Development & Studio Assistant - 12 month contract

Margaret Howell; City Of London; On-site; GBP 25,000 - 29,000; Full time

Job summary

A contemporary British clothing designer is seeking a highly organized individual to assist the Development team. This role involves managing the design studio, monitoring sample statuses, and preparing samples for various sessions. Strong communication skills and proficiency with systems like SAP and Excel are essential. The position offers a salary of £25,207.00 and generous rewards including holiday time and discounts.

Benefits

5 weeks holiday plus bank holidays, increasing to 6 weeks with service

Generous clothing allowance

Significant staff discount

Life insurance

Contributory pension and salary exchange scheme

Personal development grant

Cycle to work scheme

Birthday day off

Volunteering day off

IVF and fertility leave

Qualifications

• Ability to manage multiple priorities.
• Interest in sustainability and ethical compliance.

Responsibilities

• Organize and maintain the design studio.
• Monitor and organize sample stock status.
• Prepare fitting sessions and assist in measuring samples.
• Prepare samples and necessary information for shipments.

Skills

Strong verbal and written communication in English

Excellent data management skills

Attention to detail

Ability to work to deadlines

Organized and efficient in fast-paced environments

Confident handling garments and accessories

Problem-solving abilities

Education

Experience in a similar role, at assistant or internship level

Tools

Microsoft Office (Excel)

PLM and ERP systems

SAP

Job description

Responsibilities

We are seeking the support of a highly organized and efficient individual to assist the Development team in delivery of seasonal collections. This key role will involve physical sample and studio organization, ensuring critical path deadlines and company targets are met.

• Day‑to‑day organization of the design studio: accepting and allocating deliveries, booking DHL and couriers, running errands, providing refreshments for meetings and ensuring supplies are stocked.
• Maintain a tidy studio environment.
• Monitor and organize sample stock status, booking samples using SAP and allocating appropriately.
• Support in the creation and maintenance of accurate product information across systems including WFX, SAP and Excel plans.
• Prepare NCI and standard shipment invoices and packing lists, ensuring customs requirements are met and making stock transfers on SAP as required.
• Organize yarn and fabric cards from spinners and mills; send out lab dips and developments as requested.
• Raise sample orders for yarn swatches, fabric development costs and yarn sample orders.
• Support Fabric Coordinator on technical care sheets, creation of fabric hangers, production files and other fabric swatch requirements.
• Prepare for fitting sessions, allocate, assist in measuring all samples, prepare notes and flag any quality or make request discrepancies.
• Prepare sample collections for styling & casting sessions, lookbook shoots, wholesale meetings, collection review meetings; ensure samples are presented accurately and in good condition (steaming, changing trim and labels where necessary).
• Set up graded spec templates and liaise with grader for final checks and changes.
• Clear and store old season and dropped samples appropriately, maintaining an organized seasonal turnover system.
• Prepare samples, fabric and yarn swatches and any other required information for shipment to TSI, Japan; pack neatly and label accurately to match invoices.
• Other tasks as required, in assistance to the PD team, to ensure business needs are met.

Qualifications

• Includes style set up, item attributes, preferential origin, product risk assessment, shipping and labeling data requirements, compositions, weights, commodity codes, BOMs, visual range plans, pattern plans, supplier fabric plans, range plan updates, updating SAP records for Open PO & GRNI.
• Strong verbal and written communication in English.
• Strong proficiency using different systems including Microsoft Office (Excel), PLM and ERP, with excellent data management skills.
• Excellent attention to detail and ability to handle data accuracy.
• Ability to work to deadlines, ensuring timely completion of workload.
• Highly organized and efficient, can manage multiple priorities in a fast paced environment with competing priorities.
• Confident handling and preparing garments and accessories, with understanding of garment measuring and quality review.
• Ability to problem solve, quickly addressing studio and administrative challenges.
• Interest in sustainability and ethical compliance, and driven to meet targets.
• Desirable: previous experience in similar role, at assistant or internship level.

Rewards

• Salary of £25,207.00
• 5 weeks holiday plus bank holidays, increasing to 6 weeks with service.
• Generous clothing allowance.
• Significant staff discount.
• Life insurance.
• Contributory pension and salary exchange scheme.
• Personal development grant.
• Cycle to work scheme.
• Birthday day off.
• Volunteering day off.
• IVF and fertility leave.

About Margaret Howell

Margaret Howell is a contemporary British clothing designer who has worked successfully in men’s and women’s clothing for over five decades. Today, Margaret Howell clothes are sold worldwide with 11 own shops in Europe, over 100 outlets in Japan and an established online business.