Designer - Older Girls Lightweight Jersey - 12 Months Fixed Term Contract
Working Pattern: Typically 5 days in the office, with core hours flexible between 8am-6pm.
The Role
As a Designer for Older Girls Lightweight Jersey within our Girlswear team, you will play a vital role in blending "of-the-moment" street-style trends with commercial excellence. Your mission is to evolve our jersey category, ensuring every piece from soft basics to trend-led statement items maintains the high quality our customers love.
Working closely with Senior Design leadership and our overseas manufacturing partners, you’ll bridge the gap between creative vision and global production. To ensure you hit the ground running, Next provides a supportive environment with tailored onboarding and access to industry-leading design resources, helping you master our unique supply chain and grow your career alongside our most experienced mentors.
Our Designers here at Next are always looking forward. Looking for that Next thing, focusing on trend and pushing the boundaries of what we can offer our fantastic customer base. Working as a key part of the critical path; creating new and innovative designs across.
What You’ll Take On
As our Designer for Older Girls Lightweight Jersey, you are the creative engine that transforms global inspiration into the soft, stylish essentials our customers live in. You’ll navigate the fast-paced world of jersey wear, ensuring our collections stay ahead of the curve while maintaining the effortless comfort and quality that defines the Next brand.
In this role, your day-to-day will involve:
* Owning the Jersey Range: Lead the design process for the entire lightweight jersey category, creating a balanced mix of "cool" trend-led basics and high-impact statement pieces.
* Translating Trends into Must‑Haves: Scour global street‑style and social media trends to design elevated, wearable jersey items that resonate with the older girls' market.
* Designing with Agility: Respond quickly to creative briefs in a fast‑turnaround environment, producing fresh designs that keep our jersey collections "of‑the‑moment."
* Balancing Style with Value: Work strategically within specific price‑point guidelines to deliver premium‑feel garments without compromising on craftsmanship or commerciality.
* Collaborating Globally: Partner daily with Buyers, Merchandisers & Technologists, as well as our international manufacturing teams to ensure every silhouette is technically sound and delivered to exact specifications.
* Curating a Cohesive Collection: Drive the creative direction for both high‑energy "capsule" drops and the essential core lines that form the foundation of our girls' wardrobes.
What You’ll Bring
* Jersey & Childrenswear/Womenswear Expertise: You have a solid background in designing for the older girls or womenswear market, with a specific flair for lightweight jersey. You understand how different weights and blends drape, wash, and wear.
* Technical Artistry: You are a pro at using Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, with the ability to create precise technical packs and translate your creative visions into digital reality.
* A Trend‑First Mindset: You are genuinely obsessed with fashion and social media trends. You know what’s buzzing on global streets and can translate those "must‑have" looks into commercially successful jersey pieces.
* Clear & Proactive Communication: You’re a natural collaborator who enjoys working with others. Whether you’re refining a sample with an overseas factory or presenting a concept to Senior Design leadership, you communicate your ideas with clarity and warmth.
* Commercial Sharpness: You understand that great design happens at the intersection of creativity and business. You can design into specific price points and navigate fabric yields without losing your aesthetic edge.
* Agility & Organisation: You stay grounded and organised even when the studio gets busy. You’re comfortable handling fast‑turnaround "express" briefs and can pivot quickly when trends shift, all while maintaining a positive, "can‑do" attitude.
A Quick Note
We can’t wait to see your style! Please ensure you attach your digital PDF portfolio to your application, as we won’t be able to consider your journey with us without it. We are looking for work that is trend‑focused, demonstrating your ability to translate high‑fashion concepts into commercially successful, elevated designs for the Older Girls Jersey market!
Sponsorship
Candidates wishing to apply who would require sponsorship for this role will be required to meet the Home Office sponsorship requirements. For further information please see: https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa.
We encourage early applications for our roles, as our recruitment process begins as soon as the role is advertised. If we successfully fill the position, this advert may close earlier than planned.
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* Profit‑related bonus - based on company performance
* Private medical insurance
* Sharesave scheme - make savings from your net pay to buy NEXT shares at a discount
* Pension - fixed contribution rates from both an employer and employee perspective, but you're also able to make additional voluntary contributions (AVCs) if you wish to save more.
* Life assurance
* Group income protection
* Wagestream - helping you make the most out of your money
* Salary finance - offers access to affordable loans repaid through salary, simple savings and free financial education.
* 25% staff discount on most NEXT products - plus discount on other products
* Direct to work - NEXT orders delivered free to the office for collection
* VIP sale - early access to the NEXT sale
* Access to NEXT staff shops
* Octopus energy - like cycle‑to‑work, but for electric vehicles
* Free parking (excluding London locations)
* National and local discounts on goods and services - this includes things like discounted cinema tickets
* Wellhub - includes access to discounted gym membership
* Simply health - a healthcare subscription service
* Aviva Digicare Workplace+ healthcare service - 7 Free services including Digital GP appointments and an annual health check.
* A range of dedicated 3rd party wellbeing partners
* Free eye testing - voucher to use at specific locations
Conditions apply to all benefits. These benefits are discretionary and subject to change.
We aim to support all candidates during the application process and are happy to provide workplace adjustments when necessary. Should you need support with your application due to a disability or long‑term condition, feel free to get in touch with us by email headoffice_careers@next.co.uk (please include 'Workplace Adjustments' in the subject line), or call us on 0116 284 2486 and leave a voicemail.
What's Next?
Show us what you can do. Submit your application online and our recruitment team will take a first look at your experience and strengths.
Inform
Let’s talk. We will get in touch for an initial conversation by phone or video to learn more about you and share what the team is looking for.
Review
If you are invited to an interview, you may be asked to present an interview task or portfolio and talk through your experience in a competency based interview. It is also your chance to ask questions and get to know us.
Offer
If it’s the right match, our recruitment team will be in touch with a job offer and next steps. This is where your journey with NEXT begins.
Team Overview
This is where ideas become incredible collections. Designers, Buyers, Merchandisers, and Technologists collaborate to create products our customers love. You'll spot global trends, strategically balance our range plans and meticulously test quality so every season feels fresh, inspiring and exceptional.
Explore similar opportunities across our business.
You’ve probably heard of NEXT, but did you know about our portfolio? Every brand in our offering brings a distinct story, attitude and community. Spanning contemporary lifestyle brands, established high street names and timeless collections, together they showcase the vibrancy of today’s retail world.
About NEXT
You know Next, but did you know we’re a FTSE-100 retail company employing over 35,000 people across the UK and Ireland. We’re the UK’s 2nd largest fashion retailer and for Kidswear we’re the market leader. At the last count we have over 500 stores, plus the Next Online and it’s now possible to buy on‑line from over 70 countries around the world! So we’ve gone global!
Challenges. Opportunities. The future. Let’s take it on at NEXT.
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