Two years on, and I'm back on the market

You may notice that this is my first post here for a while… two years, in fact. In those two years, I’ve been busy working in a Principal UX Consultant role for a Cambridge digital agency, and when I’m working I rarely find the time to write or post content. However, this week I was notified that my role was being made redundant in a restructure, and so, like many people at the moment, I find myself unexpectedly back on the job market, with the clock ticking.

So, as part of a flurry of activity to get my CV and LinkedIn profile up to date, I thought I’d take a moment to write a post here too. It’s a bit of a catch-up, a bit of a reflection on what I’ve been doing, and a bit of an open invitation to grab a coffee and have an in-person or virtual chat with anyone who might know of opportunities that would be a good fit, permanent or contract, agency or in-house.

A bit of back story

I started out as a ‘full-stack’ web developer at Flag, a corporate communications and ESG-specialist agency, way back in 2000, although the stack was considerably shorter then! That role, and my remit, evolved and expanded over time, and 24 years later I led the digital team with overall responsibility for all digital and UX output for some of the best-known global brands like Amazon, McDonald’s, Ford and Jaguar Land Rover. I was on the senior leadership team, and reported directly to the board on strategy. I was in charge of the IT and cybersecurity function for around a hundred employees across the UK, US and Europe.

Making digital experiences that are usable and effective has always been my main focus, and in 2015 I enrolled in an MSc in Human-Computer Interaction Design (HCID) at City, University of London, which I studied part-time alongside my full-time role, and completed in 2018, graduating with distinction.

As Flag grew, my role became increasingly focused on the IT and cybersecurity side of things, and I found myself unable to spend as much time on the digital and UX side of things as I wanted, and so in 2024 I made the difficult decision to step away from Flag and look for a new role that would allow me to get my focus back on the part of the job that I felt made the best use of my skills and experience.

In September 2024, I joined Fluent as a Principal UX Consultant, where I’ve spent the last two years working with a wide range of industries and purpose-driven clients, helping them to solve their complex UX challenges and to deliver better digital experiences. I’ve been lucky to work on some really interesting projects with some brilliant colleagues, clients and partners. Earlier this year, Fluent merged with Igentics to form Cambridge Agency Group.

Over the next days and weeks, I’ll post more information on here about the work I’ve been doing (and get my portfolio built!); in the meantime, if you want to get in touch, I’d be happy to set up a call and give you a quick overview and more information.

How would I describe myself?

I’ve never really had a role that mapped neatly onto a job title. I’ve always been the type of person who takes responsibility for doing the best possible job with whatever is in front of them that needs to be done. Quality is important.

Context matters too. Rather than following processes blindly, I try to understand the background, the people, the inputs, influences and constraints, and then find a strategic, pragmatic approach that moves things forward: one that solves a problem, or answers (or reveals) a question, as efficiently as possible.

I’m comfortable in the detail (I crave it, even), but I’m also able to step back and continually balance it with the bigger picture and the wider strategic goals. I’m a systematic thinker, and I like to be able to consolidate, rationalise and explain the decisions I make, but I’m also comfortable changing tack if new insights or evidence suggest a better approach.

I would say that I communicate well (but everyone says that), and I enjoy working with people. My broad background means I’m equally comfortable speaking to a CEO or a developer and I’m able to navigate challenging conversations or difficult relationships.

What’s had my attention lately

AI, and specifically the way it amplifies what I do. I rebuilt this whole site with AI as my assistant at every stage, from the initial design system in Figma right through to the finished site. I’ve made an AI-assisted wireframing tool that bakes good UX and accessibility practice into the first-pass explorations. And in my spare time, I’m designing and building a running-event mobile app with AI as a collaborator throughout.

Judgement is the real skill now; you need to apply the same critical thinking and quality guardrails as you would to anything else, recognise where the human-in-the-loop adds value, and make sure that your domain knowledge and expertise is used to direct and correct the process.

What I’m looking for

I’m open to the right permanent role or the right contract; the fit matters to me more than the label. But honestly, the thing I’d most like to do right now is just talk to people. If any of this resonates, I’d love a coffee or a call (no agenda, just a chat) to tell you more about what I’ve been doing, hear what you’re working on and find out whether I can be useful, or help you untangle something. That’s the part of this work I’ve always liked best, and it doesn’t need to wait for a job title.

You can reach me at [email protected], on LinkedIn, or just here in the comments. Let’s talk.