North Face: Senior Design Manager, Men's Apparel

Position: The North Face: Senior Design Manager, Men's Apparel
Senior Design Manager, Men’s Tops & Bottoms Apparel Now that you’ve found the job description, what’s next?

At The North Face we dare to lead the world forward through Exploration. We were born to Explore, Disrupt and to Lead. We were born to Love Wild Places and to Spark Curiosity. We believe that exploration is a mindset, both on the mountain and off the mountain, and it infuses everything we do. As a community of explorers, we stay curious about new ideas, places, and people.

So, before we get to the job details, take a minute to learn a little more about us, our values and our culture. If you can see yourself working side-by-side with a team of adventure-loving people, The North Face just may be the place for you.

To learn more about our values and our culture, visit The North Face Careers or The North Face.

What will you do?

A day in the life of a Senior Design Manager, Men’s Tops & Bottoms Apparel at The North Face looks a little like this.

You will lead and elevate the design expression for Men’s Tops & Bottoms, creating best-in-class product with a high level of aesthetic competence and a strong point of view. You are a highly influential member of the design team who balances strong creativity with the ability to deliver, setting direction and driving design decisions across the category.

You will lead seasonal research and insights, concepts, design direction, presentation tools and key design deliverables for the category, ensuring the work connects brand vision with consumer and business needs.

You will drive and inspire design ideas across the team, with a focus on craftsmanship and excellence. You are highly experienced in presenting design work to senior audiences in a compelling and persuasive way and are comfortable giving clear, objective and constructive feedback.

You will provide creative direction, mentorship and guidance to designers, helping elevate individual capabilities as well as the overall quality and consistency of the team’s design output.

You will bring a highly advanced understanding of brand aesthetic and DNA, materials and technologies, fit and silhouette, translating these into relevant and distinctive product that supports consumer and business needs.

You will bring a strong understanding of the needs of outdoor apparel, combined with an elevated taste level and strong knowledge of the competitive landscape, using those insights to identify opportunities and push the category forward.

You will partner closely with Merchandising, Product, Development and other cross-functional partners, influencing decisions and ensuring the creative vision is maintained from concept through commercialization.

What do you need to succeed?

We all have unique skills that we bring to work and celebrate every day. For this role, there are foundational skills you’ll need to succeed and excel. While formal education in a related field is great to have, we are most interested in your experience, professional achievements and demonstrated design leadership.

The foundational skills you will need in this position are:10+ years of experience in athletic / outdoor / sportswear / men’s apparel design, with strong expertise relevant to Men’s Tops & Bottoms.

Demonstrated experience providing creative direction, mentoring designers and elevating design output across a team or category.

Exceptional product acumen with comprehensive knowledge of apparel product development processes, including design, development, sourcing and manufacturing.

Advanced knowledge and understanding of apparel construction, with strong flat sketching and illustration expertise.

Understanding of, and ideally active participation in, some of the activities / sports you are designing for.

Advanced hands-on experience with…