Senior UX Designer

At VML, we don't start with assumptions, with process for the sake of process, or with whatever worked last time.

Our Human-First philosophy is simple: the best work starts with a deep understanding of what people really need. When we start there, we create experiences that are more useful for people and more valuable for our clients.

We're looking for a Senior UX Designer to help us shape world-class digital products and services around that belief. This is a 12-month contract for a parental leave cover. There is flexibility for the role to be full-time or part-time (4 days a week), depending on your level of experience and preferences.

ROLE AT A GLANCE

This role is for someone who is strong in the craft and good with people. Someone who can turn a messy set of needs, constraints, and opinions into something clear, useful, and worth building.

You'll do the hands-on work, guide the thinking, and help clients make better decisions. Some days will be spent deep in flows and prototypes; others will be spent in a workshop helping a room full of people get clear on what to do next.

Your mission is to turn human understanding into products that are easier to use, better for customers, and more valuable for our clients.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

You'll lead UX work from early thinking through to delivery. A big part of this is bringing structure and clarity to complex challenges. Specifically, you will:

• Collaborate with Experience Strategists to make a CX vision tangible, translating service blueprints and journey maps into testable prototypes.
• Partner with creative teams in early-stage ideation, helping develop concepts and facilitating workshops with clients to explore new territories.
• Design and structure complex information, from site-wide information architecture to detailed user flows.
• Create wireframes and prototypes that help teams see, feel, and test what they're making before a line of code is written.
• Develop, manage, and apply client design systems to ensure consistency and scale across digital products.
• Leverage modern tools, including AI-powered agents (Open WPP), to accelerate your work.
• Present work and explain your thinking in plain English, talk honestly about trade-offs, and guide clients toward good decisions.
• Contribute to VML's own methodologies and toolkits, and help our clients establish their own best-practice ways of working.

What Success Looks Like (The First 90 Days)

This is a role where you'll need to make an impact quickly. We'll help you do that. Within the first 90 days, you'll be deep in your first key project, taking ownership of the UX workstream. You'll have built relationships with the core client and internal teams, and will be confidently presenting work, articulating your rationale, and guiding decision-making. You won't be just delivering artifacts; you'll be actively shaping the outcome.

REQUIRED EXPERIENCE/SKILLS/CAPABILITIES

• You've done senior-level UX work before and can lead your own workstream without needing constant direction.
• Your craft is strong. You can zoom out to see the bigger picture, then zoom back in to nail the details of IA, interaction design, and prototyping.
• You're comfortable with ambiguity because you know how to ask the right questions and build momentum.
• You communicate with clarity and confidence, whether you're explaining your thinking, reading the room, or simplifying a complex idea.
• You're pragmatic. You care about quality but understand the reality of deadlines, budgets, and technical constraints.
• You work well with others in a real way. You listen. You contribute. You challenge weak thinking respectfully to make the work better.

The VML Mindset: Heart, Brains & Courage

These aren't posters on a wall; they are how we work and what we look for.

• Heart: You care about people-the users, the client, the team. You listen properly and bring empathy to the work without making a show of it.
• Brains: You stay curious and ask sharp questions. You can take something messy and make it make sense.
• Courage: You speak up respectfully. You challenge weak ideas and push for stronger work when it counts.

If you're a Senior UX Designer with strong craft, clear thinking, and a healthy dislike of average work, we'd like to hear from you.

VML AUNZ HIGHLIGHTS

There are many things that make VML an awesome place to work, but we think there are a few worth mentioning:

• Energise Leave - 5 paid half days off each year, for time to recharge.
• Birthday Leave - a paid day off to celebrate your Birthday each year.
• Loyalty Leave - a paid day off each year to celebrate your work anniversary.
• Employee Assistance Program access 24/7 support.
• Mental Health Support.
• LinkedIn Learning access for all employees.
• Foundation Day - the anniversary of our establishment where every employee works together to give back to the community.
• PerkSPACE - a dedicated platform for employee benefits that help you save, grow and generously make life easier.
• Parental Leave - time off for new parents.