Design Director

Kodu; Droitwich Spa; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonus up to 10%

Pension plan (5% employee, 3% employer

Private medical after six months

Holiday allowance: 25 days + bank + 3

Job summary

Vax, part of TTI, is hiring to lead the Industrial Design and Design Research teams in Droitwich. You will define the future product experience, shape a distinctive design language and own design quality from concept to buildable product, working closely with Advanced Development, Product Management and Engineering.

This is a blank sheet with a global group behind it; if you're a Head of Design ready for director remit across two functions, it’s a real step up.

Qualifications

• Proven experience leading an industrial design team, setting direction and developing the people in it.
• Consumer products taken from concept to launch with buildable rationale, including manufacturing changes.
• Hands-on design research using Design Thinking and Human Centred Design to influence product decisions.
• Strong storytelling and presentation skills to sell concepts upward and align cross-functional teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead Industrial Design and Design Research teams and tie them together so insight shapes the product.
• Define the future product experience and a distinctive design language, owning design quality from concept to buildable product.
• Collaborate with Advanced Development, Product Management and Engineering and persuade stakeholders.
• Work four days a week on site in Droitwich and drive team processes as the setup scales.

Skills

Industrial design leadership

Concept-to-launch experience

Design research

Storytelling/presentation

Job description

Set the design language for one of the best-known floor care brands in the UK, and lead industrial design and design research as one function. TTI has brought its floor care innovation back to Droitwich, and the person in this seat decides what a Vax product looks and feels like next.

Vax is the brand behind millions of vacuums, carpet washers and home cleaning products, and part of TTI, the global group behind Milwaukee and Ryobi. TTI has moved its floor care innovation and new product development to Droitwich and is hiring around 28 people to rebuild it, with a plan to move upmarket and win back share.

The role

You'll lead the Industrial Design and Design Research teams and tie them together, so insight shapes the product rather than decorating it. You'll define the future product experience, set a distinctive design language, and own design quality from first concept to a buildable product. You'll work closely with Advanced Development, Product Management and Engineering, push them to find a way rather than accept the first no, and sell bold concepts to the wider business.

This is a blank sheet with a global group behind it. If you're a Head of Design ready for a director remit across two functions, it's a real step up.

What you'll need

• Proven experience leading an industrial design team, setting direction and developing the people in it, not just holding the title.
• Consumer products you've taken from concept to launch, and the ability to explain the decisions behind them, including the ones manufacturing changed.
• Hands-on design research, using Design Thinking and Human Centred Design methods to change real product decisions.
• Strong storytelling and presentation skills, with the confidence to sell a concept upward and bring a technically strong, quieter team with you.

The details

• Reporting to the Senior leadership in product development (being finalised)
• Leads Industrial Design and Design Research
• Four days a week on site in Droitwich
• Commutable from Worcester, Birmingham, Redditch and Cheltenham
• Occasional travel, including supplier visits
• Start: ASAP
• Up to 10% bonus, half personal and half company
• 5% employee and 3% employer pension
• Private medical after six months, plus full protection cover
• 25 days holiday plus bank holidays, with three more to buy

What it isn't

It isn't hybrid. The role is four days a week on site in Droitwich, so it needs to work for you from the start. It isn't a finished organisation either. The team, the processes and the reporting line are still being built, and you'll shape them while you do the work. And it isn't a hands-off director role. You set the bar by doing the work alongside the team.