About Us:
Earthbound is a leading product design, licensing and brand growth company that expands the reach of brands in the market on a global scale. With over 20 years of expertise in retail licensing, product development, and product design, Earthbound augments brand potential by offering unprecedented growth for powerhouse brands. For more information, please visit www.earthboundbrands.com
Our office is located in the Flatiron District, NYC and we are currently operating on a hybrid schedule, in office Monday through Wednesday and remote on Thursday and Friday.
OVERVIEW OF POSITION:
This position reports directly to the Executive Vice President and is a member of the Earthbound executive leadership team. The Head of Design of responsible for managing and overseeing the entire home design team for the Better Homes & Garden Brand and The Pioneer Woman Home Brand, both sold exclusively at Walmart. The team covers categories in both hard home (industrial design), soft home, and textile design. This role is responsible for accuracy of product design and development in addition to maintaining the aesthetic integrity of the brands. It provides the strategic direction for the department in advancing the organization to its potential. They are also responsible for overseeing workflow and ensuring it aligns with the Wal-mart development calendar for in store and online execution. Additionally this position must partner with the brand owners to ensure consistency in brand messaging and design.
The position has 2 direct reports, and indirectly oversees a design team of approximately 15. There are counterparts in Product Development as well as stakeholders at the retailer and the brand owners. We are looking for an inspiring leader, a compelling presenter, and someone with a great eye for trend and design.
JOB FUNCTIONS:
- Inspire creativity throughout all design work. Establish product direction and merchandising strategizing seasonally
- Oversee the hard, soft and print design teams to ensure the creation and execution of saleable product.
- Responsible for maintaining the workflow according to the Wal-Mart calendar. This includes the timely delivery of design, planograms, and technical packages, all delivered to the highest standard
- Oversee communication with PD to hand off clear product direction
- Oversee the approval of all samples to meet the brand aesthetic and technical benchmarks
- Travel to Wal-Mart to deliver presentations to PD and buyers
- In Depth knowledge of competitive markets
- Must have great design sensibility and strong sense of visual merchandising
- Make recommendation and implement plans for process improvements demonstrating regular checks/audits and necessary amendments.
Ensuring that the Design Department is aware of trends & improvements in both techniques & technology that are relevant to the business & assessing which will contribute to the business & its clients - Maintain communication and relationships between Design and other departments within Earthbound.
- Responsible for maintaining and monitoring the Design department as a cost center.
- Develop expertise in specific areas related as needed
- Develop the structure of the design department to encompass smaller areas that will maximize the potential and expertise within the department.
- Finalize seasonal color palettes, finishes, and techniques
- Ensure an up-to-date industry knowledge through reading publications/journals, attending appropriate trade shows, and competitive shopping
- Prioritize daily workload – organize, monitor and control resources to meet plan. Identify and react appropriately to events threatening the plan.
- Communicate proactively and professionally with clients and your colleagues.
- Work with Product Development Lead and Earthbound Leadership to ensure seasonal design and merchandise strategies drive top line sales.
LEADERSHIP ROLE:
- The Head of Design will ensure that each Design team lead is suitably trained and developed to undertake their duties. This will include:
Training, coaching or mentoring as appropriate. - Ensure the Design team members are appraised (including design reviews), focused on personal growth and mentored.
- Ensuring staff adherence to Earthbound processes and procedures.
- Taking part in recruitment of suitable staff to the department.
- Oversee the structure of the department ensuring that it enables maximum effectiveness and working with the VP Product Development to make any recommendations for improvement.
- Oversee the personal growth of all team members including performance appraisals, and monitoring succession planning.
- Comfort giving feedback
REQUIREMENTS:
- 12+ years design experience- with at least partial focus on home
- 5+ years team management experience
- Knowledge of hard home and soft home techniques