About The Role
Salary: Circa £60,000 + Benefits
Contract Type: Full Time
Working Pattern: Permanent
Location: Watford, UK
We are currently recruiting an exciting opportunity for a Senior Designer to join our Pep&Co clothing brand. The role will be responsible for leading the in‑house clothing design function across womenswear, menswear, childrenswear and non‑clothing categories. The Senior Designer will partner the Buying and Merchandising team to ensure the clothing range is both creative and commercially viable – balancing inspiration, cost and speed to market. This role is key to driving the creative and commercial success of the Pep&Co and offers a fantastic opportunity to grow with the business. The role will work on a hybrid basis with flexibility to work from home up to two days per week. We uphold three core behaviours that guide all our actions: Love Our Customers, Care for Our Colleagues and Protect Our Pounds/Euros. We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive a high volume of applications for the role.
Key Responsibilities
* Manage the design process from concept through to final samples, maintaining brand integrity and commercial focus.
* Own the seasonal design calendar, ensuring timely delivery of colour palettes, trend boards, print direction and CAD packs aligned to range sign‑off milestones.
* Work collaboratively with Buying and Merchandising to deliver products that are both design‑led and value‑engineered for price, margin and quality.
* Translate global and UK trend forecasts into relevant, value‑appropriate product direction.
* Oversee print, graphics and packaging direction, ensuring artwork is on‑brand, commercial and production‑ready.
* Build and maintain strong supplier relationships and support design development.
* Lead the creative direction for licensed and DTR (Direct‑to‑Retail) ranges, ensuring alignment with brand guidelines, licence approvals and commercial targets.
* Drive innovation through sustainable materials, improved design processes and new ways of working.
* Support the Head of Trading in presenting seasonal design direction to leadership teams and key stakeholders.
Qualifications
* Previous experience of working as a Senior Merchandiser leading clothing design across multiple categories.
* Degree or equivalent qualification in Fashion Design, Textile Design or a related field.
* Strong understanding of UK value fashion retail, customer trends and high‑street competition.
* In‑depth knowledge of licensed product and DTR design processes, including approvals, artwork management and brand compliance.
* Broad product knowledge across womenswear, menswear, kidswear and non‑clothing categories.
* Experience managing design function within a value, supermarket, high‑street retailer or retail supplier.
* Demonstrated ability to translate trend insights into commercial, best‑selling collections.
* Experience working with international supplier bases and managing design development to production.
Benefits
* Professional development – comprehensive induction programme and opportunity to complete in‑house development programmes or pursue a qualification through our apprenticeship programme.
* Bonus potential.
* Car allowance.
* Free on‑site parking.
* On‑site coffee lounge.
* Exclusive store discounts – 10% discount on most in‑store purchases.
* Family‑friendly benefits.
* My Staff Shop with exclusive discounts.
* Life assurance cover.
* Health & wellbeing programme.
* Generous holiday allowance – 33 days per year, with option to buy additional holidays and an extra day off on birthdays.
* Pension scheme – contributory pension scheme.
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