Product & Design Manager

Product and Design Manager

We’re looking for a highly organised Product & Design Manager to act as the Creative Director’s right hand and keep our product pipeline running smoothly. You'll manage the Product & Design team, plan workloads, and make sure every brief is delivered on time, on brand and to a high standard.

You’ll be the person who turns ideas and deadlines into clear plans, keeps projects moving, and isn’t afraid to push for quality and clarity. If you love a creative environment and get a buzz from designing and engineering beautiful products this could be the role for you.

JOB DESCRIPTION

Job Title: Product and Design Manager

Department: Product & Design

Reporting to: Creative & Co-Managing Director

Responsible for (subordinates): Product and Design team

Salary: 37-45k per annum based on experience. (We will consider outside of this range for an exceptional candidate.)

Location: Loughborough Town Centre.

This job is an in‑house role; we're not offering remote or hybrid working.

How to apply: Please apply via Linked In and include a link to your portfolio of work.

Job Purpose: Lead the day‑to‑day operations and creative output of the Product and Design team, turning the Creative Director’s vision and briefs into clear, resourced and scheduled plans, and delivering every project on time, on brief and on brand. Design and develop commercially viable products that generate the best return on investment, creating your own product concepts and artwork as well as managing designs from external artists and licences.

Take ownership of line management, workflow planning and quality control within the team, freeing up the Creative Director to focus on overall brand direction and business priorities, while you keep delivery on track and all visual output on brand.

• Line manage, coach and develop the Product & Design team. Set clear objectives, standards and growth plans; hold regular 1:1s and performance reviews.
• Set and uphold team ways‑of‑working: brand guidelines, response times, meeting rhythms, status reporting, file‑naming, proofing and sign‑off etiquette.

• Build and maintain a single, transparent master schedule covering all product cycles, customer submissions, catalogue/seasonal milestones, and marketing design needs; publish weekly priorities and critical paths.
• Ownership of resourcing and capacity planning; allocate work across Product and Design Team; elevate risks early; remove blockers.
• Catalogue and key launches: own end to end timelines, making sure catalogues and all associated product, marketing and digital deliverables are completed on schedule.
• Run quick team check‑ins and weekly progress reviews, keep a simple tracker of who’s doing what and by when, and make sure each project gets the right sign‑offs on time.

• Create original designs and product concepts for stationery, gifts and greeting cards that are in line with Ohh Deer’s brand identity and customer expectations.
• Bring proactive ideas for new ranges, formats and collaborations, regularly sharing concepts and suggestions with the Creative Director and wider team.
• Turn ideas into clear, deliverable product briefs, including mock ups, specifications and reference material that can be used by suppliers and internal teams.
• Work with the Creative Director to refine concepts through feedback and critique, ensuring that final designs feel cohesive across ranges and seasons.
• Stay informed on design trends, competitors and customer insights, and use this knowledge to propose fresh, commercially strong product ideas.

• Translate the Creative Director’s vision into clear briefs, checklists and acceptance criteria for product, marketing and digital work, ensuring all designs meet brand guidelines and retailer or client specifications.
• Act as first line brand and quality control for all visual output across Product & Design and other teams (for example brand marketing and web), making sure assets are accurate, on brand and technically correct before they reach the Creative Director.
• Create and run a clear approval process for visual…