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About the Role

We are seeking a highly experienced and creative Senior Furniture Designer to design and develop own brand products, including cabinetry, freestanding furniture, and upholstery. This role involves supporting the Leadership team in creating category design strategies, identifying furniture trends, and translating them into commercial products. You will be responsible for designing, developing, and delivering customer-centric own brand products that align with strategic direction and contribute to planned growth.

Responsibilities

Create the individual category design strategy, ensuring alignment with overall strategic direction and providing insights into Own Brand products.
Deliver product design that forms a coherent category assortment aligned to brand/sub-brand guidelines.
Focus on technically complex products and/or lead the design of a more complex sub-category.
Align to the Own Brand assortment strategy with a strong focus on customer needs and evolving desires.
Involve in trend and forecasting, recommending and presenting relevant category trends through research.
Ensure the sampling process is efficient and accurate samples are produced.
Produce precise design packs and fulfill seasonal design briefs with commercial and innovative solutions.
Maintain comprehensive records of design projects.
Effectively communicate technical designs to suppliers and manufacturers for costing, prototyping, and production.
Work collaboratively with Buying, Merchandising, and Technical teams to co-create briefs and deliver outcomes.
Build and maintain strong supplier relationships, including co-creating designs.
Lead success-driven, cross-departmental working through effective stakeholder relationships.
Lead through change.
Foster a collaborative and high-performance team culture.
Provide People Management to L8 Designers and Assistant Designers, creating conditions for them to thrive.
Accountable for Partners managed, ensuring they deliver against goals and addressing underperformance.
Engage in conversations to support direct reports' development.
Mentor, develop, and share skill knowledge across the design studio.
Act as a role model and contribute to a cohesive and positive Design team.
Support the professional development and growth of team members.
Provide coaching, development, and feedback using a coaching style.
Lead Partners within multi-disciplinary and matrix teams to achieve business outcomes.
Work autonomously and set clear direction for project teams, agreeing ambition and process.

Requirements

A versatile design 'handwriting' capable of adapting to multiple styles.
Extensive experience in product development across various home furniture products.
Exceptional research skills with a proven ability to identify key furniture trends and translate them into commercial products.
Demonstrated ability to translate design concepts into production-ready designs and technical specifications, using technology.
Experience in stakeholder management.
Excellent communication and presentation skills.
Experience in leading and motivating a design team, fostering creativity and collaboration.
A strong understanding of the retail Home market, including trends, consumer behavior, and competitive landscape.
Ability to translate trends into commercially viable designs.
A proven commercial and customer focus.
An excellent knowledge of product construction or other relevant technical experience.
A track record of credible creative achievements.
A strong understanding of the JL&P brand and/or sub brands, their brand values and potential for product.
Experience in People Management, demonstrating a passion to develop and acquire leadership skills and capabilities.
Ability to switch between strategic creative thinking and guiding product design & development of a team.

Skills

3D modelling using software such as Solidworks, Rhino, Keyshot
Traditional design and development techniques (drawing, painting, model making)
Modern design software (3D modelling, 2D applications for pattern and surface design)
Working knowledge of emerging technologies (3D printing, rapid prototyping, AI in design development)
Communication
Presentation
Leadership
Team motivation
Creativity
Collaboration
Trend identification
Product development
Customer focus
Product construction knowledge
Strategic creative thinking
Coaching

Location

London Head Office campus in Pimlico

Work Type

Hybrid working
Permanent contract
35 hours per week

Experience Level

Senior
Partnership Level 6

Education Level

BA degree in Design (product, furniture)
Substantial experience within a product design studio

Salary/Compensations

£57,400.00 - £86,200.00

Benefits

Employee owned business
Flexible working

About the Company

We’re the largest employee owned business in the UK and home of our cherished brands, John Lewis and Waitrose.
We’re not just employees, we’re Partners, driven by our purpose to build a happier world.
We continue to innovate, adapt and diversify.
As Partners we all share the responsibility of ownership and in its rewards.
We use our voices to contribute to our success, working together through the good and challenging times, holding true to our behaviours and treating everyone with kindness and respect.
We all own making the Partnership somewhere we belong.
Embracing our differences and creating an environment where we’re free to be ourselves and can THRIVE.
Growing ourselves individually, and as a collective.
As Partners, we make all the difference. And, we all own it.
At the John Lewis Partnership we’re not just employees; we’re co-owners, and that’s why we’re called Partners.
Being a Partner means not only do we all collectively share the responsibilities of being the UK’s largest employee-owned business, but we also share in its rewards and successes.
It’s this ownership model that makes the Partnership a very unique place to work.

Equal Opportunity

We want all of our Partners to have a good work-life balance and we support flexible working.
This might mean flexible or compressed hours, job sharing or shorter hour contracts, where possible.
Please discuss this further with the hiring manager during your interview.
It’s important to note that some of our roles are subject to pre-employment vetting (which may include DBS checks for successful candidates).
If required, you’ll be informed and provided with information about vetting during the recruitment process and we encourage you to complete any vetting documents quickly to avoid delays.
Any DBS checks required will be carried out by a third-party registered body and financial probity checks may also be required for some of our roles.
We also recommend that you apply as soon as possible as vacancies can close early if we see a high number of applicants.