London, UK
Head of design
at Natural History Museum
Natural History Museum is hiring a head of design to join its team in London.
About the role
The Natural History Museum is seeking an exceptional head of design to lead the creative vision and design delivery of the NHM’s Design Studio. This is a senior leadership role for a creative leader who can balance strategic vision with design resolution, delivering this through multiple outputs including exhibitions, galleries, public space of the museum and graphics in support of the museum’s strategy.
The head of design will champion high quality design (both 3D and 2D) supporting a variety of audiences to engage with the museum. They will play a key role in the successful delivery of the museum’s ambitious plans across multiple strategic areas, influencing the application of sophisticated design approaches that build brand, showcases the Museum’s collections and science and builds reputation with external stakeholders.
The head of design will lead an internal design studio and commission external designers, providing strong design leadership to deliver coherent approaches across all programmes of engagement and acting as guardian for the Museum’s brand.
About you
You will be an experienced leader combining creative rigour and design ambition who can inspire teams, shape creative direction, and deliver exceptional visitor experiences through design.
You will have extensive experience of leading projects that encompass 3D and 2D design across a range of outputs including graphics, and spatial design for cultural spaces. Experience of working with collections, heritage spaces, shaping outputs for audiences and delivering designs for galleries, exhibitions and public spaces is an advantage.
Your experience of leading and managing design teams will have resulted in a culture of development, high performance and team cohesion, with a clear design direction and ethos. You will bring an innovative and flexible approach to leading teams and projects which embeds sustainability, accessibility and design excellence.
Your ability to communicate and influence will have enabled you and your team to deliver outstanding experiences and to effectively advocate for design at all levels, and across all of its touch points.
How to apply
If this sounds like you, please apply here.
Please note that as part of our commitment to anonymised shortlisting, panels do not view CVs during the recruitment process. If you choose to upload your CV, our system will automatically pull information from your CV into our application form. We advise you to double-check your application form data before submitting as the tool may interpret CVs differently.
Closing date: 23:59 on 1 January 2026
Interviews expected: in-person interviews on 12 January 2026.
Please note that this role does not qualify for Museum sponsorship so the successful postholder will need to have a valid right to work in the UK at the point of offer.