E-Commerce and Packaging Art Director

About the role

John Lewis, the UK's leading department store and biggest general omnichannel business, is searching for an exceptionally talented individual with a strong background in E-com Art Direction across fashion, home and beauty. The successful candidates will join our busy in-house creative department and play a key role in creating and delivering all e-commerce and packaging imagery across the business. Our E-commerce and Packaging Art Director is responsible for creating compelling imagery to best showcase our product online and in stores. Accountable for all e-com imagery including fashion, beauty, home and all packaging imagery. This role covers a large remit directly responsible for a premium customer experience. While this role has no direct line reports you will be responsible for mentoring and leading a large team of external talent across AD, styling, hair and make-up, and photography. You will develop and maintain brand guidelines for key packaging categories as well as evolving seasonal updates for fashion and home e-com imagery. You will work closely with a team of producers to discover new creative talent and models, keeping an up to date document of our roster. This role is adaptable in the approach and maintains a high level of standards in model imagery, home sets, and still life. They can make the most simple item appealing through strong imagery while showing it in an accurate way; clearly articulating to a team how to achieve the desired outcome. Providing leadership and guidance to multiple sets within a day, being able to multi-task and remain calm under pressure is essential. They will need to update the Art Direction Lead and Creative Director weekly with an overview of the E-com studios output as well as any packaging projects that have been completed.

• Expected salary - £45,000 - £65,000 (dependent on experience)

• Contract type - This position is a Permanent contract.

• Working pattern/flexible working - The Partnership has adopted a hybrid working approach, meaning you'll be able to work a mixture between the office and home based upon your personal needs whilst balancing the needs of the business. The team aims for around 4 days a week in the office to connect and on a more ad-hoc basis to attend key meetings. Please note, 3 days out of the 4 will be based at our Creative Studios, in Origin Park (London, NW1)

• Location - This role is based at our Creative Studios in London (NW1) and our Head Office campus in Pimlico. Please note, any cost incurred as a result of travel to the office is the responsibility of the successful candidate. There is no travel allowance for this role.

Key responsibilities

• Working with the Art Direction Lead to set the direction for E-com imagery and packaging

• Lead and inspire a wide team of stylists, photographers, and set designers to maintain a high level of imagery that fulfils the brands guidelines

• Responsible for maintaining and updating all E-com and Packaging guidelines

• Cover all categories of the business across fashion and home

• Working with the Art Direction Manager to ensure seasonal E-com updates are on track and external talent is booked in where necessary

• Create an upbeat and positive work environment while maintaining pace of shoots

• Weekly review of contact sheets across stills and fashion sharing feedback with the wider team

• Manage multiple projects and live photography sets at the same time

• Accountable for maintaining a consistent brand image across all touch points, building a cohesive premium customer journey

• Flagging imagery on site that falls outside of brand guidelines to the relevant people

• Research, conceptualise and execute assigned brand initiatives

• Supporting on other campaigns or digital projects when required

• Develop and maintain relationships with creative talent and research new talent

• Work with the production team on castings and finding new talent

• Arrange and oversee testing shoots for new e-com and packaging direction when needed

• Keep up to date on trends within the e-com imagery industry and regularly do competitor research across e-com imagery and packaging

• Oversees and approves all retouching for both packaging and e-commerce imagery, collaborating with the internal retouch team to ensure high-quality output.

Essential skills/experience you'll need

• Experience as an Art Director within fashion or home (ideally both) within a fast paced e-com studio environment

• Have a strong portfolio of Art Direction ideally across fashion and home

• Extremely knowledgeable in retouch processes, grade and colour work

• Adobe Creative Suite - Photoshop, InDesign, Acrobat, Bridge

• Google Slides, Sheets, Docs or equivalent

• Understanding of e-com imagery ratios and spec requirements

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills

Desirable skills/experience you may have

• Managing of an e-com studio

• On model or still life styling

For internal use only

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About The Partnership

We're the largest employee owned business in the UK and home of our cherished brands, John Lewis and Waitrose. We're not just employees, we're Partners, driven by our purpose to build a happier world. As we look to our future, there's never been a more exciting time to join us.

We're ruthlessly focused on being brilliant at retail. We continue to innovate, adapt and diversify. Never Knowingly Undersold on price, quality and service in John Lewis and passionately serving food-lovers in Waitrose.

As Partners we all share the responsibility of ownership and in its rewards. We use our voices to contribute to our success, working together through the good and challenging times, holding true to our behaviours and treating everyone with kindness and respect.

We all own making the Partnership somewhere we belong. Embracing our differences and creating an environment where we're free to be ourselves and can THRIVE. Growing ourselves individually, and as a collective.

As Partners, we make all the difference. And, we all own it.

Important points to note:

It's important to note that some of our roles are subject to pre-employment vetting (which may include DBS checks for successful candidates). If required, you'll be informed and provided with information about vetting during the recruitment process and we encourage you to complete any vetting documents quickly to avoid delays. Any DBS checks required will be carried out by a third-party registered body and financial probity checks may also be required for some of our roles.

We also recommend that you apply as soon as possible as vacancies can close early if we see a high number of applicants.

We want all of our Partners to have a good work-life balance and we support flexible working. This might mean flexible or compressed hours, job sharing or shorter hour contracts, where possible. Please discuss this further with the hiring manager during your interview.