Design & Development Director; FTC) NPD Management and Design · Holkham Head Office

Job Title:
Design & Development Director (15-Month FTC)

Location:
Norfolk / Hybrid

Reporting To:
Chief Product Officer

Who we are

At Monica Vinader, we believe luxury should be empowering, long-lasting and responsibly made. Guided by integrity, craftsmanship and innovation, our goal is to elevate people’s lives by opening access to a more beautiful world.

From crafting consciously with recycled precious metals and ethically sourced materials, to designing enduring, versatile pieces made to be layered, loved and lived in every day, we are redefining what modern jewellery can be. We create jewellery that marks moments, tells stories and becomes part of who you are, all while making responsible luxury more accessible.

Our commitment to sustainability, innovation and positive impact continues to be recognised across the industry. We are proud to have received:

• Responsible Jewellery Brand, 2026 – Country & Town House

• Responsible Luxury Business of the Year, 2025 & 2026 – Positive Luxury

• Top 50 Inspiring Workplaces (UK & NI), 2024 – Inspiring Workplaces

With a global footprint across physical retail, e-commerce and trusted partners, we put our community at the heart of everything we do. Proudly female-founded and inclusive, we build meaningful relationships with the people who wear and love our jewellery.

Where we need your help

The Design & Development Director leads Monica Vinader's Design & Development function and drives our creative pipeline from brief through to development sign off — the guardian of the brief, the driver of the calendar, and the person who ensures creative delivery meets our standards and pace.

We need someone with a genuinely strong point of view: someone who will sit in a critique and say clearly whether the work answers the brief, is new enough, and will sell — and hold that line with the design team, the founder and the ELT.

This is a 15 month fixed term contract with a defined mandate: land creative direction and product pipeline for FY27 and FY28 against agreed go-to-market and critical path milestones, leading a team of three direct reports covering design and product development. You will report to the Chief Product Officer.

Your time spans briefing, critique, creative planning, critical path oversight, team leadership and cross-functional work with Merchandising, Supply, Brand & Regions — a role that is detailed as well as strategic; you'll be as comfortable in a technical pack as in a boardroom.

This role requires 2-3 days per week at our Holkham (Norfolk) office, with hybrid working for the remainder, or the London office where that suits.

What you’ll do

Role Purpose

The Design & Development Director is accountable for the brief, the plan, the commerciality and the on time delivery of Monica Vinader's design and development output. You write and own the brief, working tightly with the category team, you own the creative calendar, you chair critique, you judge the work against the brief, you drive decisions to a conclusion, and you hold the Design & Development team to the go to market and critical path calendar.

You are the single point of accountability for whether the brief is met, whether the work is developable, and when it lands. Operating in a fast paced, agile environment, you will balance granular detail with strategic thinking to drive a consistent, innovative product pipeline.

Guardian of the Brief (Accountable)

• Co-create the brief:
  With our Head of Category Management, write and own the design brief for every project and season, so there is a single, unambiguous statement of what the work must achieve: customer, occasion, price architecture, category need, margin, volume, option count and what "new" means in this context.

• Judge against the brief & hold the line:
  As…