Sportswear Design Manager - mp Activewear

THG; Manchester; On-site; GBP 100,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

A global ecommerce group in Manchester is seeking a Sportswear Design Manager to lead a talented design team. The role involves creating innovative activewear collections that resonate with customers and collaborating across teams to ensure successful product launches. Candidates should have significant experience in clothing design, strong leadership skills, and a passion for activewear. The position offers multiple perks, including career development and wellbeing support.

Benefits

Career Development Programs

Enhanced Leave (25 days + bank holidays)

Wellbeing Support including GP access

Discounts on THG brands

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years of experience in clothing design, with at least 2 years in a management role.
• Strong portfolio demonstrating expertise in activewear design.
• Excellent communication and cross-functional collaboration skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the design team.
• Develop and deliver innovative collections.
• Collaborate with product development to ensure designs meet requirements.

Skills

Fashion Design

Team Leadership

Adobe Creative Suite

Garment Construction

Market Research

Education

Degree in Fashion Design or related field

Tools

Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Photoshop

Job description

Overview

We are THG, a global ecommerce group on a mission to be the global online leader in beauty and sports nutrition. Our portfolio includes leading retailers and brands such as LOOKFANTASTIC, Myprotein, ESPA, Perricone MD, and Cult Beauty, forming our two core businesses: THG Beauty and THG Nutrition. From Manchester to New York, we are a team of over 2500 people who think BIG and lead by example.

Location: THG HQ, Manchester (WA15 0AF) - Fully Office Based

Role

Role: Sportswear Design Manager

Brand: Myprotein Activewear (www.mp.com)

Reporting to: Head of Product

About MP Activewear

MP Activewear, a division of Myprotein, is a leading activewear brand dedicated to inspiring healthier, more active lifestyles through innovative and stylish apparel. Our clothing collection plays a vital role in this mission, and we are seeking a talented and passionate Design Manager to help shape the future of our activewear range.

The Role

As Design Manager, you will lead and inspire the design team across Men's, Women's, and Accessories categories. Reporting to the Head of Product, you will drive the creation of stylish, functional, and high-performance apparel that resonates with our customers and elevates MP's position in the activewear market.

You will collaborate closely with product development, marketing, and buying teams to manage the full design lifecycle—from concept through to production—ensuring collections are innovative, on-trend, commercially viable, and aligned with our brand ethos.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the design team, fostering creativity, collaboration, and high performance across Men's, Women's, and Accessories lines.
• Develop and deliver innovative, trend-led collections that embody MP Activewear's brand values and appeal to our active customer base.
• Conduct ongoing research into fashion trends, fabrics, technologies, and sustainability to ensure products remain current, functional, and market-leading.
• Collaborate with product development to ensure designs meet technical, fit, functionality, and production requirements.
• Maintain a clear understanding of the product development process, timelines, and critical path milestones.
• Present design concepts and collections confidently to stakeholders, integrating feedback to refine and enhance output.
• Work with buying teams to select materials that balance sustainability, quality, and cost-effectiveness.
• Monitor competitor activity, influencer trends, and market shifts to maintain MP's competitive edge.
• Participate in fittings and collaborate closely with production teams to ensure the highest quality execution of designs.

What We're Looking For

• Degree in Fashion Design or a related field.
• Minimum 5 years of experience in clothing design, with at least 2 years in a management or leadership role, preferably in activewear, sportswear, or fashion.
• Strong portfolio demonstrating expertise in performance and activewear design.
• In-depth knowledge of garment construction, fabrics, and technical design principles.
• Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop) and other relevant design software.
• Ability to balance creative innovation with commercial insight, designing products that are both stylish and functional.
• Excellent communication, leadership, and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• Passion for activewear and a deep understanding of the modern consumer's needs.
• Adaptable, proactive, and able to thrive in a fast-paced, evolving environment.

What's in it for me?

Career Development

• Access bespoke development programmes designed by our in-house L&D team.
• Develop expertise through our up-skilling programme in partnership with industry-leading training providers.

Enhanced Leave

• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays.
• Enjoy your birthday off on us!
• Up to 10 days compassionate leave and the ability to buy back up to 3 days annually.

Wellbeing Support

• Face-to-face and virtual appointments with our in-house GP.
• Access to our in-house CBT therapist.
• 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) by Bupa.
• State-of-the-art on-site gym and physio.

Other Perks

• Save up to 12% on personal tech with our salary sacrifice scheme.
• Subsidised bus pass from Manchester City Centre to our ICON office.
• Up to 50% staff discount on THG brands and access to on-site staff shop and barber.

THG is proud to be a Disability Confident Committed employer. If you are invited to interview, please let us know if there are any reasonable adjustments we can make to the recruitment process that will enable you to perform to the best of your ability.

THG is committed to creating a diverse & inclusive environment and hence welcomes applications from all sections of the community.

Because of the high volumes of applications our opportunities attract, it sometimes takes us time to review and consider them all. We endeavour to respond to every application we receive within 14 days. If you haven't heard from us within that time frame or should you have any specific questions about this or other applications for positions at THG please contact one of our Talent team to discuss further.