Lead Graphic Designer

Forward Role; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 43,000 - 48,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

25 days annual leave

Pension (employer contributions)

Staff discount

Wellbeing support

Life assurance

Enhanced parental leave

Job summary

Forward Role is seeking a Lead Graphic Designer to head the in-house graphics studio in Manchester. You will lead three direct reports, sign-off on artwork, and ensure brand consistency across print and digital projects.

The role is primarily leadership and quality control, with regular studio attendance and collaboration with marketing teams. A strong portfolio and 6+ years in consumer-brand design are essential.

Qualifications

• 6+ years of graphic design or artwork experience at Senior/Lead level.
• Experience in print and digital design for consumer brands.
• Proven people management or mentoring capability.
• Strong portfolio across brands and campaigns.
• Excellent typography, layout and visual quality control.
• Commercially aware with strong communication and collaboration skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage a small team, allocating workload and priorities.
• Mentor and develop artwork staff and a separate marketing designer.
• Own end-to-end graphics process from brief to final sign-off.
• Guard the brand identity across all print and digital assets.
• Review and improve graphics quality across campaigns and assets.
• Collaborate with Head of Creative, videographers and marketing teams.

Skills

Graphic design

People management

Team leadership

Brand guardianship

Typography

Adobe Photoshop

Adobe Illustrator

Adobe InDesign

Acrobat

Tools

Adobe Photoshop

Adobe Illustrator

Adobe InDesign

Acrobat

Job description

We are working with a leading UK omnichannel sportswear and streetwear retailer to appoint a Lead Graphic Designer to join its established in-house creative studio.

Lead Graphic Designer

Location: Manchester

Salary: £43,000 to £48,000

Contract: Permanent

Working pattern: Hybrid, normally four days in the studio and one day working from home, 40 hours per week

The Opportunity

This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced graphic designer or artworker to step up into a genuine team leadership role, taking ownership of artwork standards and final sign-off across print and digital. Working alongside photographers, producers, stylists, art directors, videographers and marketing teams, you will play a key role in leading the graphics team, maintaining creative quality and ensuring every asset is aligned with the brand's visual identity.

This is primarily a leadership and artwork sign-off position, rather than a hands-on design production role. It is a position for someone with a strong graphic design background who is comfortable spending most of their time managing, mentoring and reviewing work.

The Role

• Lead and manage three direct reports, comprising two junior artworkers and one midweight artworker, managing the day-to-day workload, delegating tasks, setting priorities and keeping projects moving.
• Mentor, motivate and develop the artwork team, improving standards and helping individuals progress, while also mentoring a separate marketing graphic designer.
• Own the graphics and artwork process from brief through to final sign-off, ensuring accuracy, consistency and attention to detail.
• Act as a brand guardian, ensuring all creative assets are aligned with the brand's visual identity and appeal to its target consumer.
• Review graphics across print and digital, from smaller day-to-day assets through to major campaigns.
• Improve processes and find more efficient ways of working, maintaining high standards in a fast-paced studio environment.
• Work closely with the Head of Creative, Senior, videographer and wider marketing teams.

About You

• 6+ years' experience in graphic design or artwork, ideally at Senior Graphic Designer, Senior Artworker or existing Lead level.
• Experience across print and digital creative within consumer-facing brands. Retail, fashion and sportswear are relevant, but candidates from creative agencies, music, sport and lifestyle brands are also welcome. Purely corporate B2B or professional services portfolios are unlikely to be suitable.
• Previous people management experience is preferred, although mentoring someone and demonstrating the ability to lead a team may be sufficient.
• Expert skills in Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and Acrobat.
• A strong understanding of typography, layout, artwork, visual consistency and technical quality control.
• A portfolio demonstrating strong graphic design, ideally across consumer-facing brands and campaigns.
• A commercially aware, personable and detail-oriented approach, with the confidence to make decisions and give constructive feedback.
• A genuine interest in streetwear, youth culture and consumer brands, with strong communication and collaboration skills.
• Comfortable with regular studio attendance and occasional Head Office collaboration in Greater Manchester. This is not a remote role, and the studio is outside Manchester city centre, so please factor in your commute and associated travel costs.

What's on Offer?

• Salary of £43,000 to £48,000, depending on experience.
• A genuine team leadership role within a well-known youth culture and sportswear retailer.
• Access to an established in-house creative studio with purpose-built content creation facilities and a broad range of consumer-facing brands.
• Hybrid working, normally four days in the studio and one day working from home, with some weeks involving three days in the studio, one at Head Office and one at home.
• 40 hours per week, with flexibility around agreed start and finish times.
• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays, with the option to purchase up to five additional days.
• Pension with a 5% employee contribution and 3% employer contribution.
• 30% staff discount across the group's retail brands
• Wellbeing support including Perkbox, Salary Finance, a wellbeing nurse and counselling, an Employee Assistance Programme, the Wisdom wellbeing app, a virtual GP and health and nutrition support.
• Life assurance of four times basic annual salary.
• Enhanced maternity, adoption and paternity pay.

This role would suit a commercially aware creative who enjoys developing people, managing workflows and owning quality, and who wants to move into an operational leadership role within a fast-paced, youth culture focused studio.