Senior Model and Casting Manager (Studio) in City of Westminster

We’re the feel-good fashion brand making style accessible and fun for over 55 years, on our website, mobile app and over 300 stores in the UK. By living our values - we play to win, customer obsessed, we are one and it starts with me - we deliver That New Look Feeling for our customers and each other.

THE ROLE

This role is responsible for casting and booking all models for e-commerce product pages, creative shoots and campaigns. You will work across all model categories including womenswear, menswear, 915, and specialist, to ensure a “one brand” consistently high standard of casting. You will be speaking to model agencies daily using your great agency relationships to ensure that New Look is always front of mind when models come into town or a new model is taken on by the agency.

You will have a passion for our New Look brand and a good understanding of our customers and how we can best appeal to them through our casting. You will have experience in casting for e-com and understand what makes a great e-com model. You will always be thinking ahead and looking for the next great model that can be the face of our New Look campaigns. You will use social media as a tool to spot new models that will be great for New Look but might not have a London agency. In essence, you live and breathe models.

You will be part of the Senior Management team and work closely with the Head of Studio, Senior Studio Manager, Senior Styling Manager and Senior Art Director. You will also work with the Creative Director, Creative Service Manager and Creative Senior Styling Manager on Campaigns and creative shoots. You will work with all stakeholders to maintain and constantly refresh the New Look Model Family with the best models, ensuring that there are enough models to fulfil the daily e-com studio requirements and regular creative and campaign shoots. As well as all of the above – it goes without saying that you will be great at negotiating the best rates for all model bookings and ensure that you book models to the agreed budgets.

WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU:

• 40% staff discount plus friends & family discounts throughout the year
• Access to our reward platform for external discount and offers
• Profit related bonus scheme
• Option to join our Healthcare Private Medical Scheme
• Virtual GP access for you and your children – it allows you to speak to a doctor at a time and date that suits you
• All employees are covered by our life assurance policy from day one
• Unlock extra leave with our buy more holiday scheme.
• Celebrate YOU! Enjoy an extra paid day off on your birthday each year
• Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption leave, and shared parental leave
• Spread the cost of your commute with interest-free season ticket loans
• Do your bit for the environment and save money with our Cycle2Work scheme

We’re proud to partner with the Retail Trust and Fashion & Textile Children’s Trust.

WHAT YOU’LL BE DOING:

• Reporting into the Head of Studio, you will be responsible for day-to-day model management of the e-com studio
• You will manage weekly model castings to ensure that NL always sees new in-town models.
• Specific model castings for the various categories (e.g. Tall, Curves) as required.
• Bi-weekly model updates to all stakeholders including new model castings; e-com new model trials; social media finds; regular model haircut changes.
• Regularly review the 915 model casting to ensure that the models have not outgrown the NL sample size. Ensure this category is regularly refreshed.
• Management of 915 Model licenses.
• Ensure the creative casting is current, constantly moving creatively, and competitive across our industry.
• Managing the booking process of all models from beginning to end.
• Ensure that the e-com studio always has enough strong model options to fulfil their weekly shoot needs.
• Work closely with the Senior Styling Manager and Senior Studio Manager to plan ahead for any new launches or trends.
• Attend regular meetings with the Creative Director and Creative General Manager to ensure you have the latest information on future creative / campaign shoots and the casting requirements.
• You are responsible for ensuring all model bookings are within budget.
• You will negotiate with agencies to align with New Look e-com and campaign rate structure.
• Build & maintain strong relationships with model agencies nationwide and abroad.
• Implement booking systems with a key attention to detail, so no mistakes are made and booking, usage and rates are clearly communicated.
• Regular review competitor websites to ensure that NL has the best models.
• Ensure that the NL model family is representative of the NL customer and is inclusive and diverse.
• Regularly meet with model agencies to maintain good working relationships.
• Strong awareness of model analysis, making use of this information to make informed casting decisions.
• Present model analysis data back to senior management and studio team.
• Responsible for ensuring that New Look only books models that present a healthy body image. You will do this by ensuring that you have casting images / videos of all new models.
• You will ensure that you get feedback on all new model bookings on all shoots to help make decisions on re-booking models.
• Taking ownership of models you have booked, working alongside the studio team to maximise each model's potential.
• You will be the model agency contact for all NL model bookings – Note: this can include receiving calls from model agencies during out of office hours and weekends if a model is sick / misses their flight etc.
• Dealing with any model issues professionally and in line with New Look behaviours policy.
• Working closely with your Senior Management team to successfully deliver the department strategy. Build strong, professional and collaborative relationships with the wider studio team.
• Delivering projects to support the department strategy and any other ad-hoc tasks defined by Head of Studio.
• Contribute to departmental technology software and hardware launches when required.
• Contributing to team and departmental meetings.
• Support with studio culture and being a mentor for more junior studio members.

WHO YOU ARE:

• Minimum of 5 years experience working in a similar role.
• Ideally you will have experience working for a similar fashion brand.
• You will have an amazing eye for casting models.
• You will have great communication skills.
• We would expect to have great relationships with all the UK model agencies.
• You will have proven experience in negotiating model rates.
• Passionate about models.
• Positive and unflappable.
• Proven ability to manage a model budget.
• Understanding of the different model usages/rates.
• Team player with a can-do attitude.

Why New Look?

We care about you and the planet and believe fashion should be a force for positive change. We celebrate inclusion and diversity in everything we do. We’re proud of our inclusive culture and our talented team members who embrace our shared purpose, behaviours and values. We prioritise development, offering training to support your progression, so you can be your absolute best and achieve your goals. We pride ourselves on being a flexible employer, our colleagues work a range of patterns. If you have a specific pattern in mind, we're keen to discuss this with you in line with the output needed for the role.

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