Design Manager

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Design Manager

Company: Hallmark Cards UK & Ireland

Location: Bradford, England, United Kingdom

Job Type: Full-Time

Category: Creative & Design Management / Product Development Operations

Date Posted: 2026-07-29

Experience Level: 5-10 Years

Remote Status: Hybrid

🚀 Role Summary

• Oversees the end-to-end design execution for product ranges, translating strategic initiatives into tangible customer solutions.

• Manages the daily development of product lines, balancing creative vision with operational rigor and timely delivery.

• Collaborates extensively with cross-functional teams, including Creative, Editorial, Product, and Artworking, to ensure alignment and product excellence.

• Applies manufacturing knowledge and technical understanding to design processes, ensuring manufacturability and quality standards are met.

• Drives the implementation of design updates and asset management to support global range development and sharing.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned within a design and product development context but requires strong operations management skills. The emphasis on "operational rigor," "timelines," "specifications," and "pre-production handover" indicates a significant operational component, making it relevant for candidates with a background in operations management within creative industries.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Lead the day-to-day development of product ranges across various categories and customer accounts, ensuring a balance between creativity and effective delivery.

• Translate consumer and customer needs into detailed line-level design briefs that are aligned with the overarching creative strategy.

• Partner with Art Directors and Product teams to develop robust range architectures, maintaining design integrity and ensuring manufacturability.

• Support customer presentations by preparing digital SKUs and production mock-ups, and lead presentations where necessary.

• Apply manufacturing knowledge to inform design solutions and actively participate in technical and development meetings to ensure feasibility.

• Catalog ideation, ranges, and signatures to support ongoing range development and facilitate global asset sharing initiatives.

• Conduct asset searches and reservations to efficiently support range development activities.

• Brief Artwork Designers in accordance with Critical Date Path milestones and collaborate with Creative Services to manage timelines and resource allocation.

• Manage licensing approval processes, ensuring strict compliance with all relevant rights and restrictions.

• Ensure accurate specifications, data, and files are provided for the pre-production handover phase, minimizing potential delays or errors.

• Coordinate print trials and sealing processes in close collaboration with Product teams to validate design and quality.

• Support the setup of new concepts within internal systems and diligently maintain accurate project tracking information for all ongoing initiatives.

• Validate packaging files against agreed specifications to ensure adherence to brand standards and regulatory requirements.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a strong focus on process management, cross-functional coordination, and adherence to critical timelines ("Critical Date Path," "pre-production handover"). This suggests that candidates with experience in project management and operations within a product development lifecycle will be well-suited for this role.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: Degree-level education in a design-related discipline, or equivalent industry experience.

Experience: Significant design experience, ideally within greetings cards or a related consumer products industry.

Required Skills:

• Strong creative capability and aesthetic judgment.

• Digital and technical agility.

• Strong problem-solving skills.

• Ability to manage ambiguity and work with pace and urgency.

• Confidence in making timely decisions.

• Strong influencing skills and the confidence to challenge where appropriate.

• Project management capability.

• Strong technical understanding and attention to detail. Preferred Skills:

• Experience in greetings cards or a related consumer products industry.

• Understanding of manufacturing processes for consumer goods.

• Familiarity with design software and digital asset management.

• Experience managing licensing agreements and approvals.

• Knowledge of Critical Path Management methodologies.

• Proven ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the role is "Design Manager," the required skills such as "Project management capability," "Technical understanding," "Problem-solving skills," and "Ability to manage ambiguity and work with pace and urgency" are highly transferable to operations roles, particularly in product development and GTM operations. Emphasis on "digital agility" and "technical understanding" suggests a need for comfort with technology and systems.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials: