Senior Creative Development Manager (Ecommerce)

at  Universal Music Group

Music is Universal
It’s the passionate and dedicated team at Universal Music who help make us the world’s leading music company. From A&R to finance, legal to digital, sales to marketing, Universal Music is the place to grow and develop your career within a truly commercial and innovative business that leads in everything it does.
Everyone is welcome to apply for our roles, and we are determined to ensure that no applicant or employee receives less favourable treatment because of gender, race, disability, sexual orientation, religion, belief, age, marital status, background, pregnancy, or caring responsibilities. We also recognise the importance of diversity of thought within our teams and are fully committed to embracing the talents of people with autism, dyslexia, ADHD, and other forms of neurocognitive variation.
We will always seek to make appropriate adjustments to recruitment, workplaces, and work processes to be fully inclusive to people with different needs and working styles. If you need us to make any reasonable adjustments for you from application onwards, including alternatives to the online form or to disclose a neurocognitive condition, please email UniversalMusicCareers@umusic.com.
The A Side: A Day in The Life
UMUK value e-Commerce as a key foundational channel to connect artists and fans. This is a fast paced role that will be pivotal in leading our merchandise creative strategy for UMUK artists, principally focusing on merchandise apparel design and marketing assets creation.
Managing a team of 3 people, you will work closely with label creative, eCommerce product teams and other creative resources including freelance designers and internal merchandise production team to bring artist brand and campaign narratives to life across product, site and content. You will develop merchandise designs for our teams helping to create high quality and sustainable products in line with fashion & seasonal trends.

The B Side: Skills & Experience

• You will oversee the creative studio’s design output, creating and collaborating with our teams on design briefs and artists creative visual identities as it relates to merchandise and content (photo, video, and digital marketing assets) whilst presenting to labels and artist teams. You will help build the direct to fan creative studio and manage and develop other creative heads.
• You will have an established track record of selling through creative merchandise concepts and strategies to clients.
• Using your Graphic design and artworking expertise you will design and create merchandise designs and create presentation decks for a wide range of merchandise items/collections.
• The role will manage any merchandise design budgets and output of the groups freelance design resources, ensuring spend efficiencies and continuous monitoring/reporting. You will manage invoicing with labels and finance team.
• You will build out and develop the creative teams planning boards and oversee all merchandise design project management with the teams.
• Manage the creative project planning process with key stakeholders, defining needs, scoping resources, and ensuring delivery of assets and managing asset banks for artist.
• Serve as the escalation point for cross-functional creative merchandise process issues and report studio output and creative effectiveness to eCommerce Director and Exec audiences monthly.
• Manage all aspects of Direct to Fan creative services business, including department planning & resourcing, project management and delivery across client jobs. Ad hoc direction of designers, freelancers, photographers and video editors.
• Oversee in the operational setup and recruitment for the in-house Creative Studio (internal / external).
• Line management of a team of 3 leads whilst building a creative culture across the team.
• Working with internal teams, product development and production to share all product information – blanks, artwork, tech packs to ensure product gets made in line with critical paths.
• Research and understand new prints, techniques and blanks, particularly in the cut and sew area, with the objective of offering new and exciting product ranges to our labels.
• Work with the eCommerce UX insights and analytics teams to leverage historic and audience data to inform creative strategy and output.
• Coordinate and manage the submission of external artwork and work on revisions, re-comps and formatting of artwork from a network of designs and freelancers.
• Oversee the creation of trend forecasting seasonal decks and design moodboards, develop and execute concept presentations under the direction of UMUK labels and artists.
• Undertake client/artist research and development gathering of assets and inspiration and be across product trends and developments in fashion and streetwear especially in the ecomm space.
• You will lead and coach your team of reports help to foster a client first and creative culture in working with our label partners.
• Attend quarterly comp shops with the Creative Studio team.
• Adhoc photo studio duties: Moodboards, model booking liaison, creative direction & styling assistance with labels, mgmt. & artist.

Person Specification

• Experience in music merchandise graphic design/ fashion and a creative client facing role overseeing creative briefs from from ideation to execution.
• A Bachelor’s degree in design, fashion/retail, marketing, creative, or a related field.
• Ideally creative experience in apparel & creative product design in music merchandising / entertainment / or fashion ecommerce.
• Demonstrable experience of design and artworking within a merchandising or product management role within clothing / accessories and preferably involving music with an ability to create original designs appropriately across a range of styles.
• Knowledge of UK online fashion landscape and an understanding of differing consumer profiles and trends.
• The ability to interpret a design brief and convert the information cohesively in merchandise designs.
• Demonstrable experience of working with merchandise production development and printing team to ensure designs and made in line with approved designs and to exacting product specifications.
• Sound knowledge of D2G, dye sublimation, cut and sew & screen print processes.
• Knowledge of typical merchandise product blanks and styles.
• Experience of working in a fast-paced environment lead by critical delivery dates. Ability to working in cross-functional teams to drive projects to completion with an ability to react quickly and calmly to changing artist & label needs and deadlines
• Experience on monitoring supplier KPIs and performance.
• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written.
• Ability to multitask & prioritise and project manage multiple creative projects and campaigns.
• Good presentation skills and an established track record of effectively communicating design presenters to clients.
• Understanding of brand differentiation across artists and music genres.
• Deep understanding of eCommerce, specifically trends and best practices as they apply to the fan to artist relationship.
• Proficient knowledge of Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, Outlook), presentation packages (Powerpoint / Keynote) and Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign) and project management tools.
• Good knowledge of visualising garment designs using Photoshop and Illustrator and knowledge of preparation of artwork for prints.
• Creative flair, with confidence to share ideas and awareness and interest in a variety of fashion and “Music” fashion trends.
• Passion for music merchandise and a good knowledge of high street fashion and trends and how they might connect with artists.
• Solid understanding of consumer behaviour and digital marketing trends across social media and CRM specifically trends and best practices as they apply to the fan to artist relationship.

Bonus Tracks: Your Benefits

• Group Personal Pension Scheme (between 3% and 9%)
• Private Medical Insurance
• 25 paid days of annual leave
• Interest Free Season Ticket Loan available
• Holiday Purchase scheme
• Dental and Travel Insurance options
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Salary Sacrifice Cars
• Subsidised Gym Membership
• Employee Discounts (Reward Gateway)

Just So You Know…
The company presents this job description as a guide to the major areas and duties for which the jobholder is accountable. However, the business operates in an environment that demands change and the jobholder’s specific responsibilities and activities will vary and develop. Therefore, the job description should be seen as indicative and not as a permanent, definitive, and exhaustive statement.
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