Product Design & Development Manager

1 Month ago • All levels • Product Design

Job Summary

Job Description

This full-time Product Design & Development Manager position in London requires collaborating with senior management to lead design and development across Softlines, Apparel, Footwear, and Home categories. Responsibilities include managing creative output from licensees, identifying new product opportunities, building relationships with retailers and stakeholders, managing and developing the team, executing the approval process, providing creative assets, offering trend direction, leading design projects, training licensees, maintaining market knowledge, attending inspiration trips, and providing design feedback. The role demands strong design skills, experience managing teams, and understanding of Disney's brand guidelines.
Must have:
  • Degree in related field or equivalent experience
  • Commercial design experience
  • Team management experience
  • Consumer products commercialization experience
  • Strong relationship building and collaboration skills
  • Proficient in Adobe Creative Suite and Microsoft Office
  • Excellent communication and presentation skills
Good to have:
  • Packaging experience and understanding of OPA system
  • Proficiency in other European languages
Perks:
  • 25 days annual leave
  • Private medical insurance & dental care
  • Free Park Entry
  • Disney Discounts
  • Excellent parental and guardian leave
  • Employee Resource Groups

Job Details

Job Summary:

About The Role & Team

Join our dynamic team in London, where you'll collaborate with the Senior Product Design and Development Manager/Product Design and Development Director to lead the design and development of exciting products within Softlines, Apparel, Footwear, and Home categories.

This full-time role, based in our vibrant Hammersmith office, offers the opportunity to work four out of the five-day working week, driving product excellence and brand consistency.

What You Will You Do

  • Develop and manage the creative output from licensees, ensuring product innovation, brand consistency, and compelling execution.
  • Identify new product opportunities, produce conceptual designs, and pitch to partners.
  • Establish and maintain relationships with retailers, stakeholders, and creative teams.
  • Manage and develop the team, providing creative direction and feedback on product submissions.
  • Execute the approval process, ensuring submissions follow Disney’s Online Product Approval system (OPA) guidelines.
  • Provide and develop creative assets for licensees, ensuring products adhere to Disney guidelines.
  • Offer creative input and trend direction to inspire licensees/retailers, running ideation sessions to drive innovation.
  • Lead design projects within Softlines, Apparel, Footwear, and Home categories, utilizing internal and external resources.
  • Train and update licensees/retailers on the Disney brand, property portfolio, creative assets, and approval systems.
  • Maintain market knowledge, using trends to drive strategy, identify new business areas, and establish design requirements.
  • Develop and maintain knowledge of Disney’s characters, films, properties, and creative assets for consumer products.
  • Attend inspiration trips to understand the EMEA marketplace and drive innovation.
  • Provide design and trend direction, inspiration, and feedback to licensees on product submissions.

Required Qualifications & Skills

  • Degree in a related field (product design, etc.) or equivalent experience in a lifestyle product company.
  • Proven commercial design experience in the relevant category, with the ability to manage designers and agencies.
  • Experience managing and developing a product development team.
  • Experience in a consumer products commercialization environment.
  • Proven ability to build effective relationships, lead change, and collaborate across departments.
  • Packaging experience and understanding of style guides for the Online Product Approval (OPA) system is desirable.
  • Ability to communicate clear design briefs and ensure deliverables meet criteria.
  • Advanced knowledge of industry trends and common manufacturing techniques.
  • Ability to communicate design ideas using CAD and computer techniques.
  • Excellent design and conceptual skills, demonstrated in a portfolio.
  • Understanding of fabric, color, and product design.
  • Proven experience creating prototypes or models.
  • Ability to meet deadlines and budgets.
  • Strong presentation skills for internal/external stakeholders.
  • Advanced knowledge of Mac OSX, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, and Microsoft Office.
  • Strong written and spoken English; proficiency in other European languages is beneficial.
  • Excellent interpersonal skills for managing relationships at all levels.
  • Strong influencing skills to achieve buy-in at all levels.
  • Exhibits ingenuity, creativity, and resourcefulness.
  • Resilient and adaptable in a changing landscape.
  • Forward-thinking, translating industry trends into growth for TWDC.
  • Cultural sensitivity and understanding of local markets across EMEA.

The Perks

  • 25 days annual leave
  • Private medical insurance & dental care
  • Free Park Entry: the opportunity to enter any of our parks with your family and friends for free
  • Disney Discounts: entitled to discounts on designated Disney products, resort F&B and ticketing
  • Excellent parental and guardian leave
  • Employee Resource Groups – WOMEN @ Disney, Disney DIVERSITY, Disney PRIDE, our new disability & neurodiversity focused group - ENABLED, and our Mental Health & Wellbeing Group, TRUST.

The Walt Disney Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We strive to be a diverse workforce that is representative of our audiences, and where all can thrive and belong. Disney is committed to forming a team that includes and respects a variety of voices, identities, backgrounds, experiences and perspectives.

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From classic animated features and exhilarating theme park attractions to cutting edge sports coverage, and the hottest shows on television, The Walt Disney Company has been making magic since 1923, creating unforgettable stories that connect with audiences around the world. And we’re just getting started!

The key to our success…. The Cast, Crew, Imagineers and Employees who honor Disney’s rich legacy by stretching the bounds of imagination to create the never-before-seen, bringing unparalleled entertainment experiences to people of all ages. Begin a career that delivers unparalleled creative content and experiences to audiences around the world and just imagine the stories you could be part of…

What is #LifeAtDisney like? It’s a series of magical moments with cast members and employees developing and telling our stories in the most innovative ways. Whether it’s a day spent as a Disney VoluntEAR, or celebrating the release of a new interactive experience, retail product or movie, our days are filled with the knowledge that we are creating entertainment experiences the whole family can enjoy. Follow @DisneyCareers on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for a peek behind-the-curtain, and discover how you could connect to a world of stories with Disney!

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