Design Manager- (12 months Maternity Cover) Lingerie, Nightwear and Swimwear in Manchester

We are looking for an experienced, visionary Design Manager to join our Womenswear Design team on a 12 Fixed Term Contract. As a member of the Product Senior Leadership Team, you will play a pivotal role in shaping and elevating the womenswear offer across our multi-brand portfolio, including JD Williams, Simply Be and additional N Brown brands.

Reporting directly to the Group Design Director, you will work closely with, and provide strategic support to, the Head of Design and the Jacamo Design Manager to lead, mentor and inspire the broader design team. You will champion creative excellence, drive innovation and ensure our collections deliver both commercial success and brand distinction. You will hold direct accountability for the Intimates area, including Swim & Beach, Lingerie and Nightwear, setting the creative direction and ensuring these categories deliver trend-led, customer-focused and commercially successful ranges. Alongside this, you will contribute to the wider womenswear strategy across multiple product categories.

This role blends strategic creative leadership with hands-on design direction, guiding the end-to-end design process and ensuring our ranges reflect each brand's DNA while resonating with our diverse customer base.

• Lead and manage the design development and creative direction of the Intimates area, including Swim & Beach, Lingerie and Nightwear, ensuring category growth, innovation and brand alignment.
• Define seasonal concepts, colour direction, fabric innovation and silhouette development across your categories and the wider womenswear offer.
• Drive the creation of seasonal mood boards, colour palettes, trend presentations and range architecture, ensuring alignment with brand strategy and customer insight.
• Ensure all product reflects brand handwriting, customer needs, price architecture and margin targets.
• Collaborate closely with Buying, Technical, Merchandising, Studio and Marketing teams to deliver cohesive storytelling and strong go-to-market execution.
• Present seasonal concepts, design direction and range reviews to senior stakeholders across the business.
• Build and maintain strong supplier relationships, overseeing sample development, fabric sourcing and design integrity through to production.
• Maintain a deep understanding of the N Brown customer, market trends and competitor landscape to inform design strategy.
• Champion innovation in product, fabric, fit and design detail, continually evolving the womenswear and intimates offer.
• Support the Head of Design and Jacamo Design Manager in leading, mentoring and developing the wider design team, fostering a culture of creativity, collaboration and excellence.
• Manage multiple projects and brands simultaneously, ensuring timely delivery of collections within critical path timelines.
• Contribute to the wider creative vision and long-term design strategy across the multi-brand womenswear portfolio.

• Extensive experience designing womenswear across multiple product categories, ideally including intimates, swim, lingerie or nightwear.
• A strong portfolio showcasing trend-led, commercially successful womenswear collections.
• Proven ability to translate global trends into compelling, customer-relevant product ranges.
• Strong understanding of fabrication, garment construction and manufacturing processes.
• Highly proficient in Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop) with strong CAD capability.
• Strong commercial acumen with experience in range building and product architecture.
• Confident presenting design concepts and influencing senior stakeholders.
• Excellent organisational skills with the ability to manage multiple brands, seasons and deadlines.
• A collaborative leader with strong creative ownership, accountability and team development skills.

• Hybrid working (3 days in the office at a minimum).
• 24 days holiday (+ 8 bank holidays).
• Annual bonus scheme.
• Enhanced maternity and adoption leave.
• Company pension with up to 8% N Brown contribution.
• Mental Health support both internally and externally, including access to our wellbeing champions and counselling services.
• A range of financial wellbeing support.
• Colleague discount across all N Brown brands.
• Onsite café with subsidised rates and local restaurant discounts!
• Life Assurance and Private Medical Insurance.
• Paid volunteer time - all our colleagues can take a full day paid to volunteer for a charity of their choice.

N Brown is a leading UK digital retail platform for clothing, footwear, home and technology, headquartered in Manchester and employing over 1,200 people nationwide. Through our strategic retail brands JD Williams, Jacamo and Simply Be and our unique payments offering, we exist to champion inclusivity and serve the underserved. Our customers are our passion, and we take great pride in delivering products that ensure they can look and feel amazing, without compromising on choice, value and accessibility. We are committed to building a diverse workforce and creating an inclusive environment that values equality for all.

We offer hybrid working which varies across the business depending on the role you are in. Our Head Office is located in the Northern Quarter in Manchester City Centre. Our working hours are 36.17 per week and our core working hours are between 10am - 4pm. Given we do not have strict working hours you can find the working pattern that is right for you.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, colour, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.