Head of Design - (Family Leave Cover)

Salary: up to £58k depending on experience Location: Cornwall – relocation allowance available of 5% 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 Senior Design Manager, you’ll lead and shape the creative design vision and strategic product initiatives to develop beautiful, contemporary collections that resonate with our customers. Acting as deputy to the Director of Design, this role oversees a large, multi-category department that ensures alignment with aesthetic, commercial, and sustainability goals, with a strong emphasis on trend relevance and elevated styling. Overseeing the Womenswear design team and Seasalt Stylist and collaborating with the wider Womenswear and Rain departments, the Senior Design Manager maintains consistency and efficiency, driving for operational excellence for the design function and long-term brand growth. Please note that this is a full-time temporary role to cover family leave, due to last approximately 12 months. This role is required to be based in Cornwall, working flexibly from our Head Offices (minimum of 3 days per week) and from home.This role is referred to internally as Senior Design Manager  Should candidates be successful for a second stage interview, these will be held in person in our Head Office in Cornwall, including the completion of a project. You’ll help us by: Leading and developing a clear, forward-thinking departmental design strategy and execution of a large, multi-category collection that aligns with the brand’s vision, aesthetic and customer expectations.  Leading seasonal trend direction, inspiration exploration, competitive analysis, colour palettes, fabric selection, and silhouette development, translating insights into original, elevated collections with clear cohesive messages.  Working in partnership with the Director of Design and collaborating with design managers to refine the overall brand aesthetic, ensuring consistency across all categories while pushing innovation and creativity. Leading and developing a high-performing design team, fostering creative and technical excellence, strategic thinking and effective decision making.  Acting as a key strategic partner with senior leadership to align design objectives with the broader buying, merchandising, sourcing and business-growth strategies, identifying opportunities to drive market growth.  Maintaining an ethical approach to design, ensuring all decisions align with the brand’s commitment to responsible fashion, with circular design principles and responsible sourcing embedded into core collections. Driving efficiencies in the design-to-production process, optimising lead times, costs, and supplier collaboration.  Supporting the Director of Design in high-level collection planning, ensuring seasonal collections are well-balanced, commercially sound, and creatively inspiring.  Inputting into the fabric/material strategy, overseeing the design team to source and develop premium, sustainable and profitable fabrications, textures, and finishes that align with the brand’s ethos of quality and longevity. Overseeing critical path management of the design team to create successful designs, precise design packs and seamless cross-functional integration, ensuring clarity and feasibility from concept to final product.  Guiding team to conduct fit sessions and development sampling, refining silhouettes, proportions, and craftsmanship to maintain premium quality standards.  Partnering with marketing, buying, merchandising, and visual teams to craft compelling narratives around design concepts.    Presenting collections and strategic insights to key stakeholders, ensuring alignment with campaign planning, brand vision, retail performance, and the growth strategy.  The skills you’ll be sharing with the team: Strong academic background in a creative subject or equivalent relevant professional experience. Proven knowledge of relevant design methodologies. Creative flair for fashion. Experience of trend forecasting. Garment construction knowledge. Ability to successfully realise designs in 2D and into 3D.  Proven experience in similar design roles such as Senior Design Manager, Head of Design or Head of Womenswear. Fashion retail industry experience. Good commercial understanding with an understanding of business priorities. Proven experience of strategic planning, objective setting and team alignment.  Proven experience in leading, managing, hiring and developing team members to achieve department goals.  Strong ability to motivate, coach, and support individuals to meet team objectives . Considered with a keen eye for detail.  Excellent visual and communication skills and a strong presenter.  A proactive growth mindset, continuously developing skills, embracing feedback, and adapting positively to new challenges to enhance creative and commercial impact.  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:  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 28th May, however our roles can close earlier so we would recommend applying as soon as you are able.  IND-706