Senior Product Design and Development Manager - Food

About The Role

Join Disney as a Senior Product Design and Development Manager, where you'll be at the heart of creating magic through innovative and brand-consistent products. You'll discover new product opportunities, craft enchanting designs, and present your ideas to partners with the same storytelling prowess that Disney is known for. By building strong relationships with retailers, stakeholders, and global teams, you'll lead and inspire a diverse team to bring Disney's beloved characters and stories to life. Your role will encompass managing product pitches, overseeing the approval process, and ensuring every product meets Disney's high standards of creativity and excellence.

This role is full time, based out of our London office in Hammersmith, with 4 days a week in the office.

What You Will You Do

• Develop and manage the creative output from licensees ensuring product innovation, brand consistency and compelling execution within a commercial context
• Identify new product opportunities, produce first class conceptual designs and pitch to prospective/existing partners
• Establish and maintain relationships with retailers, internal stakeholders/partners and global and international creative teams
• Manage and develop team, ensuring consistent and appropriate creative direction and feedback is given on all product submissions
• Lead & create product pitches and new product design visuals to support the Food+ business needs, including new business with the support of the team.
• Manage and execute where required, the approval process from initiation to production in a timely manner
• Ensure all licensee product submissions are routed through Disney’s Online Product Approval system (OPA) as per global product integrity guidelines
• Ensure licensees are provided appropriate creative assets for product development, developing new assets as required against the specific needs of the category and inputting into style guide needs
• Manage creative relationships with internal and external partners, providing inspiration and ensuring product is brand appropriate and adheres to Disney guidelines
• Offer creative input and trend direction to inspire licensees/retailers and help drive quality product
• Run ideation sessions with licensees/retailers to drive product innovation
• Lead all design projects (e.g. product toolkits, product pitches, inspiration boards) within category, utilising internal and external resources as required
• Ensure all new and existing licensees/retailers are trained and kept up to date on the Disney brand, property portfolio, creative assets and approval systems
• Maintain an advanced level of market knowledge for products that fall within your sub-category
• Determine market trends, using them to drive creative strategy, identify new areas of business and establish design requirements
• Develop and maintain an expert knowledge of Disney’s characters, films, properties, heritage and creative assets in order to assist in their usage on consumer products
• Maintain an expert knowledge of food & packaging trends, with a finger on the pulse of new innovations within the category.

Required Qualifications & Skills

• Degree level education in Food Product Development or Graphic Design preferred with a significant experience and knowledge of the food industry
• Significant experience in managerial roles
• Experience in designing and developing food products that resonates with consumers both globally and locally across the world
• Experience working with large-scale, global retailers and partners to bring product designs to market for a variety of different consumer target
• Previous experience managing and developing the performance of a team, essential
• Experience within a consumer products commercialisation environment
• Proven experience of building effective relationships, leading and managing change and collaboration across departments
• An ability to communicate a clear design brief and ensure deliverables meet all criteria
• Deep understanding of licensing and experience working with multiple global and regional partners
• Ability to inspire a team and lead them towards a common goal
• Demonstrated ability to lead a product design team in the creation of consumer-led items through the development cycle
• Demonstrated ability to capitalize on market trends and consumer zeitgeist to maximize value creation throughout the trend cycle
• Demonstrated ability to create, leverage and scale innovation in consumer products
• An ability to deliver against set deadlines and budgets
• Strong presentation skills with the ability to effectively present design ideas to internal/external stakeholders at all levels
• Fluent English, essential; other European languages, beneficial
• Strong influencing skills with the ability to achieve buy-in at all levels
• Resilient and nimble in an ever changing landscape
• Forward thinking with the ability to take industry trends and translate them into something that drives growth for TWDC
• Cultural sensitivity and an 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.