Principal Design Lead

About us Southern Cross Health Insurance is shaping a healthier Aotearoa New Zealand. Our purpose is simple: empowering our members to live well for longer. We’re here to give peace of mind through timely access to quality care, inspire healthier living, and lead positive change across the health system. As a New Zealand‑owned, member‑based organisation, we’re building a future where wellbeing is at the heart of everything we do, delivering exceptional value for our members and creating an environment where our people thrive. Now is an exciting time to join us.

This role lifts the quality and impact of design across our product and experience landscape. We’re looking for a Principal Design Lead to set the standard for design practice across the organisation. The role is focused on strengthening how we design — lifting capability, embedding consistent ways of working, and helping teams deliver better customer and business outcomes. You’ll provide senior design leadership across complex work, coaching experienced designers and leaders, helping teams navigate ambiguity, and improving the quality of decisions and outcomes. This role will suit someone who brings structure, sound judgement, and practical leadership and can raise the bar without adding unnecessary complexity.

• Define and embed clear design principles, standards, and ways of working that improve consistency, quality, and effectiveness at scale.
• Lift design capability and leadership across the organisation by coaching designers and design leaders to strengthen craft, judgement, and influence.
• Provide senior design leadership on complex initiatives, helping teams work through ambiguity, shape solution direction, and make better design decisions.
• Ensure customer insight is translated into practical design decisions and used effectively to improve outcomes.
• Create alignment across product, delivery, and senior stakeholders by making design rationale, risks, and trade‑offs visible and easier to work through.
• Help teams improve pace and quality by simplifying design processes and focusing effort where it will have the greatest impact.

You’ll be someone who can raise the standard of design at scale through practical leadership, sound judgement, and the ability to influence through others. You’ll also bring:

• Proven experience operating at an enterprise design leadership level, including shaping design direction across multiple teams, products, or services in complex organisational environments.
• Experience leading design within embedded Value Stream and squad‑based operating models, with the ability to influence outcomes through collaboration, alignment, and relationships rather than direct ownership of delivery priorities.
• Strong experience influencing senior stakeholders and navigating competing priorities, delivery pressures, and evolving operating models while maintaining strong customer and business outcomes.
• Deep understanding of UX and UI design foundations, modern digital experience practices, and the emerging impact of AI on design workflows, delivery, and decision‑making.
• Experience leading mature design teams with highly experienced practitioners, using an enabling and strategic leadership style that supports autonomy, alignment, and high‑quality delivery.
• Demonstrated ability to establish and evolve design standards, frameworks, and ways of working that improve consistency, quality, and effectiveness at scale.

• Five days of wellbeing leave per year (pro‑rated for part‑timers).
• Health insurance for you and your immediate whānau.
• Life insurance cover and discounts on pet and travel insurance.
• Parental leave benefits and financial wellbeing support.
• Ability to participate in our workplace wellbeing programme.
• Work‑life balance, a hybrid environment and each year you have a volunteer day to spend with your team contributing to a cause or community of your choice.

This role is Auckland based, and while we appreciate interest from candidates in other locations, we’re unfortunately not able to consider remote options for this position.

We are proud to have taken the Pride Pledge, reflecting our commitment to inclusion and belonging. We also facilitate an active, employee‑led Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Forum, which includes our Rainbow Network, Māori Network, Pasifika Collective, and Neurodiversity and Whānau Support networks.