The Associate Director of Design leads the people, planning and day-to-day delivery of the product design team. The role builds a high-performing team, develops designers and ensures design work supports customer needs and Luxury Escapes’ business priorities across web and app experiences.  People management and design leadership are the primary focus. The role also contributes hands-on design on selected complex or high-priority initiatives, creating concepts, designs and prototypes where direct involvement helps the team make progress. Hands-on commitments are balanced with coaching, delegation and team delivery.    Leadership and Team Development  Lead, coach and develop the design team through regular one-to-ones, clear objectives, timely feedback and meaningful career development plans.  Support recruitment and onboarding, building the skills and capacity needed for the product roadmap.  Create a collaborative team culture where designers seek feedback, share learning and take ownership of outcomes.  Strategic Direction  Translate customer and business priorities into clear design goals, working with design, Product and Engineering leadership.  Bring customer insight into discovery and roadmap decisions, identifying opportunities to improve the end-to-end travel booking experience.  Communicate design priorities and trade-offs clearly so the team understands where to focus and why.  Delivery and Quality  Own design capacity planning and work allocation across the agreed scope; make priorities, dependencies and delivery risks visible and resolve blockers early.  Lead design critiques and reviews, setting a consistent standard for usability, accessibility, interaction design and visual quality.  Ensure customer research, analytics and testing inform design decisions, and use findings to improve work after release.  Partner with Engineering through implementation and design quality assurance to ensure the delivered experience meets the intent.  Support the evolution and adoption of the design system, reusable patterns and practical design processes that improve consistency and delivery speed.  Agree and review measures of team effectiveness and customer impact with Product and Engineering, including delivery predictability, usability and relevant conversion or engagement outcomes.  AI and Design Capability  Lead practical use of AI across exploration, prototyping, research synthesis, documentation and routine design tasks.   Coach designers through regular practical learning, shared examples and reusable guidance so effective AI workflows become part of everyday work.  Cross Functional Collaboration  Build trusted relationships with Product, Engineering, Analytics and business stakeholders to align scope, priorities and delivery expectations.  Work with design and creative leadership to maintain a coherent customer experience and brand expression across products.  Present recommendations with clear rationale, resolve competing feedback and keep stakeholders informed of progress and decisions.  Hands On Design  Take on selected design problems from discovery through to delivery, producing user flows, high-fidelity designs and interactive prototypes. Use direct design work to clarify complex interactions, explore new approaches and demonstrate the quality expected of the team.  Scope hands-on work deliberately, delegate ongoing execution where appropriate and protect time for team leadership.