Your role in the JoJo story…

Supporting the Design and Buying director this role is responsible for managing the Kids Essentials and Maternity design teams .You will manage the design calendar and critical Path. You will direct and manage the team ensuring we are up to date with fashion trends ,sales performance and customer profiles so we develop our the product accordingly. You will lead by example and manage, motivate and develop the design team balancing their individual needs with the business needs. You will be a role model inspiring the team to deliver their best work keeping them positive and happy. You will work in collaboration with the buying manger to ensure we have developed the best possible product to exceed our customers expectations You will develop cross business relationships build relationships across business with the marketing, wholesale and web teams ensuring they understand they are clear on the key direction and have the best information about the range.

A peek into your daily adventures

Creative range creation

• Oversee the trend and range direction of the children’s clothing range, ensuring all collections are in line with the product direction set by the Design and Buying Director.
• Participate in market research to identify and stay ahead of new trends, competition and customer expectations.
• To direct the team to develop key seasonal colour palettes and themes that will resonate and excite the customer.
• Strong understanding of the childrenswear market both high st and directional brand.
• Overseas the design creation process. Ensuring we are developing original products and prints.
• Develop and create illustrations and technical drawings (Illustrator based) to a high quality and technical level.
• Oversea the management of the lab dips / strike offs process to ensure they are approved when needed.
• Work with the Garment tech team to review samples to ensure the design vision is correctly interpreted.
• Have a first-class understanding of garment materials and other processes to sustain a high level of quality.
• Contribute innovative and commercially driven design solutions.
• Work to a commercial brief and deliver designs and product on cost and to deadlines .
• Take part in development trips to Factories to oversee the creation of new prototypes and colour and material updates.
• Attend trend fairs and inspirational shopping research trips to stay ahead of emerging trends and industry developments.
• Excellent working knowledge of internet-based reach tools such a Blogs and design websites, social media sources
• Overseas the maintenance of in-house design records.

Design structure, organisation and communication.

• Work with the buying manager to ensure the critical path aligns with the overall business needs.
• You will be responsible for ensuring the team is on track and design deadlines are met.
• You will overseas the team’s presentation of designs ready for range sign-off.
• You will work with the buying manager to ensure the design briefs are clear and commercial.
• You will ensure the Key design trend and direction is communicated to the buying and merchandising team to ensure it is reflected in the range development and building.
• To be aware of the implications of design Copy right and manage the process from origination to final product accordingly.
• You will contribute to business wide range presentations to ensure the wider business understands the range direction.

People Leadership.

• Lead, motivate and inspire a team of designers, driving team performance and ensuring they are supported and developed in their roles, use personal development plans and career conversations to deliver progression and succession.
• Working with the Essentials design manager, Lead weekly design meetings to share business/ product updates and departmental priorities/ initiatives in the absence of the Design Director
• Manage and develop Junior team members, train new members to increase department knowledge and brand handwriting!
• Take an active leadership role to develop relationships with cross functional partners.
• Liaising with Technologist to enable them to issue specifications.
• Updating critical path, schedules and maintaining department excel spreadsheets
• Ensuring accessories/labels/packaging are approved as necessary
• Ensuring necessary comments are fed back to the factory and further sampling requested as necessary.

Technical competencies and skill required for this role:

• Excellent knowledge of Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator for CAD, Print and Graphic designs.
• Good understanding of garment construction, and British Safety Standards for Childrenswear
• Excellent verbal and written English.
• Confident working knowledge of PowerPoint and excel.

Skills that make you shine:

• At least 2 years’ experience of working at design manager level ideally within the Childrens clothing sector.
• A highly developed eye to lead to support the buying director to steer design, range & brand success.
• Brand Ambassador – Upholding B Corp and JoJo Values always.
• Strategic Thinking.
• Instinctive Problem Solving and Decision Making.
• Commercial Awareness.
• Ownership and positive leadership
• Empowering Teams.
• Working Together/Talk and Listen.
• Constructively influencing.
• Be an efficient and reliable team member who can be responsible for their own workload.
• A personal understanding and empathy with the customer in our market sector.
• Impressive negotiating skills & supplier management capabilities.
• Integrity.
• Ability to react quickly with a powerful sense of urgency.
• Innovative & adaptable.
• Energetic, ambitious, with a desire to grow with the business.
• Continuous improvement attitude to always identify how we can do things better.
• Resilient and calm under pressure.
• Can do attitude.

Just to give you a taste of our culture, we’ll be looking for you to:

• Be a brand ambassador, safeguarding our values and ethos.
• Demonstrate honesty and respect in every interaction.
• Foster collaboration and open, active listening
• Take ownership of all aspects of the role.
• Be an effective problem solver.

Perks and Benefits:

• Hybrid working - up to 3 days in our JoJo House (our JoJo House is located in Battersea, 5 min walking distance from Battersea Power Station and 2 min from Battersea Park Station)
• Flexible start and finish time - office core hours are between 10:00 and 16:30
• Extra day of annual leave for each year you’re with us, up to 38 days.
• Is it your birthday? Take it off and celebrate!
• Want to increase your holiday allowance? Holiday buying scheme.
• Let’s celebrate JoJo doing well – non-contractual bonus scheme.
• Helping plan for the future - enhanced pension scheme.
• Get on the move - cycle to work scheme.
• Financial wellbeing app - pay yourself 40% of your earned wages whenever you want.
• Saving scheme with Smart Money Cymru – You do not need to live in Wales!
• Enhanced family leave.
• Flexible work options.
• Enjoy fabulous social events.
• Saying thank you – employee recognition programme (Huggg)
• Give back with volunteer days to support our communities.
• Prioritise your well-being with our Health and Wellbeing hub.
• Specsavers voucher – Get a free sight test and contribution towards glasses (T & C’s) apply.
• We love our products! Get 40% off JoJo branded lines instore.
• Embrace an “It’s up to you” learning environment with ongoing training and development opportunities.
• Your furry friend doesn’t have to stay at home – our offices are dog friendly for friendly pooches.

Want to know more about JoJo?

We make happy and helpful clothes and products that let children be children – in all their silly, messy, adventurous, noisy, imaginative joy. But we’re not just about selling products; we’re about creating a warm, community-centric environment for our employees and our customers. From over 50 locations across the UK and Ireland and a thriving e-commerce platform, we offer a meticulously designed collection of children’s clothing, toys, and essentials designed with love and care: always with children at the forefront of our minds.

As a B Corp, our commitment goes beyond commerce, we strive for a sustainable future and take pride in our responsibilities to the planet and our communities. At JoJo, every role, every task and every day is an opportunity to support, inspire and contribute to the well-being of our teams and our customers.

We embrace and openly welcome people from different cultures, perspectives, and experiences to create a diverse and enriched environment. We work hard to recruit, develop, and retain the most talented people, regardless of background to make sure we grow our company sustainably and with different cultural influences. By encouraging a diverse and inclusive workforce, we aim to create an environment where everyone can thrive and reach their full potential.