Senior Production Manager

Neko London; Northampton; Hybrid; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Neko London in Northampton seeks a Senior Project Manager / Production Manager to lead the production of high-end, bespoke retail builds for major international brands in Global Travel Retail.

You will manage complex, luxury fixtures across airports worldwide, coordinating with internal teams and external suppliers from concept through installation, ensuring feasible, on-time and on-budget delivery with a strong focus on materials, fabrication, and installation challenges.

Qualifications

• Experience delivering bespoke, high-end physical builds.
• Strong background in retail, POS, experiential or branded environments.
• Ability to read and scrutinise technical/CAD drawings.
• Excellent understanding of materials, fabrication, production and installation.
• Problem-solving mindset with commercial acumen.

Responsibilities

• Own the delivery of bespoke GTR projects with involvement from concept through to installation.
• Work closely with Account Directors, internal teams, suppliers and installation partners.
• Interrogate technical / CAD drawings and ensure ideas work in the real world.
• Solve challenges around space, height restrictions, materials, power, lighting, logistics and installation.
• Manage procurement, production, shipping, installation, budgets and timelines.
• Negotiate with suppliers and find ways to improve costs, margins and efficiencies.
• Get involved early in projects to advise on feasibility, budget and production solutions.
• Manage multiple projects simultaneously, keeping everything moving and resolving issues quickly.
• Work with the agency’s global teams to bring international expertise and production capability into projects.
• Support and mentor more junior Project / Production Managers.

Skills

Bespoke production

Retail environments

CAD interpretation

Budget management

Supplier management

Project leadership

Job description

Hybrid – Northampton

We’re looking for a Senior Project Manager / Production Manager to join a brilliant creative agency, working on the production of high end and often one off / bespoke retail builds for major international brands in Global Travel Retail.

This will see you working on builds for premium retail environments across the world’s biggest airports. You’ll be working on fixtures with luxury finishes, complex structures, illumination, use of technology, interactive experiences and seriously impressive physical builds.

You’ll be working with internal teams and external suppliers as you take ambitious creative ideas and work out how to make them happen. From the early stages of a project, you’ll be looking at the creative, drawings, space, budget and technical requirements, identifying challenges and finding solutions before they become problems.

Projects can include permanent and semi-permanent retail fixtures for store in stores, tasting areas, displays through to shopper experiences and use materials such as wood, metal, acrylic, Corian and marble amongst others, as well as illuminations or / and technology led installations. You could be working on a high-end tasting bay one minute and a large-scale bespoke store in store the next.

What you'll do:

• Own the delivery of bespoke GTR projects with involvement from concept through to installation
• Work closely with Account Directors, internal teams, suppliers and installation partners
• Interrogate technical / CAD drawings and make sure creative ideas work in the real world
• Solve challenges around space, height restrictions, materials, power, lighting, logistics and installation
• Manage procurement, production, shipping, installation, budgets and timelines
• Negotiate with suppliers and find ways to improve costs, margins and efficiencies Get involved early in projects to advise on feasibility, budget and production solutions
• Manage multiple projects simultaneously, keeping everything moving and resolving issues quickly
• Work with the agency’s global teamsto bring international expertise and production capability into projects
• Support and mentor more junior Project / Production Managers, acting as a senior point of escalation within the team

What we're looking for:

• Proven experience delivering bespoke, high-end physical builds
• Strong background in retail, POS, experiential or branded environments
• Comfortable reading and scrutinising technical and CAD drawings
• Excellent understanding of materials, fabrication, production and installation
• A genuine problem-solving mindset, figuring out how to make challenging ideas work
• Strong commercial and supplier management experience
• Highly organised, detail-focused and comfortable managing multiple complex projects
• Someone who can take ownership and support others within collaborative team

Highly desirable experience:

• Global Travel Retail / airport retail or luxury retail / department store environments
• Large scale bespoke builds with big Square Meterage and lots of complex fixtures
• Use of Lighting, illumination, interactive technology or experiential within retail installations
• International production and installation

This is an exciting opportunity to work on high-profile, premium projects for incredible brands. It’s an interesting role within atalented, down-to-earth team where you’ll have the opportunity to help mentor more junior colleagues.