Design Manager- Kids Essentials - 12 Month Maternity Cover

Tesco UK; Digswell; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Tesco UK is seeking an experienced Design Manager to lead the Kids Nightwear & Underwear category, bringing strong Kidswear design expertise, exceptional print and graphic skills, and a track record of delivering commercial, trend-led products.

You will drive the creative vision, develop original designs, and lead a small team in a fast-paced fashion environment, collaborating cross-functionally with Buying, Merchandising and Technical teams.

Qualifications

• Strong portfolio demonstrating commercially successful Kidswear collections.
• Proven ability to lead and mentor an Assistant Designer.
• Excellent print and graphic design skills with trend-led sensibility.
• Ability to produce clear, detailed technical design packs for suppliers.

Responsibilities

• Identify trend, print direction, colour and fabric across Kids Nightwear, Underwear and Socks.
• Lead the seasonal creative vision across product areas with a consistent handwriting.
• Set print direction and work with Graphic Designers on original prints and placements.
• Evolve handwriting to stay fresh and commercially relevant.
• Produce technical packs and communicate with suppliers for right-first-sample development.
• Analyse customer insight and market trends to shape seasonal strategies.
• Work to the design critical path and hit milestones.
• Manage and develop an Assistant Designer with coaching.
• Brief and guide Graphic Designers to deliver exceptional outcomes.

Skills

Design portfolio

Team leadership

Adobe Illustrator

Photoshop

PowerPoint

3D Design (CLO)

Garment construction

Technical packs

Coaching/mentoring

Tools

Adobe Illustrator

Photoshop

PowerPoint

CLO 3D

Job description

We're looking for an experienced and creative Design Manager to lead our Kids Nightwear & Underwear category. You'll bring strong Kidswear design experience, exceptional print and graphic skills, and a proven track record of delivering commercial, trend-led products. Working cross-functionally with Buying, Merchandising and Technical teams, you'll drive the creative vision, develop original designs, and lead and inspire a small team in a fast-paced fashion environment.

• Identifying the latest trend, print direction, colour and fabric across Kids Nightwear, Underwear and Socks.

• Leading the seasonal creative vision across multiple product areas, ensuring a consistent handwriting, whilst tailoring designs appropriately for different customer age ranges and genders.
• Setting the print direction and working closely with the Graphic Designers to develop original, trend-led prints, placements and all-over prints that deliver excitement and commercial appeal.
• Continually evolving the handwriting to remain fresh and relevant, pushing innovation to elevate our products.
• Producing detailed technical design packs and working collaboratively with suppliers to achieve a “right first sample" approach, ensuring clear communication and timely feedback throughout development.
• Analysing customer insight, market trends and best and worst sellers to shape future seasonal strategies, identifying opportunities while balancing cost, quality and commerciality.
• Working to the design critical path and supporting trend, development and production timeline to ensure all key milestones and business deadlines are achieved.
• Managing and developing an Assistant Designer, providing clear direction, regular coaching and opportunities for growth.
• Effectively briefing and guiding Graphic Designs to deliver exceptional creative outcomes.

• A strong portfolio demonstrating ability to create commercially successful collections across multiple products.
• Proficiency in designing using Adobe lllustrator & Photoshop. Powerpoint and 3D Design (CLO) software experience is a bonus.
• Comprehensive understanding of garment construction, fabric & printing techniques with the ability to created detailed technical packs that cleary communicate designintent.
• Previous experience managing and mentoring an Assistant Designer and confidently briefing the graphic team
• Amazing organisational skills. Ability to prioritise and work in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to manage the whole design and development process from trend research and sample development through to range-building and fits.
• A proven track record of delivering innovative, commercially successful products that continually achieve a strong hit rate.

You might know us as a supermarket, technology company or even for our award-winning mobile network. Truth is, we’re all of those things, and much more. Our colleagues work with one goal in mind, helping to make every day a little better for our customers, colleagues and communities all over the world. No two customers are the same, neither are our colleagues.

At Tesco, we champion a balance that lets you thrive both in and out of work. Spend 60% of your week collaborating with colleagues at our office locations or local sites and the rest remotely. Whether you're just kicking off your career, juggling passions, or navigating big life events, we're here to support you. We always welcome a conversation about flexible working, so talk to us throughout your application about how we can support.

We're proud to be an accredited Disability Confident Leader, where everyone’s welcome. That’s why we commit to providing a fully inclusive and accessible recruitment process. If you need support with your application, for more information. And if you're interested in joining our team but don't tick every box, don't let that hold you back from applying.