Director, Product Design Jobs

Company Description

Current Indigo employees should apply through the Internal Mobility page using your @indigo.ca email address.

Dedicated to telling stories and creating experiences, Indigo is always looking for bright, energetic and customer-focused people who can help bring our exciting mission to life in one of our more than 170 Indigo, Indigospirit, Chapters and Coles stores across Canada. We offer a variety of exciting opportunities at our retail stores, distribution centres, and home office for people who share our passions and want to be part of a dynamic and enriching culture.

Who We Are

• We love books and all things beautiful
• We are Canada’s Cultural Department Store
• Books are our heart and our soul and Great Books are JUST the Beginning…

We Play By The Following Rules

• Our job is to create joyful moments for our customers
• We give back to the communities in which we operate
• We inspire each other to do our best work
• We seek to ignite creativity and innovation every day
• We exist to add joy to our customers’ lives each and every time they interact with us and our products
• We treat each other the way we’d treat a valued friend

WHAT YOU’LL DO:

As the Director, Product Design, you will support and assist in the development, implementation and delivery of the vision and strategic direction of all collections within their category. This role will oversee the design and creation and guide the production of product collections for categories including, but not limited to paper, paper accessories, sleep, accessories, and luggage.

This senior leader finds innovative ways to grow their category and execute each season’s collection, while supporting the delivery of Indigo’s strategic priorities. This position will partner closely with VP, Product Design and cross-functional leaders and teams to plan, create and execute each season’s collection(s), maintaining Indigo brand growth and standards, and achieving category margin goals. This role has end-to-end accountability for the creative process as it pertains to the specified categories.

This role will also provide leadership support to the packaging category teams, in partnership with the VP, Product Design.

• Take an active role in fostering a culture of continual learning, taking risks without the fear of making mistakes
• Give authentic feedback on performance and potential
• Accountable for the overall engagement, productivity, turnover and bench strength of the team
• Oversee the development and release of complete technical specifications (comprehensive tech packs) to ‘direct vendor’ partners
• Model Indigo’s beliefs and convey a positive image in everything you do
• Prioritizes creative demands and merchant needs while at the same time directing factories and product development team on product execution
• Leads design and development of products in Paper, ROHO and Carta categories.
• Bring out the best in others, empower and constructively stretch talent
• Oversee team for approval process of lab dip and samples for all product lines
• Leverage internal and external business partners to achieve best in class results
• Oversees research and development of all fit styles and material fabrications, and print and pattern for all categories.
• Proactively identify and anticipate customer expectations and needs
• Collaborates cross-functionally to review product sales performance in order to better understand customer desires and maximize profitability.
• Set strategic plan for product designs that support delivery of Indigo’s strategic priorities.
• Support Indigo goals by executing on short to mid-term departmental goals (1 year)
• Collaborates with suppliers, vendors and factories to produce high quality goods that reflect the company’s aesthetic and design philosophy
• Partners with Product Development and Merchant teams to understand seasonal curation and product needs.
• Share technical knowledge with others and actively seek to learn from those more knowledgeable than yourself
• Collaborate with others to drive flexible and iterative solutions, quickly and easily
• Presents product design concepts and sketches to senior leadership and other stakeholders, with the ability to present seasonal collections through compelling storytelling
• Accountable for the overall engagement, productivity, turnover and bench strength of the team
• Embrace, champion and influence change through your team and/or the organization
• Help others see the impacts of their efforts and proactively engage other functions to get input
• Proactively identifies opportunities to redesign or update previous and existing product to provide the customer with innovative offerings.
• Build strong teams by attracting and developing the best talent
• Encourage others to freely share their point of view and be open to feedback
• Act as an advocate for the customer by placing them at the forefront of all design and decision-making processes
• Translates complex ideas into beautiful visual concept and design executions that make them easy to understand
• Set/adhere to team budgets, as applicable
• Challenge the status quo by consistently identifying areas for improvement, diagnosing issues and working to resolve them
• Maintain a high level of strategic foresight by identifying customer and business needs and adjusting departmental and team objectives accordingly.
• Ensure the execution of team deliverables and adapt team priorities based on changing needs
• Celebrate diversity of thought and have an open mindset
• Ensure all team members understand where they stand and have clear performance objectives aligned with Indigo and team goals

Qualifications

WHO YOU ARE:

• Ability to solve complex problems efficiently
• Outstanding communication skills
• Self-motivator with a passion for product design
• Travel internationally up to 10% of the time
• Strong knowledge of International Vendor base
• 10+ years’ experience in product design, preferably within retail environment
• Ability to work collaboratively with various cross-functional partners, at all levels of the organization
• Proven ability to build productive relationships with both internal and external partners
• Strong attention to detail and professionalism
• Demonstrated skills in brand development
• Industry leading conceptual, visualization and design skills
• Strong time management skills with a proven ability to focus on priorities juggle multiple tasks and meet deadlines
• Proven ability to establish a vision and set direction for a team
• Ability to balance impacts of deadlines and resources with style and quality requirements
• Strong communication skills, both written and verbal
• Proven ability to negotiate effectively with external business partners
• Strong design aesthetic with a clear understanding of the direction of the brand
• Strong conceptual skills
• Proven ability to lead a team through change
• Expert skills in apparel, fashion material and construction details
• Expert proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite CS6
• Dynamic, driven, good listener, team oriented with ability to handle and learn from constructive criticism
• Experience working with factories
• An understanding of storytelling, craftsmanship and continuity
• Degree or diploma in design or design related field

Additional Information

At Indigo, we are committed to our communities, our customers, and each other; together we can make a positive impact. We know that fostering diversity and inclusion brings out your full potential and creates a joyful and welcoming environment for everyone. We are driven to be an equitable employer, which highly values your diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. We believe that you, in all your uniqueness, belong at Indigo. We welcome all applicants and encourage applications from individuals who identify as Black, Indigenous, a person of colour, LGBTQ2+ and people with disabilities. Accommodations are available upon request to individuals who self-identify as having a disability or special need. Please contact Human Resources at [email protected] if you require an accommodation at any time during the recruitment process.

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