Manager Design

Manager Design – Brisbane - Australia

At Rio Tinto, we’re finding better ways to provide the materials the world needs. For nearly 150 years we’ve been looking for new and better ways of doing things. Today you'll find our teams around the world doing just that: seeking opportunities to reduce our carbon footprint, partnering to develop new technologies to decarbonise steel and aluminium production, and creating new products from waste.

As part of the commitment to our purpose, Rio Tinto continues to build a world-class software product development team. Sitting within our company wide Information Systems & Technology function, our Products & Software Development (P&SD) team is focused on delivering high value and strategic products for the digital transformation of Rio Tinto. We’re excited by the challenging problems we have to solve and supported by a culture that is value driven, diverse and inclusive, innovative, and fun. We think you might be surprised about what we’re creating here at Rio Tinto.

About the role

The Manager Design is responsible for growing and leading a talented design team who are part of cross-functional teams creating software products for business units across Rio Tinto. The Manager Design will grow and develop the design team, provide strong guidance to the design team, define & champion user-centered design practices, and ensures their implementation across all products. They will be a dynamic and highly experienced technical leader with outstanding people leadership, collaboration, and stakeholder engagement skills.

About the design team you will be joining

We are committed to making a meaningful difference to the 49,000 people across Rio Tinto as they do their day-to-day jobs through our software. To do that well, and to deliver on our promises as a business, we know that user-centered design matters. Across the landscape of software products needed to support a business of our size, we need to grow our Design team to several times its current size. Make no mistake, this is a unique opportunity to grow personally along with helping to scale a team that is driving new product development at a global scale.

What you will do

As the Manager Design you will:

• Lead and manage the design team (from junior to lead levels) within the P&SD (Products and Software Development) group, fostering a culture of collaboration, continuous improvement, professional growth, and a high standard of design excellence.
• Provide guidance, support, and direction to the design team, establishing and evolving clear design principles, standards, and best practices to ensure consistency and quality across all products.
• Drive the continued growth of the Design System ensuring maximum adoption, quality of design outputs, and process efficiencies for designers, developers and testers.
• Collaborate closely with peers within the Product, Engineering and Delivery functions to build high performance cross-functional teams who deliver high quality products and platforms to Rio Tinto.
• Champion the Design function (including capabilities and success stories) to stakeholders across Rio Tinto in order to help drive the transformational change sought by the business.
• Manage and prioritize design resources, including collaboration with other managers and stakeholders, to meet important deadlines while ensuring efficient utilization of team members' skills and expertise.
• Conduct design reviews and provide constructive feedback to ensure product designs are continuing to meet usability, accessibility, and aesthetic standards.
• Lead or participate in cross-functional initiatives, representing the design function, contributing to strategic decisions, and driving alignment between business needs and technical solutions.
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement within the design team, encouraging knowledge sharing, promoting innovation, and identifying opportunities to enhance design practices and processes.
• Establish clear objectives and performance expectations for groups and individuals, enabling the team to deliver high-quality design solutions.
• Consistently contribute to plans for the expansion of the Design function within P&SD (Products and Software Development) to meet the growing needs of Rio Tinto into the future.
• Create the career path and professional development opportunities for all design team professionals, conducting performance evaluations, identifying training needs, and providing mentorship.
• Foster ongoing learning and growth within the team by providing feedback, coaching, and career development opportunities.
• Collaborate with the People Function to attract and recruit top design talent, ensuring the team is equipped with the skills and capabilities required to meet the organization's design goals.
• Lead the creation of a Community of Practice (CoP) for Design within the wider IS&T function and promote a collaborative environment, sharing of knowledge, and development of domain-specific skills within the CoP.
• Stay up-to-date with industry trends, emerging technologies, and design methodologies, and proactively advocate for their adoption when appropriate.
• Participate in industry conversations and represent the Rio Tinto brand externally as a thought leader in experience and design execution.
• Develop a profile as a speaker, writer and influencer beyond the organisation through conference speaking and attendance, community events and publishing.

What we are looking for

• Bachelor's degree in Design, Human-Computer Interaction, or a related field. Advanced degree or certifications in design are a plus.
• 3+ years of proven experience in a leadership role in design, on top of a strong background across both UX and UI design for software products.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and inspire a team, including leading leaders, fostering creativity, collaboration, and professional growth.
• Extensive knowledge of design principles, best practices, and design thinking methodologies, with a focus on delivering exceptional user experiences.
• Proficiency in design and prototyping tools such as Figma, Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite, or InVision.
• Strong experience with design systems including creating component design & specification and experience patterns.
• Strong understanding of agile development frameworks & methodologies (Scrum, Kanban) and experience working collaboratively with agile teams.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to effectively manage conversations with stakeholders of various backgrounds and levels of expertise.
• Experience in collaborating with software developers, solution architects, testers, and other technical team members to facilitate effective communication and collaboration.
• Solid project management skills, with the ability to prioritize tasks, manage resources, and meet project deadlines.
• Strong problem-solving and critical-thinking skills, with the ability to analyze complex design challenges and propose innovative solutions.
• Portfolio showcasing a range of successful design projects and demonstrating expertise in user-centered design, information architecture, and visual design.
• Demonstrated alignment with Rio Tinto’s values of Care, Courage and Curiosity.

Working at Rio Tinto

Be recognised for your contribution, your thinking and your hard work, and go home knowing you’ve helped the world progress. Our benefits for permanent Rio Tinto employees include:

• Your base salary reflects your skills, experience, and impact in the role you are performing in. Our salary ranges are reviewed annually to ensure they remain fair internally and externally.
• Health & Wellbeing. We care about your health. We offer flexible, comprehensive medical benefits to look after your total health and wellbeing to suit your needs and life stages. This includes subsidised private health insurance for employees and immediate family.
• Flexible Work Arrangements. We have a hybrid work model (in-office & from home), with our office always open to balancing flexibility and connection.
• Supportive Leave Policies. We enable leave for all of life’s reasons (vacation, sick, paid parental). Our inclusive parental leave policy supports all parents and carers throughout their parenting and caring journey.
• Growth & Development. We will support you to pursue growth and development opportunities aligned with your career aspirations.
• Employee Discount & Offers. We have established partnerships with several providers who offer access to exclusive employee discounts (banking, accommodation, car, retail and more).
• Superannuation & Shares. Extensive salary sacrifice and salary packing options. Plus, we offer an award-winning employee share plan – myShare.

Every Voice Matters

At Rio Tinto, we particularly welcome and encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, women, the LGBTI+ community, mature workers, people with disabilities and people from different cultural backgrounds.

We are committed to an inclusive environment where people feel comfortable to be themselves. We want our people to feel that all voices are heard, all cultures respected and that a variety of perspectives are not only welcome – they are essential to our success. We treat each other fairly and with dignity regardless of race, gender, nationality, ethnic origin, religion, age, sexual orientation or anything else that makes us different.

Apply today if you want to work with the latest technology and innovation, in an environment where we challenge you to drive positive change.

Please note, in order to be successfully considered for this role you must complete all pre-screening questions.

“Rio Tinto reserves the right to remove job postings prior to the stated closing date, therefore, if you are interested in applying for this vacancy, please submit your application as soon as possible.”