Team Leader (Designers / Illustrators) - Phonics

Location: UK Remote

Salary: Starting salary of £25,000

Contract: Permanent

Hours: 37.5 hours per week

Line Manager: Sam Turton

Recruiter: Claire Bonnett

Closing Date: 28/3/24

As a Twinkl Team Leader in Production, you will work with a group of team members within the Twinkl’s Phonics Product. You will be their Line Manager and will also organise their team sprints and support them to achieve their goals alongside the other Team Leaders. Due to the fast pace and hard deadlines Twinkl Phonics face, we are looking for potential leaders who can exhibit a very high level of organisational and planning skills. You will need to plan far ahead and scope projects to meet deadlines. We need someone who faces challenges and tasks head on with a positive attitude.

You will manage a team of designers and illustrators only at first but this could change in the future if needed. You need to have a solid and comprehensive understanding of being a graphic designer and/or illustrator, including their pain points. You will coach and empower your team to be the best they can be, keeping them up to date on the latest guidance, business updates and processes. You will be highly skilled in engagement and communication, disseminating and delegating where necessary.

Role Responsibilities:

• Sprint planning in an Agile way, setting priorities, projects and deadlines across the teams using Jira, Tableau, download stats, accuracy stats etc.
• General project management/scoping responsibilities such as organisation admin, final sign offs for projects
• Line management responsibilities - KPIs & skills matrices, supporting with 1-1 individual team member development, day-to-day support and troubleshooting
• Monthly reporting on the overall performance of the team/s
• Working with the Product Owners to ensure deadlines are met
• Working closely with the other TLs
• Monthly reporting to the Production Manager on the data for the overall product
• Organising reviews, mid sprint reviews and retrospectives where necessary
• Updating individual templates points values
• Day-to-day troubleshooting with team members
• Reviewing reallocation of human resources for extra resource or too much resource - any requisitions for new hires
• Answering questions and offering support to roles and team members from designers, writers, editors and illustrators
• Facilitating the organising and running of team training
• Hosting daily stand-ups and other meetings
• Setting team weekly priorities
• Onboarding new starters
• Completing pay/probation/contract reviews
• Jira and web/admin support

Your weekly activity could include:

Performance

• Creating and maintaining a culture of problem solving and positivity;
• Tracking and supporting with team member productivity;
• Creating measurable targets with team members;
• Setting sprint goals and deadlines;
• Making contract recommendations to the People Team (where necessary), based on collected evidence of performance;
• Inspiring, motivating and empowering individuals;
• Building on pre-existing line management support provided by previous experienced TLs;
• Proactive and confident decision making that align with the business goals/KPIs;
• Working SMART and challenging yourself as well as your team to better themselves and maximise morale and output.

Communication

• Keeping to diary engagements wherever possible and being flexible with availability to team members;
• Being inclusive to all team members, encouraging engagement with social events at Twinkl;
• Creating a feeling of safety within the team, so that individuals are comfortable coming to you with difficult conversations;
• Creating a feeling of safety within the team, so that individuals are open to healthy levels of challenge;
• Showcasing all the Twinkl values and portray this when leading your team. A key emphasis on Leading the Way.

Training

• Onboarding and training new starters, where necessary;
• Encouraging, disseminating or innovating with further training for existing team members;
• Encouraging engagement and participation by creating activities for the team to be involved in. An example of this could be workshops explaining a process.

Wellbeing

• Maintaining high levels of wellbeing support for the team members;
• Creatively celebrating productivity and development successes with individuals through the use of quality specific feedback;
• Developing positive relationships in the team and modelling best practice;
• Celebrating success no matter how big or small the achievement.

In this role, you will learn:

• How to use coaching to develop team members’ strengths;
• How to manage performance;
• How to project manage;
• How to run Jira/stand ups/reviews/retrospectives etc.;
• How to develop as a leader at Twinkl;
• How to enable team members to take a problem-solving approach to their work.

You’ll be working with:

• Simon Lambert, Becki Porter and Sarah Fullwood, the Product Owners;
• Mia Butler/Jenny Royle, the Twinkl Phonics School Trainers TL
• The other Team Leaders in your Product group;
• Your Production Manager;
• The Production Operations team.

If you require a reasonable adjustment to the application/selection process to enable you to demonstrate your ability to perform the job requirements please include this at the foot of your covering letter. This will help us to understand any modifications we may need to make to support you throughout our selection process.

Requirements

To succeed in the role, you will:

• Have a secure and comprehensive understanding of graphic design and/or illustration;
• Be a fantastic communicator who thrives when working in a close-knit, fast-paced team;
• Be prepared to confidently work between different IT platforms, including Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and GSuite (Docs, Slides etc.);
• Have an understanding of the teaching community in England, knowing their unique pressures;
• Have a drive for continuous professional development;
• Have access to a reliable computer or laptop with a fast broadband speed (if remote) - you will be responsible for maintenance/repairs etc.

If you are not currently a leader at Twinkl, you will be expected to pass a Leadership Interview as well as a role-specific interview.

Benefits

In return for everything you can bring, we can offer you an exciting role in a fast-growing and dynamic business, with plenty of career opportunities.
Here’s a couple of the things that make Twinkl a great place to be:

• A friendly, welcoming and supportive culture. We believe work should be fun and always put people before process
  
• Diversity, inclusion and belonging - our Employee Network Program includes working groups for LGBTQ+, People of Colour, Disabilities (visible and invisible), Women in Tech and Working Parents.
  
• From day 1 - Westfield Health, 29 annual leave days per year (pro-rata) plus up to four additional days that may be awarded each year by the company, flexible working policy with opportunities to work from home and Twinkl subscriptions.
  
• After probation - company sick pay and cycle to work scheme
  
• Long term service reward - Life insurance, enhanced pension contribution, enhanced maternity pay, enhanced adoption pay and enhanced paternity pay.