Footwear Design Manager

Location: Hybrid - Soho Office (3 Days) / Work from Home (2 Days)

Collaborating closely with the Creative Director, you'll lead the in-house design team, guiding them from initial sketches through to the final product. Your role will be pivotal in capturing the essence of the brand's DNA and vision, resulting in a design-driven collection that authentically reflects Russell & Bromley's identity.

You'll manage the design team's schedule, ensuring projects are completed on time according to the development calendar, while staying ahead of industry and cultural trends. Your input will be crucial in shaping the team's concept work, ensuring we deliver an innovative and cohesive product range for our customers. Strong collaboration and communication skills will be key as you build and maintain cross-functional relationships with all departments involved in the design process.

About the Company

We have an unswerving reputation and legacy for quality and craftsmanship at its foundation, British brand Russell & Bromley has heralded its renewed contemporary fashion aspiration and focus within recent seasons evolving into a more dynamic style authority. Luxurious breadth and diversity are demonstrated across covetable ranges with stand-out trend items once again putting its footwear and accessories clearly on the fashion map. You would be joining an organisation that values inclusivity, becoming part of a passionate team with a collaborative culture that supports each other, as well as the business. We seek to provide an environment where all employees can reach their full potential, be their best selves and do their best work.

About the Role

• Working alongside the Creative Director to lead the Footwear & Accessories design team.
• Work closely with your teams to build out the ranges in line with the Business strategic goals
• Driving the brand in a conceptual, boundary-breaking way to ensure we continue to maintain our position in the marketplace as the go to everyday luxury footwear brand.
• Researching, designing, and building balanced, exciting, and new collections encompassing seasonal trends, theme, colour and the Russell and Bromley handwriting to answer the business strategies and targets, from initial ideas through to final sample.
• You will ensure that product is consistent with market trends as well as business strategy and interpret international/domestic concepts and cultural trends as it relates to market demands, company image and business strategy
• Together with the Creative Director and the design team create seasonal concept boards, colour palettes, key element boards in line with seasonal theme and present them to the product team counterparts
• Alongside the Creative Director create and implement the design team process and ways of working.
• Carry out seasonal trend and research to ensure ranges are continually evolving and always world class.
• Maintain and nurture strong relationships across the business, from initial design presentation and throughout the design process.
• Work together with your teams and the product team to develop and source fabrics and trims relevant for the end use of the selected ranges, adding newness and improving the existing product offer.
• Ensure all workloads for your team are monitored and critical dates are achieved throughout the produce cycle.
• Ensure the team are working with the product team during the process to design the ranges within option framework and margin targets.
• Visit factories through the design process.
• Presentations of ranges throughout the design process and to the wider company as needed.
• Build relationships within the team and across the business to ensure all aspects and benefits behind the product are communicated to all customers
• Lead or Participate in all relevant design meetings
• To be aware of and contribute to the delivery of business targets.
• Take on ad hoc projects or other responsibilities as appropriate

About You

• 7 – 10 years of Footwear and accessories experience
• Strong aesthetic sense, with a passion for the footwear sector and an understanding of market needs
• Experience of building a domestic and internal product offer
• A strong communicator both verbal and written
• Strong presentation skills and proven ability to liaise seamlessly with other members of the business and externally
• Experience of managing and nurturing a team to its full potential
• Excellent Adobe skills

Due to the high volumes of applications that we receive, we are regrettably unable to personally reply to them all. Therefore, we will only contact successful applicants within a period of two weeks.