Design Manager - Category Lead

Joseph Joseph Ltd; City Of London; Hybrid; GBP 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading kitchenware company based in London is looking for a Design Manager – Category Lead to oversee the Cookshop, Cookware, and Cleaning & Organisation categories. This role involves managing product development projects, mentoring team members, and collaborating with cross-functional teams to deliver innovative solutions on time and within budget. Ideal candidates will have a degree in Industrial Design or related fields, substantial experience in product development, and strong leadership skills, along with proficiency in design applications like Adobe CS and SolidWorks.

Benefits

Competitive salary and holiday allowance

Company performance related bonus

Pension contribution

Exclusive staff discount

24/7 healthcare appointment support

Hybrid working model

External private employee wellbeing support

Access to Perkbox

Volunteer days

Team recognition scheme

Training and development opportunities

Holiday carry-over scheme

Season-ticket travel loan

Cycle to work scheme

Parental leave support

Holiday trading and extra days for long service

Qualifications

• Significant product development experience with a track record of delivering complex consumer goods.
• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills to present ideas to senior teams.
• Sound understanding of manufacturing techniques and ideally with factory experience in the Far East.

Responsibilities

• Lead the vision for Cookshop, Cookware, and Cleaning & Organisation categories.
• Manage multiple complex projects launching globally on time and within budget.
• Mentor junior colleagues and foster a high-performance culture.

Skills

Product development experience

Category leadership skills

Stakeholder management

Proficiency in Adobe CS and SolidWorks

Education

Undergraduate or master's degree in Industrial Design, Product Design, Mechanical Engineering

Job description

At Joseph Joseph, we are driven by a simple yet powerful belief — that intelligent design has the ability to transform everyday living. We create distinctive, thoughtfully engineered products that not only solve real-world problems but also bring joy, beauty, and functionality to daily life.

Headquartered in London, we have grown into one of the world’s most admired houseware brands, with a presence in over 100 countries and partnerships with leading department stores, independent retailers, and a rapidly expanding e‑commerce business.

We are seeking a talented Design Manager – Category Lead to join our New Product Development team at Joseph Joseph. As the Category Lead, you will take end‑to‑end ownership of the Cookshop, Cookware and Cleaning & Organisation categories, reporting into our VP of Product Delivery and working closely with the Chief Creative Officer and cross‑functional partners to deliver market‑leading ranges on time and within budget.

What you will be doing:

• Category leadership:
• Set and execute the vision for Cookshop, Cookware and Cleaning & Organisation, identifying opportunities to innovate and grow each category.
• Develop and maintain category road‑maps in line with seasonal critical paths and commercial objectives and build inherent category value.
• Project delivery:
• Accountable for multiple, fast‑paced complex projects launching into a global marketplace.
• Resolve design details and drive development forward, ensuring on‑time launches against tight timelines.
• Liaise directly with packaging designers and manufacturing suppliers to manage prototypes, samples and quality checks.
• Team management & succession:
• Line‑manage the existing Cookshop & Cookware designer, providing coaching, feedback and performance management.
• Mentor junior colleagues, fostering a collaborative and high‑performance culture.
• Cross‑functional collaboration:
• Work with in‑house and external designers, engineers and commercial teams to align on requirements, budgets and margin targets.
• Assess technical development issues, define scope for resolution, communicate options, and drive issues to closure.
• Commercial stewardship
• Ensure all projects remain within agreed budgets and product costs align with margin targets.
• Analyse category performance post‑launch, identifying learnings and improvements for future ranges.

What we need from you

• An undergraduate (or master’s) degree in Industrial Design, Product Design, Mechanical Engineering or a related discipline.
• Significant product development experience, with a proven track record of delivering complex consumer goods from concept to manufacture.
• Demonstrable category‑leadership skills: strategic thinking, roadmap planning and the ability to drive innovation.
• Experience managing, mentoring and developing design professionals, with the agility to support recruitment and handover processes.
• Strong stakeholder‑management and communication skills, able to present ideas clearly to senior teams.
• Sound understanding of manufacturing techniques and processes, ideally with factory experience in the Far East.
• Proficiency in design applications such as Adobe CS and SolidWorks.
• A creative, entrepreneurial mindset with the ability to challenge conventional thinking while keeping ideas commercial.

What you will get from us:

• Competitive salary and holiday allowance
• Company performance related bonus
• A pension contribution
• An exclusive staff discount
• 24/7 healthcare appointment support
• Hybrid working – 3 days in office & 2 days from home and flex start/finish times
• External private employee wellbeing support
• Access to Perkbox
• Volunteer days
• Team Recognition scheme
• Training and Development
• Holiday carry‑over scheme
• Season‑ticket travel loan
• Cycle to work scheme
• Parental Leave support
• Holiday trading (buy/sell) and extra holiday days for long service