Do you ever wander down the department store aisles, browse the products and think to yourself – they should have used a different font? Or that the spacing is all wrong? Do you understand the effect good craft design has on products on the shelf?

Is it time to take your award-winning creative career into a role where your ideas and vision for brand will be heard? Our client, a design studio sitting in an exciting company gone global, is looking for an up and coming or well established Design Director, looking for a new career challenge and is ready to lead from the top.

This is an opportunity that will suit someone who has always considered themselves a kid at heart. Maybe you keep up with all the latest comics and animated movies, maybe you’ve got an action figure collection that rivals any fan, Halloween might be your favourite holiday, and you think of fun innovations as a hobby. Sound surprised? Keep reading.

The newly appointed design director will be the engine room of an innovation team. You will be highly conceptual while still being hands-on the tools. You’ll likely describe yourself as a non-stop designer and creative thinker.

You will have sound commercial experience within the FMCG sector and a solid pre-press understanding. You’ll also have a craft-focused design eye; able to take a brief from conception all the way to the finished production-ready status – all the while ensuring that the stakeholders' expectations are met. Needless to say, you’ll be proficient in all things design; POS, illustration, ideation, layout, art direction, marketing materials, and last but not least, real-world FMCG packaging.

Apply today if you are motivated to do more, earn more, and be rewarded for your hard work and award-winning career.

The breakdown

We are looking for a Design leader with:

• Min 10-years working in an advertising or design studio
• Experience in FMCG industries
• Award-winning portfolio
• International experience a bonus

Some responsibilities include …

• Ideation and design development for large brands
• High-level understanding of content production
• Ability to create and execute conceptual work
• Experience across various FMCG design touchpoints i.e. Instore and POS rollout
• Efficient on the tools, and deadline-driven
• Overseeing the creation of prototypes and samples to ensure designs are practical and manufacturable
• Do you understand the importance of eye-catching, sensory packaging
• Managing your own work pipeline to deliver projects simultaneously
• Managing other creative suppliers, specialists, freelancers
• Able to share direction and articulate feedback with the design team
• Leadership expertise
• And of course across the tech suite of Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign

Are you someone who is…

• Passionate about seeing your work on shelves
• Creative, with the technical expertise to back yourself
• Strong communicator – verbal and written
• Focused when projects pivot
• Innovative and curious

The reward:

• Salary $170 - $180k per annum + Kiwisaver
• Central City Location
• Friendly, hard-working team

Mandatory requirements:

• Relevant tertiary design qualification 

Apply today:

If this exciting leadership role appeals, apply today or contact recruitment director, Leighton Howl on leighton@thepond.co.nz or 021 702 573 with a top-line summary of why you may be interested.

About The Pond:

The Pond is committed to becoming New Zealand’s number one specialist recruiter in the Digital & Tech, Creative & Design, and Marketing & Sales sectors. We focus on finding the best candidates in the local and overseas market, that last the distance and help transform our clients’ businesses. Established in 2006, The Pond is driven by a dedicated team of experienced recruiters and support team who get results for clients daily. Our audited placement average is 4.6 years, so the people we place do stick.