The company:
Adrem are seeking a senior design manager on behalf of Joseph Joseph, who are a major player in the global homewares market, specialising in the design and manufacture of contemporary kitchen and household products. Their products are sold in over 100 countries, and they have a reputation for delivering high quality, design-led products which have won design awards for innovation and style.
The role:
The senior design manager has full end to end responsibility for all assigned categories and their growth. This requires overseeing all NPD projects from opportunity identification through to approval, having a holistic view of each assigned category and a clear strategic vision for category evolution.
Finding opportunities and commercialising them:
in-depth category knowledge and expertise; market sizes, key competitor activity, trends
deep understanding of consumer’s habits, needs and frustrations in the category
identification of clear insights and opportunities. Vision to set the right briefs to drive the category to achieve its growth targets
specific focus on the commercial potential of opportunities, ideas and designs
ability to pull together pieces of information, data and insights from the market
close tracking of legislation, directives and capabilities (specific to assigned categories)
Ownership of the NPD plan:
development of a fully integrated plan which interleaves products and technologies into a cohesive range
obtain the confidence of key stakeholders that this plan will deliver the growth targets
ensure project briefs have a commercial, considered P&L target across all markets and distribution channels
maintenance of critical path plans for each project on the five year plan
track costs through product development process and ensure projects are kept in-line with agreed P&L targets
Project delivery:
propose, nominate, brief and manage external design resource to deliver products in-line with the category plan and critical path
brief NPI on future themes and projects that will support the category plan
liaise with and manage suppliers and factories and deliver products on time and budget
organise, manage and document user trials for all projects
development of any tests or data required to substantiate claims
ensure that the products developed are aligned with the brand
supporting sales teams during retailer sell-ins with appropriate products, materials and information
About you:
a degree in a relevant creative discipline, i.e. product design, industrial design, engineering or a related subject
five years plus experience delivering innovative products into market
a developing portfolio of innovative and creative design work
knowledge of 3D CAD software – Solidworks/Pro – Engineer/ Rendering software
competent user of Adobe Creative Suite
passion for creating bold and innovative ideas
able to challenge conventional thinking, whilst keeping your ideas grounded in commercial reasoning
self-motivated creative thinker driven to generate clever, disruptive solutions to problems
good listener and a quick learner, with the ability to quickly fit into a new environment
highly organised and experienced in running multiple projects
ability to lead designers and consultancies to design products, right through to managing manufacturers and suppliers to deliver products on time, cost and spec
More information on Joseph Joseph can be found here: www.josephjoseph.com
How to apply
With your application, please submit answers to the following questions, keeping your answers to one sentence:
please give some examples where you identified a problem/opportunity within a category
what solutions did you create to address these particular problems/opportunities?
what was your involvement in each of these projects?
how did you overcome any issues experienced whilst working on a project?
share an experience in which conferring with others helped you to establish an effective design concept for a manufactured product?
describe a time when your ability to analyse needs and product requirements helped you create an effective design
what factors do you consider when coordinating the look and function of product lines?
Please send your applications to Lubna Malik at product@adremgroup.com.