Lead Designer

Location: This is an office based role, working 5 days per week at our Shoreham by Sea headquarters. Would you like to join a fast growing, creative, global company? Do you have proven experience leading a design team, delivering high quality creative outputs, and driving innovation across product, packaging, and marketing? Do you want the chance to work with well known brands such as Disney, Harry Potter, Marvel, and Warner Bros? If so, we want you to join our Creative Team and become part of our journey. This is a terrific opportunity for a motivated individual to be part of a growing business and to make a real creative impact within an established, talented team. Want to know how? Just read on Who are Paladone? Paladone is a wholesale giftware company with offices and teams working globally. Our mission is to create winning trend life lifestyle products that put a smile on the faces of our customers globally. Along with our own branded products, we offer a comprehensive range of licensed giftware. We work with many exciting mainstream brands such as Disney, Harry Potter, Marvel, and DC Comics. Who are WeCool toys? WeCool Toys is a Global Designer and Manufacturer of Dynamic Toys, Crafts, Compounds and more. We own, operate, and manage all vertical and horizontal production, package, export and distribution processes. WeCool Toys is a new member of Paladone Group Holdings The opportunity : We are looking for a talented and driven Lead Designer to join our Creative Team. Reporting to the Head of Creative, you'll be responsible for driving creative excellence, managing and mentoring the design team, and setting gold standard processes that ensure all outputs align with our brand vision and commercial goals. What are key duties of the role? Creative Leadership : Lead, inspire, and mentor a team of Senior and Midweight Designers, setting high standards of creativity and professionalism. Create a collaborative environment where ideas are shared freely and innovation thrives. Process &Workflow Management : Define and implement gold standard design processes, ensuring projects are delivered on time, to spec, and within budget. Monitor deadlines, manage workloads, and continuously review ways of working to maximise efficiency. Hands On Design Contribution : Personally contribute to design outputs when needed, maintaining a balance between leadership and hand‑on creative work. Ensure all designs meet brand guidelines, customer needs, and commercial objectives. Collaboration with Cross Functional Teams : Partner closely with New Product Development, Marketing, and Sales teams to develop compelling product ranges, packaging, and promotional assets. Support marketing requests with design resources and input. Trend Led Creativity : Keep the team inspired and up to date with current and future design trends. Lead monthly creative inspiration sessions and ensure designs remain innovative, relevant, and commercially viable. Quality & Brand Alignment : Oversee updates to artwork templates and ensure consistency, accuracy, and compliance across all creative outputs. Safeguard the brand's identity and visual storytelling. People Development : Support recruitment and onboarding of designers and freelancers. Provide ongoing mentoring, training, and structured feedback to help the team grow professionally. Conduct performance appraisals and set objectives aligned to business goals. Resource & Budget Oversight : Work with the Head of Creative to manage freelancer budgets and ensure resources are allocated effectively across projects. Representation & Communication : Act as a key representative of the Design team in management meetings, presenting creative strategies, progress, and future plans to senior leadership. Maintain clear communication across teams. Continuous Improvement : Champion a culture of learning, collaboration, and continuous improvement. Identify opportunities to enhance creative processes, tools, and outcomes. What we need you to bring to the team : Essential : Proven experience in a senior design or leadership role within product, packaging, or brand design. Strong proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign). A portfolio showcasing creative range and design leadership, particularly across product and packaging. Excellent understanding of design processes, critical path management, and successful creative project delivery. Strong interpersonal and leadership skills, with experience mentoring and managing creative teams. Ability to balance hand‑on design work with strategic leadership responsibilities. Highly organised, with strong time and project management skills. Desirable : Experience working with licensed products and/or across a variety of product categories. Background in trend research and the application of market insights to design. What we will offer in return : Holiday & Work Life Balance : 25 days holiday plus Bank Holidays, Holiday Buy & Sell Scheme, flexible hours. Hybrid working (1‑2 days WFH), Christmas closure, shorter working day on your birthday. Financial Benefits : Staff discount (35% off wholesale), bonus opportunities, access to financial advisors, discounted legal services, tech & furniture purchase scheme. Health & Wellbeing : Paid medical / dental time off, free eye tests, flu vaccinations, wellbeing days, cycle-to-work scheme, mental health support and coaching. Social & Culture : Funded social events, annual sports day, company Christmas party, team social budget, social & sports committees. Learning & Development : Tailored training plans, ILM leadership courses, LinkedIn Learning, and opportunities to earn qualifications. Recognition & Reward : Annual pay review, performance bonus, long service awards, employee benefit trust, kudos portal, refer a friend scheme. What is next? If you are ready to join the Paladone team then click apply and submit your Resume, Covering letter. We aim to respond to all applicants within 10 working days. Please note that due to requirements of this role, the successful applicant will be required to work onsite 5 days per week with limited working from home opportunities. #J-18808-Ljbffr