Soft Goods Design Manager in Huddersfield

At Mamas & Papas, we believe while parents come in many different forms, every parent wants to fully embrace the miracle of having a baby and be a great parent. Our Purpose is to inspire and support parents in becoming the best parents they can be: confident, capable, and loving life with their little ones. This purpose puts families at the heart of everything we do, where our Mamas & Papas products are made to make life easier, providing comfort, quality & safety in every detail through trend led designs, whilst minimizing our environmental impact for current and future generations.

Through a real growth spurt as a business, both UK and Internationally, we are looking to recruit a Soft Goods Design Manager to join our Design Team. Reporting into our Head of Soft Goods, this Design Manager role will look to manage, develop and inspire a design team (of x1 Senior Designer, x4 Designers and a Print & Pattern Designer) across newborn, baby & infant clothing, plus soft good interiors & bedding, soft toys & gifts.

Key elements to this role being:

• Develop and implement successful Global & Local design strategies that will resonate and delight the customer, crafting a unique and illustrative handwriting through inspirational collections, products, and storytelling prints.
• Working collaboratively across Buying/Development, and Merchandise Teams across all areas in delivering your design strategies, ensuring all design deadlines are met in accordance with agreed cross functional critical paths.
• Guard and protect the Brand DNA through the design process ensuring a consistent brand language across all product categories, overseeing the design creation process and ensuring we are developing original products and prints.
• Budget & plan all buying, inspiration, trend & competitor trips for the team and support them in gathering comprehensive research to support colour, trend, fabric, trim and product direction. Staying ahead of new trends, competition and customer expectations.
• Able to personally put “pen to paper” yourself in either taking the teams design concepts to that next level through your design experience, or working on key, or new design scoping projects.
• Putting families at the heart of everything we do if delivering upon Our Purpose through the soft goods we design and bring to life.

To Apply, if you are either a Senior Designer, looking to take your passion for design to that next level in inspiring and leading others, or an existing Design Manager, looking to continue your passion for product & design for one of the most iconic baby brands, at a very exciting time for the business, then simply take those amazing first steps and APPLY TODAY.

Please note:

• Due to anticipated interest in this rare opportunity, we will be needing to review your design portfolio as part of the CV shortlisting process. Therefore, please attach a portfolio to your application (whether PDF, or a downloadable link, or webpage details).
• This is a permanent full time, not freelance opportunity, and will be required to be at our Huddersfield (HD5 0RH) head office, 3 days a week, (x2 from home) as part of our Hybrid working scheme.

We’re a business that cares. Here’s just some of our benefits on offer:

• 33 days holiday, increasing up to 40 with service.
• Buy & Sell holiday schemes.
• Company Bonus Schemes.
• Employer pension contribution from day 1 enrolment.
• Significant staff discounts for family & friends from our shops & online.
• Ongoing offers & discounts across a variety of external organisations, from holidays, travel, restaurants, gifts & services to many more worthy discounts through our Benefits Hub.
• Subsidised health & critical illness cover and insurances.
• Supportive family related leave policies (including company enhanced pay for maternity, IVF & Fertility, surrogacy, paternity, adoption, shared parental leave).
• Supportive Foster Care & Carers Leave offering.
• Support for Loss and Bereavement.
• A Menopause Friendly Employer.
• Employee Recognition and Appreciation Schemes.

At Mamas & Papas, we’re a business for the future. Every day, we help to welcome a new generation of children into the world, and we want them to grow up in a world that’s sustainable – one that’s full of opportunity and hope.