Design Director in London

We're looking for an experienced brand and packaging Design Director to bolster our team in Tunbridge Wells (ideally).

You’re a natural leader: strategic, insightful and creatively driven. You see the potential in every brief and the opportunity in every constraint. You bring calm confidence to the room, balancing clarity with care and guiding the team to deliver their best work. You inspire belief – in the work, in the process and in the people around you. Your vision is sharp, your instincts are trusted and your leadership lifts everything it touches.

Creative thinking & crafting excellence You set the creative standard for your team, guiding and shaping the work to meet JDO’s high bar for originality, relevance and beauty. You push for design that provokes emotion, inspires belief and holds true to the brand’s purpose. You inspire confident, strategic use of AI across the team, knowing where it adds value and where human creativity must lead.

Strategic & brand alignment You connect the creative to the bigger picture. You understand your client’s business, the audience’s mindset and the brief’s intent, and you use that knowledge to shape bold, brand-right solutions. You challenge assumptions thoughtfully and champion clarity throughout.

Studio process & project delivery You lead multiple workstreams with confidence and care. You make informed choices around project structure and resource allocation, based on clear understanding of brief complexity, timings and budgets. You work closely with account and production teams to keep work flowing and teams supported.

Team collaboration & contribution You help create a studio environment that fosters bravery, clarity and growth. You contribute with presence, guide with generosity and ensure conversations stay constructive and focused. You help your teams feel energised, empowered and part of something bigger.

Leadership & mentoring You coach and support others by modelling high standards and holding space for learning. You give clear, thoughtful feedback and help people grow through clarity, care and stretch. Your presence brings confidence to clients, teams and peers alike.

Commercial acumen You take ownership of project scope, creative viability and team resourcing. You balance creative ambition with sustainable delivery: ensuring time is tracked, hours are respected and decisions support long-term value. You guide others in understanding how commercial clarity empowers creative freedom.

• Have a strong portfolio across global FMCG (personal care, beauty and alcohol) packaging
• Be a team builder, able to mentor more junior team members and bring clarity to others working across our global offices
• Work with pace without losing sight of the bigger picture
• Have 6+ years in agency environments delivering across categories and multiple workstreams

This role is ideally based in Royal Tunbridge Wells.
We work to a hybrid model of three days in the studio, total of 40 hours per week.

What makes JDO special is how we work together. We value conviction without ego, generosity without fuss and craft that holds up in the detail. You’ll be encouraged to bring your point of view, ask better questions, learn from talented people around you and keep developing your voice.

Our promise to you is a career that matters: one where your talent is recognised, your growth is supported and your individuality is celebrated. We want people to do brilliant work, but not by becoming someone they are not.

We’re proud to have been named Creativepool’s Best Agency to Work For in both 2024 and 2025. That recognition matters to us because it reflects the kind of place we are building: high standards, real collaboration and a team that shows up for each other.

Alongside a competitive salary, we offer benefits that support rest, wellbeing, creativity and life outside work, including Fri-yays, where our studios close on the last Friday of most months, a day off on your birthday, end-of-year studio closure, an Employee Assistance Programme and a workplace nursery scheme to help with the cost of childcare.

If you have a passion for packaging and brand design and a portfolio that spans beauty, booze and personal care, we'd love to hear from you.

Please note: No recruiters please. Regretfully, we can't always respond to every applicant, but we do try.

JDO UK is home to two creative hubs: our headquarters in the historic heart of Royal Tunbridge Wells and our central London studio. Each of us is based at one location, but we work as one team; sharing ideas, collaborating across disciplines and supporting each other to deliver our strongest work.

Moving between the two studios gives us fresh perspectives and new energy, while helping ideas cross-pollinate.

We’re part of JDO’s international network of designers, brand strategists and client partnership experts, partnering with some of the world’s most loved and influential brands. Our work spans brand and creative strategy, packaging and product design, innovation and sustainability, and experiential and campaign activation.

Whatever the brief, we create brand worlds that connect, inspire and stay relevant in an ever-changing landscape.

Independent. International. Indispensable.

JDO is an award-winning design agency, expertly helping brands deliver on their promises by creating experiences people can see, feel, and believe.

With boundless creativity and craftsmanship, we craft identities and brand worlds that drive success. Partnering with visionaries and disruptors alike, we turn brand promises into powerful belief.

Our promise to every member of our team is a career that matters. One where your talent is recognised, your growth is supported, and your individuality is celebrated.

Be part of a team that brings energy, generosity and craft into every room – and shows up for each other, every single day. Together, we design for distinction, push boundaries and stay curious, always seeking a better way.

We believe creativity thrives on diversity – of background, identity, experience and thought. We’re committed to building a workplace where everyone feels safe, seen and supported to grow.