Foresight & Future Design Lead

Description

Born and based in Barcelona, Nacar is an **award\-winning** *Strategic Design Agency*, impassioned by our **agile and international team** composed of over 90 creative professionals (*design strategists, researchers, product and UX / UI designers, engineers, and overall creatives*). We work with all\-size clients from across multiple industries, collaborating in **innovation** and establishing **solutions and product strategies** that apply to *Industrial, Digital, Brand and Service Design*. We also contribute to their digitalization, by conceptualizing and prototyping new, human centered products and services around technological capabilities. With a **hybrid\-work** model and **flexible working hours**, we are powered by a culture of *communication, collaboration, proactivity and positivity*, always aiming to **humanize technology experiences** and to transform into the **phygital** future. Our offices, an urban oasis, are located in the beautiful **Palo Alto**, an old factory in Poblenou, restored and converted into studios for designers and artists. Nacar was made to be a place where people can **grow and impact the world**, and we’re in continuous growth to always provide our best. Our team is connected by common *challenges*, eager to *discover*, *envision* and *materialize* new opportunities. Is this something you feel identified with? We're currently looking for a **Foresight and Future Design Lead** to lead our strategic vertical at Nacar. This is a role that combines two things that rarely go together: the ability to read the world before others do, and the discipline to translate that reading into rigorous and profitable projects. You'll lead with your centre of gravity in foresight: opening up territories of opportunity that others can't see. You'll be the strategic voice that clients look for when they don't yet know what to ask. **\-What will your day to day be like?\-** *You will:* * Act as the vertical's antenna — maintaining a live, first\-hand reading of the landscape: trends, weak signals, emerging behaviours and technologies reshaping industries. * Own the **Future Opportunity Radar** methodology: opportunity radars, future scenarios, tech\-to\- value mapping and concept provocation cards. * Build **editorial presence beyond decks** — writing, speaking and publishing with your own voice to elevate the Nacar brand. * Lead the **strategic** quality of the services within the vertical: **Future Opportunity Radar** (your natural territory), **Insight Engines** (research that unlocks real needs)and **Product Strategy** (defining what to build, under what service logic, and how it evolves). * Provide **strategic direction** and elevate criteria in services where you're not the hands\-on specialist — relying on strategists and researchers from the team to deliver. * Lead the most ambiguous projects within the vertical — those requiring **reframing** and **vision**, not just method. * Direct **multidisciplinary squads** activated by project, elevating the level of everyone working with you — leadership by gravity, not by hierarchy. * Ensure **blueprints**, **roadmaps** and **research** reports have real density and deliver actionable value. * Manage **timelines**, **resources** and **expectations** to keep the vertical profitable. * Act as a **trusted** **advisor** to C\-level clients — sitting with CXOs, Heads of Strategy and Heads of Innovation, sustaining the conversation as an equal. * **Open doors** that the rest of the team can't. * Turn **foresight** **findings** into new service proposals — identifying where clients need more help before they ask. * Partner with the **commercial** team on pre\-sales of strategic accounts, contributing brief reframing and methodological framing **\-What are we looking for?\-** * **5\+ years of experience** in strategic design or innovation consulting\- Ideally with time spent at a generalist player that gave you fluency in business language. * Hybrid career path across the 3 disciplines of the vertical: **foresight**, user **research**, and **product** definition. You don't have to be an expert in all four — but you understand them deeply enough to lead and challenge. * **Structural** **curiosity**: you don't just read trends, you decode them. You connect seemingly disconnected signals and build solid arguments. * **Authority without arrogance**: you can hold your ground with a C\-level client without needing to impose your view. * **Editorial** **mindset** — you have your own voice and you use it. * **Operational** **discipline**: you know that inspiration without delivery doesn't generate recurring business. * Proven **leadership** in complex projects — activating, challenging and elevating the work of more junior strategists and researchers. Leadership by gravity, not by hierarchy. * Fluent in **English** (written and spoken); **Spanish** is a plus. *What this role is NOT:* * Not a Product Manager or Product Owner. * Not a pure UX researcher. * Not a trend forecaster from a marketing agency. * Not a traditional strategy consultant without design sensibility. * Not a purely intellectual profile that doesn't get hands\-on with projects. * It's the rare hybrid between a foresight strategist with their own voice, and an operational lead who sustains the quality of the vertical **\-Why should you join?\-** This is a unique opportunity for someone looking for a challenge in the strategy and foresight area and to be part of a center of innovation that is impacting clients all over the world — leading a vertical with real editorial and commercial impact *We also offer:* Permanent contract. Competitive salary Hybrid working model \- you can either work from home or enjoy our beautiful studio (with free coffee and a great garden!). Join a dynamic \+15 nationalities community and enjoy our team\-building activities. Keep challenging yourself with our Nacar Academy training program, aligned with the creation of personalized career paths. ✨26 paid vacation days. Monthly allowance for internet costs and a budget for working\-from\-home materials. Health Insurance. Flexible working hours. Free tickets for the Palo Alto Market