Retail Design Manager

Step into a role where your creativity doesn't just shape a store — it shapes an entire retail world at sea.
At Harding+, the spaces you design become part of a guest's journey across oceans and cultures. As our Retail Design Manager, you'll influence retail environments unlike any other — overseeing a diverse portfolio of projects across our global fleet and acting as our in-house expert on retail design throughout the cruise lifecycle.

This role is built for someone who thrives on complexity and detail: a design leader who enjoys orchestrating multiple moving parts, guiding a team from the first sketch to final installation, and transforming data-led insight into high-performing, beautifully executed retail spaces.

You'll develop and inspire a talented team of Designers while working hands-on across every stage of delivery — from coordinating schedules, deliveries, and installations to making confident commercial decisions that shape the final outcome.

You'll collaborate closely with brands, cruise lines, contractors, and internal partners to ensure every concept not only meets the brief but exceeds guest expectations. Along the way, you'll identify opportunities for Capex efficiency, champion industry-leading standards, and bring ambitious, future-ready concepts to life in some of the most unique retail environments anywhere in the world.

If you're energised by end-to-end ownership, strong partnerships, and the challenge of delivering exceptional design at scale, this could be the next defining chapter in your career.

• Based in Avonmouth on a hybrid working basis – 3 days per week (Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday)
• Compensation – Competitive Salary, Bonus Scheme, Pension, 4 x Life Assurance, Health Cash Plan, 26 days annual leave (plus Bank Holidays)

What You Will Be Doing

• Develop and nurture the Design team from the initial briefs to concept and realisation
• Influence and negotiate with senior stakeholders, delivering a full turnkey operation from brief to onsite installation, ensuring the design capex programme is delivered on time and within budget
• Manage key projects and key category store maximisation and standardisation across the estate using insight, space, data, and performance, ensuring design specifications are consistent
• Work with Space Planning to provide evaluations of capex projects. Presenting in a timely and compelling way, telling the story behind the design decisions based on the data conclusions and summaries from Space Planning
• Ensure standards adherence, creatively produce solutions that are commercially and ergonomically sound to meet the retail marine standards
• Travel onboard our ships to oversee the delivery of your team's designs, project managing installations end-to-end — collaborating with onboard teams, coordinating with contractors and suppliers, and troubleshooting in real time to ensure a seamless execution

About You

• Proven experience at a management level within the retail design sector, ideally luxury retail
• Trained in PowerPoint/presentation, Adobe Design suite, InDesign, Photoshop, Sketchup Pro, CAD, Lumion and MS office
• Highly creative with an eye for detail
• Customer focused with strong people & project management skills
• Excellent communication and presentation skills
• Full driving licence
• Must have an existing right of eligibility to work in the UK

About Us
Harding+ is leading the way in innovative onboard cruise retailing, working closely with our cruise line partners and brand partners to 'make every cruise better'. We stay at the forefront of retailing and consistently provide outstanding customer service, culminating in winning the Cruise Retailer of the Year award for 2022, 2023 & 2025.

Harding+ is an equal opportunities employer. We believe passionately that employing a diverse workforce is central to our success. We make recruiting decisions based on your experience and skills. We value your passion to discover, invent, simplify, and build. Protecting your privacy and the security of your data is a longstanding top priority for Harding+.