The Break is an independent creative production agency specialising in fashion, beauty and luxury.
With a strong focus on quality, detail and visual consistency, we are looking for an experienced, North West (ideally Manchester-based) Head of Retouch to join our growing team.
This is a hands-on, creative role combining high-level retouching with the management and development of our post-production workflow.
Working closely with our photographers, art director and clients you will take ownership of the retouching process from initial selects through to final delivery, ensuring every image meets the highest creative and technical standards.
Job Role & Responsibilities
The Break is an independent creative production agency specialising in fashion, beauty and luxury.
With a strong focus on quality, detail and visual consistency, we are looking for an experienced, North West (ideally Manchester-based) Head of Retouch to join our growing team.
This is a hands-on, creative role combining high-level retouching with the management and development of our post-production workflow.
Working closely with our photographers, art director and clients you will take ownership of the retouching process from initial selects through to final delivery, ensuring every image meets the highest creative and technical standards.
Job Role & Responsibilities
The Head of Retouch is responsible for overseeing and managing the post-production department, ensuring all shoot imagery is retouched to the highest possible standard and delivered consistently, accurately and within agreed deadlines.
The role bridges the creative, photography and production teams, maintaining the visual quality of the agency's output while managing retouchers, workflows and client expectations.
1. Retouching & Quality Control
- Oversee the quality and consistency of all final retouched imagery.
- Ensure images meet the agency's creative direction, brand guidelines and client expectations.
- Review and approve final images before delivery.
- Maintain consistency across campaigns, products and image sets.
- Provide detailed feedback and direction to in-house and freelance retouchers.
- Ensure accurate colour, skin tones, product details, lighting and finishing.
- Maintain high-resolution output standards for print and digital use.
2. Workflow & Project Management
- Manage the retouching workflow from receipt of selects through to final delivery.
- Allocate projects and workloads between in-house and freelance retouchers.
- Establish realistic timelines and ensure deadlines are met.
- Monitor project progress and flag potential delays.
- Manage image tracking, feedback rounds and amends.
- Ensure all files are correctly named, organised, backed up and archived.
- Maintain an organised post-production schedule.
3. Team Management
- Manage and oversee the retouching team.
- Delegate work based on skill set, workload and project requirements.
- Train and develop retouchers, maintaining consistent working standards.
- Build relationships with freelance retouchers and external post-production suppliers.
- Monitor team performance, efficiency and output quality.
- Act as the main point of contact for all retouching-related matters.
4. Creative Collaboration
- Work closely with photographers, art directors, producers and creative directors.
- Understand the creative vision and translate it into clear retouching briefs.
- Attend relevant shoot reviews and production meetings.
- Identify potential post- production issues during the shoot process.
- Ensure the final imagery reflects the intended lighting, styling and creative direction.
- Contribute to creative problem-solving and visual development.
5. Client Communication
- Manage client feedback and retouching amends.
- Interpret client comments and translate them into clear instructions for retouchers.
- Communicate progress and delivery timelines.
- Identify and resolve quality-control issues before client delivery.
- Ensure client expectations are managed throughout post-production.
6. Technical Standards & Organisation
- Establish and maintain retouching guidelines and workflows.
- Maintain colour management and consistent output standards.
- Oversee file preparation for print and digital delivery.
- Ensure appropriate file formats, resolutions and colour profiles.
- Maintain organised project folders and image libraries.
- Research and implement improvements to post-production processes and technology.
7. Budget & Resource Management
- Manage retouching budgets across projects.
- Allocate internal and freelance resources efficiently.
- Review external retouching costs and supplier performance.
- Monitor time spent on projects against agreed budgets.
- Identify opportunities to improve efficiency without compromising quality.
Daily / Weekly Responsibilities
Daily
- Review incoming selects and new projects.
- Allocate retouching tasks.
- Review work in progress.
- Quality-check completed images.
- Manage client feedback and amends.
- Monitor deadlines and delivery schedules.
Weekly
- Review the post-production schedule.
- Assess team capacity and upcoming workload.
- Review quality and consistency across projects.
- Liaise with production and creative teams.
- Review freelance requirements and budgets.
- Identify workflow improvements.
We are looking for someone who can work with us as we continue to take on new client porfolios and be adaptable to suit each client's needs and expectations.
We are about to embark on a new phase of growth so we are keen to find someone with the same passion and enthusiasm that we share in creating a high-quality service.
This person needs to be Manchester based and we are open to freelance or in-house opportunities.
