* Responsible Luxury Business of the Year 2023 & 2022, Positive Luxury
* Best Sustainable Luxury Jewellery Brand 2022, Marie Claire UK
We are digital first, omni-channel, customer obsessed, female led and inclusive, focused on creating meaningful relationships with our community, who we owe our success to. We are looking for someone special to join our team to help us make luxury something we can all enjoy everyday. Where we need your help We have all the makings of an iconic brand - beautiful products that are timeless and designed to last, service that exceeds our customer's expectations, a passionate founder that cares deeply about doing what is right, and a loyal and growing community that advocates for us. The Senior Design & Development Manager role is an exciting opportunity to join the team where it all starts - the creative side of the product team, who are pivotal to driving the delivery of an ambitious product pipeline, working closely with our Jewellery Designers, Developers & Creative Director/Founder. You will work to support the delivery of new and original designs, translating concepts into a reality, with market relevancy and considering of commercial briefs, and supplier parameters. You will lead your team to deliver a strong pipeline, on time. You will champion the customer at every point of the product journey; and execute with creativity, detail, pace, passion and team spirit. This is a hybrid role, with a requirement for a minimum of 2 - 3 days per week at our Holkham office and remote working for part of the week. What you'll do Leadership - Lead the product development team with simplicity, pace, high standards and leading by example. Inspiring a team spirit and holistic view of sharing expertise and problem solving. - Work daily with our suppliers and wider x-functional teams, to ensure timings, quality, costs, compliance and sustainable milestones are met. - Responsible for delivering own product development (from design to launch), but also the output of the rest of the development team, in what is a fast paced and agile environment. This requires to be in enough detail to initiate change and identify issues, but also step out to see the bigger business picture and drive the team to pursue the right priorities. - Encouraging and fostering effective X-functional working across the rest of the NPD team and other teams such as Brand, Web, Merchandising, Trade, Retail, Engraving, Operations etc. - Managing the workflow within the development team- ensuring a balanced split of work load and new collections across suppliers and developers to work to their expertise and expand developers skill-set - Planning and driving effective development trips to suppliers, to both build relationships and optimise development timings - Basing priorities and workflow on data and working closely with the commercial and supply teams to optimise opportunities and prevent quality issues. - You will be an escalation point for the development team. Identifying and handling issues with a holistic view of feedback and holding direct conversations with the suppliers at all levels, whilst empowering the team to solve problems themselves - You will be responsible for initiating new projects and streamlining processes within the development team and inspire progressive, simplistic ways of working e.g cost saving projects, quality improvements, sustainability improvements, standardised development tools e.g product testing, sizing guides, check lists, 3D printers - You will proactively share your expertise to build your team's knowledge and encourage reflection so that the team can continue to learn, progress and improve Design - Inspiration & ideas: Working collaboratively with the Design team (including Creative Director and Founder), to form a clear view of 'on brand' authentic, inspiration and MV values, allowing you to lead proposals for ideation within both a creative and commercial brief. - Trends: Responsible for keeping on the pulse of both MV consumer and macro market trends to help lead on commercial and seasonal design direction. - Moodboards: Responsible for collating inspirational imagery and materials, both digitally and physically, to support each design direction - Sketching and presenting: Responsible for confidently presenting multiple design ideas following initial brief - Rendering: Build up selected designs into more detail, allowing us to see various angles and details to finesse the design and agree colours and proportions - To-scale design sheets: Create to-scale, annotated design sheets using Adobe illustrator or CAD software, which will inform our range selection, RRP setting and supplier brief - Technical knowledge of how the piece will be made and basic understandings of cost, manufacture and sustainable materials should be used as part of the designing to a commercial brief Development - Work with suppliers to bring ideas to life. Develop products quickly and with accuracy. Working tightly to a critical path, and working cross functionally with commercial and supplier teams to ensure the launch runs smoothly. Products can span from Jewellery to Lifestyle; ceramic, leather and even packaging - You will be responsible for developing new product as well as resourcing strategic product - Briefing of collections for development with suppliers, translating design aesthetic, technical details (including stone setting and hinge/clasps) and sharing knowledge on construction methods and expected quality standards. - Communicate effectively with suppliers daily/regularly to track/chase sample development progress within lead time. Escalate large issues effectively to Design Director and General Manager of Supply - Report clear, concise development updates by factory and identify potential delays or obstructions to delivery milestones. Other - Work collaboratively with the NPD team to maintain accurate detail and timely issue of the quarterly newness presentation, alongside the delivery of samples for quarterly Trade meetings - Manage the design studio space, in parallel with the rest of the team, to keep it an inspirational space but also fully functional and working in the best shape for the full team to maximise its benefit. - Contribute to and support specific commercial and quality based projects as and when relevant e.g market research and sourcing opportunities taking customer eye view to define improvements and propose ways to make them simple - Your role will require ad-hoc travel to our international supply base, in order to push through development, where you will be an ambassador for the brand, as well as fulfilling your specific agenda, Occasional travel to London office or warehouse required Ad-hoc overseas travel (approx. twice per year) Full UK driving licence required Our Aims and Values Our mission is to be the leading accessible luxury brand, by delivering outstanding quality, design and customer service. We are: Customer Obsessed Our customers are at the core of everything we do. We will always deliver an outstanding and personal experience to them every time they interact with us, to ensure their ongoing support and loyalty. Caring We treat people with respect, as we would want to be treated. We are apolitical and assume good intentions in others. We are open and honest with each other while ensuring we take an empathetic and supportive approach. Fast Paced We are passionate about what we do, and we want to reach as many customers as fast as we can. We combine focus with pragmatism and flexibility so that we can move at pace in whichever direction we need to take. Exceptional We have a relentless desire to continually learn and improve to ensure our products and approach are exceptional. Our tenacity, high standards and attention to detail give us a competitive advantage. Commercial We focus hard on facts and approach things in a logical, rational and analytical way. We challenge each other to make sure we make decisions and take actions that create value for our business and our customers. Monica Vinader as a global business makes the following inclusive culture pledge: Our jewellery is for everyone and so is our community. Together, we will continue to implement sustainable changes to ensure that career opportunities and progression are open to all. We commit to celebrating the diverse voices of our employees, partners, and the customers we serve. This job description is not intended to be an exhaustive list of duties to be performed by the employee. This job description may be altered to reflect the business needs of the company.
* The ability to draw freehand and technically to a high standard
* A passion for original, authentic design
* Attention to detail
* Strong ability of Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, CAD software and Microsoft Office including Excel and Powerpoint
* Strong balance of creative and commercial skills
* Excellent interpersonal and communication skills (written and verbal)
* Well organised, can multi-task and prioritise effectively, with meticulous attention to detail
* Experience of working in teams with a willingness to carry out a range of tasks to support the NPD team
* Sound judgement and great common sense. Excellent problem-solving skills
* Industry experience as Jewellery Designer, preferably within a demi-fine to fine jewellery brand
* Experience with managing external suppliers & product management experience preferable, but not essential
* Self-motivated with a clear sense of drive and ownership
To be successful at Monica Vinader...
* You are a doer
* You're a team player
* You're humble
* You are honest, straightforward, and transparent
* You are a good teacher/mentor (approachable and accessible)
* You want to get your hands dirty
* You solve problems
* You are resilient
* You are flexible
* You are entrepreneurial, smart, and passionate
* If you don't know something, you say so. Then go figure it out quickly
* You love working in a creative environment
* You have a sense of humour
* You are an insatiable learner
Additional Requirements - Ability to document your authorisation to work in the United Kingdom.
At Monica Vinader, we're on a mission to prove that buying better, wearing longer and doing better don't have to be mutually exclusive. From our commitment to making the most sustainable jewellery we can using precious materials, to the timeless style and endless versatility of our pieces, we are driven to making everyday fine jewellery accessible and affordable. And don't just take our word for it, we are proud to be recognised in the industry through recent awards, At Monica Vinader, we're on a mission to prove that buying better, wearing longer and doing better don't have to be mutually exclusive. From our commitment to making the most sustainable jewellery we can using precious materials, to the timeless style and endless versatility of our pieces, we are driven to making everyday fine jewellery accessible and affordable. We are digital first, customer obsessed, female led and inclusive, focused on creating meaningful relationships with our community, who we owe our success to. We are looking for someone special to join our team to help us make luxury something we can all enjoy everyday. Further information is available at