Designer

**Designer**:
**Salary**:Competitive Plus Benefits**
**Location**:Coventry Store Support Centre - Ansty Park and Home, Coventry, CV7 9RD**
**Contract type**:Permanent**
**Business area**:Non Food**
**Closing date**:11 June 2025**
**Requisition ID**:3065501**:
We’d all like amazing work to do, and real work-life balance. That’s waiting for you at Sainsbury’s. From fragrance to car care, clothing and pots and pans, our General Merchandise team delivers all the non-food items for Sainsbury’s, Habitat and Argos customers. This multi-brand environment means you get to work across most areas. You can also be a pioneer, because the team believes in being brave, iterating and learning as they go. They also develop deep connections to other departments, which opens up a lot of different career opportunities for you. What’s certain is that you’ll spend time on the shop floor to get closer to customers, and bring a broad perspective and the full support of your manager with you wherever you decide to develop next.

**C4 GM Furniture Designer**

You’ll be delivering inspirational designs that support the values of the category vision and ambition. Manage relationships with suppliers and the design teams behind the suppliers to create original, exclusive product.

You will be a manager and a mentor to junior members of the team, supporting the Senior Designer by owning your category and developing others. An experienced eye for delivering key seasonal trends will be second nature ensuring your ranges are full of newness. With a skilled hand in delivering innovative and commercial designs for a broad range of customer types.

As well as being a good communicator capable of representing the team in front of key stakeholders, you’ll manage your time effectively ensuring deadlines are always met.

**In a nutshell**

To support and assist the senior designer, whilst having responsibility for the creation and development of successful product ranges, adhering to current trends, customer needs and convenience, meeting KPI’s of sales, profit and market share. Management and development of an assistant where relevant.

**What I need to do**
- To design commercial, competitive, quality and functional aspects of the product using creativity and effective translation of customer needs into deliverable product attributes in line with relevant legislation and Sainsbury’s policies.
- Input creativity within the team to share innovation, product trend and lifestyle
- Manage the development of the product from concept design to launch, liaising with product technologists and buyers ensuring that the critical path targets are met.
- In conjunction with the buyer & product technologist, identify new products and accountability for product fit for purpose and delivering design packs right first time.
- Adhere to safety, quality and legal requirements, regularly engaging with the technical & legal teams.
- Support quality standard requirements set to maintain clear differences in quality to our competitors.
- Coach the Assistant Designer where appropriate and to grow talent and identify potential.
- Utilise analysis of market data to inform design decisions
- Have a strong awareness of market trends and competitor ranges, and be able to produce commercial and relevant trends each season for the Sainsbury’s customer
- Produce design packs to an agreed standard and level in line with the critical path
- Produce direct product development with oversees supply base (SAAL)
- Assist the senior designers with the strategic direction for design department
- Bought sample direction
- Formulating concept, colour and trend boards for presentations and meetings
- Responsible for the creation of project briefs
- Communicating all Design specs to relevant suppliers in line with the critical path
- Responsible for upkeep of design/artwork files
- Responsible for maintenance and update of colour/theme/trend and bay boards for relevant meetings
- Working with external designers, communicating with SAAL (Sainsburys Argos Asia Limited) and suppliers when required.
- Assist with preparation for selection, sign-off, review and trading meetings
- Liaise with the key stakeholders ahead of selection and sign off meetings
- Visit stores, trade fairs and press shows where appropriate and compile reports to distribute to the wider team.
- Conduct competitor shop reports and update on internet fashions and feedback to team
- Creative input - have an excellent eye for colour and trend with an ability to create artworks and palettes
- Attending weekly trade meetings.
- Represent the design team at graduate shows and events that Sainsbury’s Argos Home engage with externally.
- Ensuring PR & Marketing have all the correct assets to tell the story behind each range.
- Mentor graduate work placements

**How I will succeed**
- Deliver financial and commercial targets (KPI’s) by designing successful product
- Continually improves market share and position of product categorie