of-its-kind positive change. You’ll be part of a high-performance culture where you'll make a huge impact, rapidly progress your career, and truly enjoy your work. From top-tier coaching and personal development budgets to competitive salaries, we take care of everyone who works at Beam. We’ve already seen incredible growth from our Beam Notes product, helping frontline workers save over 8 hours of admin per week. From social workers and NHS clinicians to mental health practitioners and safeguarding specialists, nearly 100,000 frontline workers across the UK, US and Australia are now using Beam Notes regularly to deliver faster, more human-centred support. ABOUT THE ROLE This role sits at the heart of Beam's mission. We're looking for a strategic, commercially-minded, and builder-at-heart People Performance Partner to join our People team. You'll be the driving force behind creating the performance infrastructure Beam needs as we scale - designing the frameworks, processes and manager capability that don't yet exist in mature form, and acting as a trusted people partner to department heads across the business. Partnering directly with the Associate Director of People and senior leaders across Sales, Engineering, CS and beyond, you'll ensure our managers are equipped to lead high-performing, accountable teams - and that the systems supporting them are built to scale as we grow. This is the perfect opportunity for someone who thrives on building from scratch, gets energised by commercial complexity, and sees AI as a natural part of how great People work gets done. In this broad, hands-on role, you'll shape everything from performance frameworks and calibration processes to performance management and our manager resource infrastructure. You'll spend the majority of your time building - frameworks, resources, guides and automations that live in our tech stack and work without you in the room. Your default is to create something reusable. The goal is a self-serve layer of tools and resources that raises the quality of leadership across the whole organisation. YOU’LL BE * Building performance frameworks from scratch: You will design the standards, processes, and tools that underpin how the company assesses, develops, and holds people accountable, working with the AD of People and department heads to agree on what good looks like and ensure consistency across teams. * Owning the performance cycle: You will run Beam’s performance review process end-to-end: design, calibration, manager guidance, and outcomes. You will ensure reviews are evidence-based, ratings are consistent across teams, and the process produces decisions that hold up. * Coaching and developing managers: When managers bring you live situations - underperformance, unclear expectations, feedback quality - your default is to build something reusable, not solve them directly. You will identify patterns across teams and address them by creating resources that sit in our tech stack and work without you in the room. A recurring issue becomes a guide, a framework, or a co-pilot resource. Your measure of success is managers handling things independently, not managers who need to come back to you. * Partnering across all business areas: You will build working relationships with department heads across the business - Sales, Engineering, CS, and others - well enough to understand what is happening commercially in each area and what it means for their people. You will bring a clear point of view on org health, team structure, and people risk. * Handling complex and formal ER: You will support with employee relations cases where performance or capability is a factor - formal improvement plans, capability processes, and serious disciplinary matters. * Developing the L&D infrastructure: You will own the manager resource library and identify development needs through the performance cycle. Everything you build feeds into our AI knowledge hub, Ask-Beam - the goal is a self-serve layer that reduces dependency on the People team over time. Where a development need is systemic, you build the resource. Where it is individual, you direct the manager to use it. * Using AI to work at scale: This role is designed to have an outsized impact. You will use AI tools as a standard part of how you work: drafting frameworks, analysing feedback themes, producing manager guides, and turning repeatable tasks into automated ones. YOU ARE * A natural relationship builder - quickly establishing trust and rapport with managers and senior leaders to become a credible, sought-after advisor. * A builder at heart - you enjoy creating solutions to complex people challenges and reach for tooling and frameworks before you reach for a calendar invite * Commercially fluent - you understand the language of the business, speak in OKRs and metrics, and partner with department heads as a peer, not just a support function * Results-driven - you thrive working towards clear KPIs, such as improving manager effectiveness scores and reducing the time to resolve performance cases. * Adaptive and resilient - you thrive in the fast-paced environment of a growing startup and remain optimistic when navigating complex human dynamics. * A strong multi-tasker - incredibly organised and comfortable switching between coaching a manager, resolving an ER case, and analysing team data. YOU'LL NEED * Deep experience as an HR business partner - with a track record of building relationships with commercial leaders and fluency in the language of OKRs and business goals * Demonstrable experience building or significantly improving performance frameworks - you know what good looks like and can build it from scratch * Experience in a high-performance, high-growth environment - ideally a Series B+ start-up or SaaS organisation * An instinct for scale - you build things that work without you in the room * Confidence advising and challenging senior stakeholders - you form a view and say it clearly, even when it's uncomfortable * Excellent communication skills across formats - whether you're writing a framework, presenting to leadership or guiding a manager through a difficult conversation PERKS * Generous EMI-qualifying share options * Access to therapy, coaching, classes & content - powered by Oliva * Your own financial well-being coach, through Bippit * Generous Holiday - 25 days with 3 additional days over the Christmas period + bank holidays * Work remotely up to 6 weeks a year * Eligible for a 6-week sabbatical after 3 years in service * Nursery scheme through Gogeta * Healthcare cover through Benenden Health * Enhanced parental leave: Primary Caregiver leave 18 weeks and Secondary Caregiver leave 4 weeks * £200 WellBeam budget for activities enhancing wellbeing and professional development * Annual membership to Shoreditch Exchange gym (London office only) * Pension scheme where we contribute 3% of your salary and you contribute 5%. * Free subscription to the Calm meditation app * Discounted bike and accessories with Cyclescheme, and tech products with Techscheme ABOUT BEAM Our team of 200+ embraces a hybrid working approach, enjoying 2-3 days of vibrant collaboration in our beautiful Shoreditch co-working space, fully equipped with rooftop views, an onsite barista and kitted out gym. We’ve picked up an armful of awards for our work, including one from our former Queen. We've also been named by WIRED as one of London's 10 hottest startups and by LinkedIn as a Top 15 UK Startup. Meanwhile, we've been covered in the media literally thousands of times, including the likes of The FT, BBC, TechCrunch, Forbes and The Guardian. We’re also proud to be backed by some of the world's leading tech investors and entrepreneurs, including the founders of Booking.com, Calm, Shazam and Dropbox. Start your journey to a more impactful career today. We're excited to hear from you. Reasonable adjustments: Beam is committed to fostering an inclusive, diverse, and supportive work environment for all employees. This policy extends to our hiring practices. We recognise that some candidates may need additional support during their hiring process to give them the best chance of being a success. To ensure that all candidates have an equitable opportunity during their process, we are committed to providing reasonable adjustments where required. If you require a reasonable adjustment to be made during your process, please let your Talent Partner know. We encourage you to share this information, but there is no obligation to do so. Please be reassured that any reasonable adjustment requests will not be taken into account when making a decision about your candidacy.