Design Projects Lead - Better by Design in Dublin

About the Role

The Design Projects Lead will join NCAD DesignLabs Health, managing a portfolio of design-led projects across health and social care settings at the Mater Hospital and sites in the Dublin and North East Region. The role involves leading hands-on design work across discovery, stakeholder engagement, synthesis, concept development, prototyping, testing, and implementation, while supervising junior designers.

Key responsibilities include:

• Managing a portfolio of design-led projects to high professional standards, on time and within budget.
• Leading project planning, risk identification, and mitigation across multiple concurrent projects.
• Conducting design research activities, including interviews, observation, mapping, and synthesis.
• Facilitating workshops, co-design sessions, and stakeholder engagement activities.
• Developing design concepts, prototypes, and final outputs in response to project needs.
• Producing clear communications, including visuals, presentations, reports, and project documentation.
• Supporting the implementation and testing of design interventions in context.
• Leading liaison with multidisciplinary teams, including researchers, clinicians, healthcare managers, and public sector partners.
• Contributing to team planning, reflection, and continuous improvement activities.

The role reports to the Head of Department of Product Design and is embedded within the Better by Design research chair, a two-year collaboration with HSE Spark aimed at advancing design within healthcare.

Requirements

Essential:

• Minimum of 5 years’ professional experience in design practice within healthcare, the public sector, higher education, or equivalent.
• A degree in Design or a related discipline, or equivalent professional experience.
• Demonstrated project management experience, including managing competing priorities.
• Demonstrated experience in planning and delivering applied design projects from conception to completion.
• Demonstrated experience in planning and facilitating workshops, stakeholder engagement, and collaborative design activities.
• Ability to work effectively within health and social care contexts, considering broader issues and sensitivities.
• Ability to translate research and stakeholder insights into practical design interventions.
• Experience supervising junior staff in a design team.
• Strong organisational skills and ability to meet deadlines.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills.
• Proficiency in relevant design tools and software, including Adobe Creative Suite, Figma, Miro, or equivalent.
• Knowledge of health and social care systems and contemporary challenges.

Desirable:

• Experience contributing to research, innovation, or service improvement projects.
• Experience developing toolkits, frameworks, guidance materials, or implementation resources.
• Experience working in design and/or service innovation in a healthcare context.

Details

• Grade: NCAD Grade VII
• Salary: €61,217–€79,583 per year (entry at first point of scale; subject to adjustment per government pay policy)
• Contract Type: Specified Purpose Funded Contract linked to External Funding
• Duration: 24 months
• Hours: Full-time equivalent (35 hours per week, net of rest breaks)
• Annual Leave: 25 working days per annum (exclusive of public holidays)
• Location: Primarily NCAD (100 Thomas Street, Dublin 8), with required work across multiple clinical sites in Dublin and the North East Region, including the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital.
• Closing Date: 16 November 2026
• How to Apply: Applications must be submitted by the closing date. A panel may be formed for this campaign.

How to Apply

Applications should be submitted by the closing date of 16 November 2026. For enquiries, contact the HR Department at [email protected].

NCAD is committed to fostering an inclusive environment and encourages applications from underrepresented groups, including Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic, Racialised, and/or otherwise Global Majority applicants, disabled applicants, trans applicants, applicants exiting a career break, applicants with caring responsibilities, care-experienced applicants, and LGB+ and queer applicants.