Head of Store Design, 12 month FTC

Description

Head of Store Design

We are seeking an experienced, visionary and strategic minded Head of Store Design to lead the creative execution of our retail environments in the UK&I.

The Head of Store Design is an active senior store design manager role with additional responsibilities to oversee and manage the Store Design team within the UK&I Retail Design Development Centre department.  It is anticipated that the ‘Head of role’ will account for 35% of the role’s time.

This role will report into the Director of RDDC and support in the creation of the department strategy in conjunction with the regional  strategy, ensuring the Store Design team align with this.

The Head of Store Design will be part of the Senior Leadership team and will work closely with the Head of Visual Merchandising and Head of Creative Operations to work through best practices, efficiencies and ensure consistency and alignment as an overall team.

This role will develop creative solutions to business strategies, and ensure store layouts align with the brand's global image and sales objectives

This is a leadership position within the department and will be responsible for leading, mentoring and developing the store design team whilst fostering a collaborative and innovative team culture

This role will be responsible for aligning the store design team on drawing standards, brand design library requirements, value engineering processes, cross brand efficiencies and sustainable store design.

This role will be the senior store design lead for presentations to the ELT, Retailers and the RDDC UK&I.

This role will support resourcing gaps in the Store Design team by helping to prioritise workload to support the business and find innovative ways to manage the workload including the use of AI tools.

The Senior Store Design Manager part of this role is responsible for creating and implementing all store design fixtures across Department Stores, FSS’s and SMC’s for a specific cluster of brands to enhance the consumer experience and drive sales within a retail environment. 

• Strategic Design Leadership

Help create, develop and lead the overall RDDC strategy aligned with the Regional and Global strategies

Define and uphold design standards across all store formats and manage the team accordingly in the execution of this

Lead innovation in retail environments

• Team Leadership

Lead, inspire and manage the internal Store Design team

Collaborate cross functionally with the Head of Ops and Head of VM to ensure our department strategy is implemented

• Resource Management

Work with the store design team to plan resources within the team effectively to manage the workload

Implement new ways of working that can support the design team in effectively managing the workload

Qualifications

Software Proficiency

• MAC Vectorworks (2D&3D) software
• 3D rendering tools (Sketch Up, Vray, Cinema 4D)
• Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, inDesign, Illustrator)
• Office 365 - Excel and Word capabilities required

Retail Design Experience

• Strong understanding of retail layouts, customer flow and zoning
• Experience with Flagship stores, pop ups and concept stores
• Experience with different retail formats (FSS, Department Stores, SMC)
• Experience detailing design details from concept to construction
• Experience focused in beauty industry
• Experience working alongside global guidelines

Architecture and Interior Design

• Ability to interpret architectural and technical drawings
• Knowledge of materials, lighting, fixtures and finishes
• Experience with sustainable store design practices

Knowledge of digital in store tech (screens, Ipads, virtual try on)

• Strong understanding of building codes, accessibility requirements, planning requirements and CDM

Construction and Fit Out Oversight

• Experience managing vendors and understanding of different manufacturing processes
• Knowledge of procurement and value engineering
• Ability to understand shopfitter setting out drawings and give confident final sign off approval

Commercial

• Business acumen and commercial mindset
• Experience managing vendor relationships, senior management and global design teams
• Awareness of new trends in the beauty industry and in the shopfitting industry
• Ability to balance design ambition with commercial reality

Leadership

• Ability to lead and inspire a team of designers
• Mentoring, coaching and succession planning
• Strong stakeholder management
• Excellent communication skills
• Organisation skills
• Confident presenting to senior leadership and external partners