Head of Creative & Industry Trends
Location
Aylesford, Kent | United Kingdom
Job description
ABOUT US:
Pineapple Contracts opened their doors for the first time in 1975. A family run company, started by William Hathorn, Pineapple began making pine furniture for the retail market and traded as, ‘Pine Productions’.
In 1987, Pine Productions moved their focus to the healthcare furniture market, having identified a demand for strong, safe and durable healthcare furniture which avoided the ‘institutional’ appearance, common at that time. With a new direction, a new name was required and we became simply ‘Pineapple’.
Pineapple, now a global company with headquarters in Kent (UK), have offices in France, Germany and the USA, still runs by its original ethos, and employs over 150 people worldwide.
We are looking for an inventive and experienced Head of Creative and Industry Trends to strengthen our innovative product development pipeline. The ideal candidate will be responsible for identifying global design trends and integrating such insights into our product development cycle in a timely manner. In close cooperation with the cross-functional teams of NPD, Materials Development and Sustaining Engineering, you will contribute to impactful design solutions across various product lines and markets. You will also oversee packaging development ensuring brand consistency and driving sustainable growth for our new and existing product portfolio.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Innovative mindset to lead and manage a small team of creative professionals to create trendy, manufacturable designs whilst considering Pineapple’s environmental footprint.
- Ability to provide design feedback during product design reviews.
- Ability to conceptualise stakeholder verbal feedback into sketches.
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams to define actionable trends and strengthen Pineapple’s market-leading position.
- Attend relevant industry trade shows, develop trend summaries and share key findings with cross-functional teams to incorporate into future designs.
- Develop and implement creative strategies that align with the company’s goals and objectives.
- Stay up-to-date with and provide insight into the latest design trends and technologies.
- Manage multiple projects simultaneously and ensure timely delivery of all projects.
- Inject enthusiasm as well as provide guidance and mentorship to team members to keep them motivated and help them grow professionally.
- Ability to back-fill team-members during office absences.
- Ability to prioritise urgent and important work and adjust to shifting priorities.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in Product Design, Graphic Design, Fine Arts, or a related field.
- Proven experience in a creative leadership role. Furniture or Home Interiors preferred.
- Strong understanding of design principles and the latest design trends and technologies.
- Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously.
PERSONALITY PROFILE:
- Must be passionate about the brand, be flexible and have a can-do attitude.
- Be proactive and flexible using own initiative to identify and solve problems.
- Take ownership of the role and demonstrate commitment and dedication with high-degree of self-motivation.
- Confident, approachable and happy to turn your hand to anything required.
- Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
- Excellent organisational skills with the ability to plan and prioritise work effectively to meet strict deadlines.
- Ability to work collaboratively without being emotionally invested.
- Excellent Administrative skills with competent use of Microsoft Office (mainly Outlook and Excel)
- Self-motivated and organised with excellent attention to detail and can-do attitude
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Embodies our company people values:
- Teamwork
- Committed
- Ownership
- Positive
- Responsive
Benefits
- Competitive Compensation
- Pension
- Healthcare Cash Plan
- 23 days annual leave + UK bank holidays
- Extra day’s leave for your birthday
- Regular team socials and events
- High quality office environment
- Sustainability focused business
- Free onsite parking / walking distance from train station
Hours: Monday - Friday 8am - 4.30pm
*Please note this is an office based role*
Job tags
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