Design Manager - Category Lead

At Joseph Joseph, we are driven by a simple yet powerful belief — that intelligent design has the ability to transform everyday living. We create distinctive, thoughtfully engineered products that not only solve real-world problems but also bring joy, beauty, and functionality to daily life. Headquartered in London, we have grown into one of the world’s most admired houseware brands, with a presence in over 100 countries and partnerships with leading department stores, independent retailers, and a rapidly expanding e-commerce business. We are seeking a talented Design Manager – Category Lead to join our New Product Development team at Joseph Joseph. As the Category Lead, you will take end-to-end ownership of the Cookshop, Cookware and Cleaning & Organisation categories, reporting into our VP of Product Delivery and working closely with the Chief Creative Officer and cross-functional partners to deliver market-leading ranges on time and within budget. What you will be doing: * Category leadership: * Set and execute the vision for Cookshop, Cookware and Cleaning & Organisation, identifying opportunities to innovate and grow each category. * Develop and maintain category road-maps in line with seasonal critical paths and commercial objectives and build inherent category value. * Project delivery: * Accountable for multiple, fast-paced complex projects launching into a global marketplace. * Resolve design details and drive development forward, ensuring on-time launches against tight timelines. * Liaise directly with packaging designers and manufacturing suppliers to manage prototypes, samples and quality checks. * Team management & succession: * Line-manage the existing Cookshop & Cookware designer, providing coaching, feedback and performance management. * Mentor junior colleagues, fostering a collaborative and high-performance culture. * Cross-functional collaboration: * Work with in-house and external designers, engineers and commercial teams to align on requirements, budgets and margin targets. * Assess technical development issues, define scope for resolution, communicate options, and drive issues to closure. * Commercial stewardship * Ensure all projects remain within agreed budgets and product costs align with margin targets. * Analyse category performance post-launch, identifying learnings and improvements for future ranges. What we need from you * An undergraduate (or master’s) degree in Industrial Design, Product Design, Mechanical Engineering or a related discipline. * Significant product development experience, with a proven track record of delivering complex consumer goods from concept to manufacture. * Demonstrable category-leadership skills: strategic thinking, roadmap planning and the ability to drive innovation. * Experience managing, mentoring and developing design professionals, with the agility to support recruitment and handover processes. * Strong stakeholder-management and communication skills, able to present ideas clearly to senior teams. * Sound understanding of manufacturing techniques and processes, ideally with factory experience in the Far East. * Proficiency in design applications such as Adobe CS and SolidWorks. * A creative, entrepreneurial mindset with the ability to challenge conventional thinking while keeping ideas commercial. What you will get from us: * Competitive salary and holiday allowance * Company performance related bonus * A pension contribution * An exclusive staff discount * 24/7 healthcare appointment support * Hybrid working – 3 days in office & 2 days from home and flex start/finish times * External private employee wellbeing support * Access to Perkbox * Volunteer days * Team Recognition scheme * Training and Development * Holiday carry-over scheme * Season-ticket travel loan * Cycle to work scheme * Parental Leave support * Holiday trading (buy/sell) and extra holiday days for long service