Design Manager (Menswear)

Salary: up to £55,000 per year depending on experience (Band 3) Location: Cornwall – relocation allowance available of 10% the offered salary Portfolio: Please provide relevant examples from your portfolio as part of your application, either by attaching a document or including a link within your CV/ cover letter. At Seasalt, creativity is in our DNA. We began in 1981 in a small shop in Penzance, crafting workwear for local mariners and artists. Today, we’re a modern lifestyle brand with over 80 shops across the UK and Ireland, 400+ wholesale stockists, and a growing global presence. We may have grown, but we’ve always stayed true to our roots with Cornwall’s artistic influence and maritime heritage woven into every garment. As a certified B Corp and winner of Drapers “Best Place to Work” in 2024, we’re proud to balance our culture with long term growth. It's an exciting time to join us as we build on our distinct creative handwriting, brand differentiation, and expanding both internationally and in the UK. As a Design Manager (Menswear) you'll drive the creative vision for the menswear department.  You’ll creating contemporary, customer-focused collections that strengthen our brand position and support our ambitious growth plans for this department. Working closely with the Director of Design, Print Design Manager and cross-functional teams across Buying, Merchandising, Sourcing and Marketing, you'll ensure our menswear collections balance creativity, quality and commercial success. From leading seasonal design direction and trend forecasting to developing strategic product initiatives, you'll play a key role in delivering products that resonate with our customers and reflect our brand's premium aesthetic. You'll also champion innovation and sustainability throughout the product lifecycle, ensuring responsible design choices, efficient ways of working and exceptional product standards. Alongside this, you'll lead and develop a talented design team, fostering a collaborative, high-performing culture that encourages creativity, accountability and continuous improvement Please note that this is a full-time, permanent role and is required to be based in Cornwall, working flexibly from our Head Offices (minimum of 3 days per week) and from home. You'll help us by Developing and delivering a clear menswear design strategy that supports our brand aesthetic and commercial goals. Leading seasonal creative direction, ensuring collections reflect customer needs, market trends and the evolving brand vision. Driving trend forecasting, competitor analysis, colour direction and inspiration research to create commercially successful collections. Overseeing the development of a cohesive menswear clothing and accessories architecture across categories. Identifying opportunities for category growth through product innovation and market differentiation. Championing sustainable design initiatives, incorporating responsible sourcing and circular design principles into core collections. Leading the menswear design team in the sourcing and development of fabrics, trims, finishes and washes that deliver quality, performance and aesthetic appeal. Overseeing product development from concept to production, ensuring design integrity, fit, quality and commercial viability are maintained, while driving efficiencies - optimising lead times, costs, and supplier collaboration. Guiding fit sessions and development sampling, refining garment construction, silhouettes, proportions, fabrication and detailing to achieve exceptional fit and quality standards for Menswear. Partnering with marketing, buying, merchandising and visual teams to craft compelling narratives around design concepts and brand considerations. Presenting collections and strategic insights to key stakeholders, ensuring alignment with campaign planning, brand vision, retail performance, and growth strategy. Coaching, mentoring and developing the design team, setting clear objectives and ensuring effective workload and critical path management. Ensuring the design team delivers seamless handover to the technical team, minimising production revisions while protecting design intent and product integrity.   The skills you'll be sharing with the team Proven experience in a similar role leading Menswear design and collection development within a fashion retail environment. Experience and knowledge of trend forecasting, garment construction, fit and fabric. Experience designing across multiple menswear product categories. Strong commercial awareness with a deep understanding of menswear customer profiles, market trends and product development. Proven leadership experience, including managing, hiring, developing and motivating teams to achieve departmental objectives. Experience in strategic planning, objective setting and team alignment. Ability to successfully realise concepts from sketch through to finished product. Proficiency in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop for fashion design. Experience in overseeing day-to-day operations and change management, ensuring team members are meeting performance standards, and addressing any issues that arise. Creative, considered and a keen eye for detail. Excellent communication skills and a strong presenter. Demonstrates a proactive growth mindset, continuously developing skills, embracing feedback, and adapting positively to new challenges to enhance creative and commercial impact. A relevant qualification in a creative subject/English.   Why we hope you’ll love working with us: The success of Seasalt is down to the skill and hard work of our team. We don't just want to attract the best and brightest people to come and work with us, we want you to stay and grow with us. As well as doing everything we can to support your development professionally, we believe encouraging personal growth is just as important. So you can fulfil your passion and purpose, not just at work but in life, we offer a range of benefits that are designed to enhance your career and wellbeing: Salary: up to £55,000 per year depending on experience (Band 3) 34 days paid annual leave (including bank holidays), increasing with length of service  Attractive 50% employee discount   Flexible benefits allowance to personalise your benefits package  Private Medical Scheme including 24/7 virtual GP  Free access to our Employee Assistance Programme through Retail Trust with 24/7 support   Pension plan with generous 7% employer contributions  Life assurance programme   Enhanced family leave policies  Flexible working opportunities with our hybrid working approach  Learning and Development opportunities Do Good Things with our two days per year paid volunteering opportunities Employee networks to develop and provide support to our people, including the Inclusion & Belonging Network 100s of savings on top retailers and gym memberships through our discount hub    At Seasalt we have a brilliant team of people – they're what make Seasalt a fantastic place to work. We love to celebrate uniqueness and are committed to making Seasalt a place where everyone feels they belong. As an inclusive employer, we want to invite a diverse range of candidates to apply for our roles. We aim to work flexibly where possible and value a range of perspectives - diversity of thought helps us to grow – so please apply if this is a role that would make you excited to come to work every day. We're happy to help with any adjustments to our recruitment process and beyond. Just drop us an email at [email protected]   Closing date for applications is 22nd July, however our roles can close earlier so we would recommend applying as soon as you are able.