Design Manager – Private Label

French Selection (Fs)

Design Manager – Private Label

Location: Manchester

Hybrid work: 3 days in the office, 2 days from home

Salary: £40,000–£45,000 per annum

Maternity cover 9 month with potential to become permanent

Ref: 757BD

To apply using our preferred format, please visit French Selection website, go to the vacancies page, search job reference: 757BD

The company:

A fast-growing international design and manufacturing business supplying private-label products to major UK and European supermarket, high-street and fashion-led retailers.

Main duties

Lead the design and product development of private-label collections, managing customer accounts and projects from concept to production while supporting designers and working with sales, sourcing and manufacturing teams.

The role

• Lead design and product development for key retail customers

• Develop seasonal concepts, prints, patterns, colour palettes and collections

• Translate customer briefs into commercially successful products

• Present concepts and collections to customers

• Manage licensed and branded projects

• Research fashion, lifestyle and retail trends

• Manage projects from concept through to production

• Review samples, lab dips, strike-offs and approvals

• Work closely with sourcing, product development and manufacturing teams

• Lead and support designers in the UK and India

• Identify new product, design and sustainability opportunities

• Travel in the UK and internationally as required

The candidate:

• Solid experience in textile, fashion or product design

• Design Manager, Senior Designer or similar leadership experience

• Essential: previous experience working with UK supermarkets

• High-street and fashion-led retail experience highly desirable

• Private-label design experience

• Strong customer-facing and presentation skills

• Strong print, pattern, colour and textile knowledge

• Licensed or branded product experience advantageous

• Excellent Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop skills

• Good understanding of product development and manufacturing

• Commercially aware with an understanding of retail price points

• Trend-focused, creative and confident

• Strong project management and organisational skills

• Personable, collaborative and confident managing a team

The salary:

£40,000–£45,000 per annum, depending on experience

French Selection, leading UK-based consultancy specialising in the recruitment of bilingual and multilingual professionals for international business (industries and services). We are the leading recruitment consultancy for German, French, Italian and Spanish speaking positions. Also recruiting for positions with other languages such as Dutch, Polish, Portuguese, Scandinavian languages, Mandarin, Japanese and Arabic