Papier is Hiring a Lead Stationery Designer (London, UK/Hybrid)
As the Lead Stationery Designer at Papier, you will play a crucial role in the delivery of Papier’s creative vision by creating trend-setting & design-led stationery for high-impact & strategic design projects, including wholesale & partnerships.
Taking responsibility for researching and conceptualising unique stationery designs as well as the product development, you will show excellent design skill in illustration and typography. You will also demonstrate leadership skills, being responsible for coaching & development of your team with a focus on expanding their creativity, design expertise & product development skills. Working closely with the Chief Product Officer & Head of Design, you will play an active role in delivering Papier’s in- house seasonal concepts, partnerships and design handwriting that will transform Papier into a global stationery lifestyle brand.
About the company
Founded in May 2015, Papier is a London based start-up, which has raised £60m+ million since launch. Papier’s collection of stationery products, from notebooks & diaries to notecards and wedding invitations, is designed to feed curiosity and contemplation, to invite people to uncover the possibility of a blank page. The business is growing and internationalising rapidly, particularly experiencing growth in the US across both D2C and wholesale channels.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Design Ideation
Lead the creation of trend-setting and design-leading products at Papier by ensuring all creative concepting, moodboarding and research is conducted to the highest standard. Create aspirational designs through the excellent execution of multiple simultaneous design projects.
Present design concepts, ideas and outcomes with confidence and clarity, both internally and to the wider business. Convey complex design thinking in a way that leads to increased engagement as well as inspiring creativity and generating excitement around newness.
Drive the process of creativity and proactively make time for inspiration, experimentation and growth through the sharing of creative opportunities, new trends and techniques.
Understand and interpret the Annual Product/Design Strategy by generating ideas for new products and conceptual themes, and through the completion of design projects that fulfil and capture the essence of the strategy.
Model excellent standards of diverse and thorough research, resulting in unique and forward-thinking stationery designs. Coach and inspire the team to follow your example and actively police this with your direct reports to ensure that Papier products are authentically unique and do not take strong elements of external reference.
Design Delivery
Utilise excellent skills in illustration, typography, graphic design and print composition; translating these into trend-setting product design ideas.
Oversee & lead complex projects by defining & allocating project tasks and translating these into a project process with the support of the Design Studio Manager. Support with the assigning of projects to appropriately skilled team members in a way that supports business and independent creative growth.
Support the Design Studio Manager in workflow management by managing your own schedule and monitoring that of your team to ensure that all key deadlines are met. Coach and support direct reports to meet these deadlines through maintaining a clear channel of communication and escalating any issues that may affect delivery.
Build rapport and an excellent working relationship with project stakeholders through providing regular updates and delivering against their requirements consistently.
Have and encourage the team's collective understanding of commercial sales performance, including awareness of what is working and trending for our customers. Utilise this to lead in the delivery of commercial yet inspiring designs that meet or exceed project goals.
Model behaviours of design agility and flexibility through proactively supporting ad hoc requests and work delegation in line with the business needs. Respond with initiative when faced with design-related challenges in a way that motivates and energises self and others.
Support Head of Design to maintain Papier’s design standards and ensure consistency in the quality of designs across all projects by attending Design Feedback sessions with the Stationery Design Team.
Product Development
Have an excellent understanding of the printing industry and processes. Utilise this knowledge to encourage team awareness of paper possibilities and restrictions, and work with suppliers to expand knowledge of new technology and techniques.
You’ll be responsible for conducting competitive research for any NPD and recommending Papier specs with USPs clearly identified as well as target RRP in order to be competitive while offering something new on the market.
Collaborating with Sourcing & local/offshore suppliers to develop new products, you will ensure that our designs are commercial while also pushing design/product development boundaries & maintaining effective communication throughout.
Ensure all specs are to the highest standard and aligned with the design strategy/concept
You will also collaborate with the Creative, Operations, and Tech teams to ensure that designs are set up for a successful launch.
Quality
Showcase your own creativity and that of your direct reports by delivering consistent, excellent-calibre designs that push the brand forward.
Take the lead on working cross-functionally with the Tech teams to understand website product requirements & limitations, suggesting improvements to this and flagging any issues in order to ensure that our designs are showcased to the best of our ability.
Play a leading role in improvement initiatives by generating ideas and plans for how to improve the outcome of projects, even following success. Question how tasks could be done better and act upon opportunities to improve.
Model excellent standards of quality and housekeeping, enabled by a thorough technical understanding of all of our products. Alongside the Design Studio Manager, set and maintain standards for quality, including correct uploading, file naming, artwork set up and exporting.
Coaching and Development
Provide constructive feedback and design guidance to the design team in order to support creative and professional growth. Actively seek and respond to feedback regarding own design work, identifying areas for development and investing time into creative and professional growth.
Own your own development and contribute to the development of peers through identifying training needs within the design team and supporting the Head of Design in finding adequate providers. Impart own product and design knowledge through proactively hosting relevant, engaging workshop sessions & inspiration activities.
Build rapport with your direct reports to create a sense of team belonging and structure. Support the career development of direct reports by holding regular PD sessions, coaching them to identify areas for their own improvement and contributing towards their professional growth.
BENEFITS + PERKS
We recognise the need for a work-life balance and offer a hybrid working model of 3 days in the office at Maison Papier, our lovely Camden office.
25 days annual leave per year + buy an extra five days.
20 days per year to Work from Anywhere
Private medical and rewards scheme with Vitality Health (including 50% off gym memberships with Virgin Active, Pure Gym and more).
Enrolment into the Papier Pension scheme through the People Pension.
Enhanced parental leave policies.
Cycle to work loan scheme.
£45 monthly cultural allowance
£75 personal stationery allowance, and £150 to spend on our Occasion stationery for a lifetime special event
40% staff discount along with a family and friends discount.
Papier with Purpose. We give back to the community and offer 2 days paid per year to volunteer for a cause you/we care about.
Constant access to mental health, well-being resources and support from our in-house first aiders.
Weekly team lunches & regular cultural trips.
Our pooches are a part of the Papier team and you may see them from time to time in Maison Papier.
Inclusive and friendly team who will make you feel welcome from day one.
