VM Design Lead (11-26 yrs)

Design : Market Research & Strategy Development

1. Lead the conduct of market, consumer, competitor research to identify mega & micro trends, insights into consumer and lifestyle

2. Influence the leadership team in the development of new product categories, product innovations, etc. for different customer segments based on the potential opportunities identified based on market research

3. Enable high level of integration / convergence of design, technology and data in the design development process

4. Collate and review the annual plan & budget for design function of each SBU aligned to the overall business strategy and present the plan to the leadership team for approvals

5. Rejig the plan based on the recommendations and cascade the finalised plan and budget to the team

- Long term plan

- Annual operating plan

- Achievement against the plan

- Adherence to timelines

Design : Product Development

1. Participate in the product brief discussions for critical collections / products (for all line of businesses) and provide inputs for alignment to the overall business strategy

2. Evaluate the design concept developed by the team and provide recommendations to ensure alignment with the requirements envisaged

3. Take a lead role in managing the design and creative elements of projects and influence design thinking across the business

4. Influence the merchandising / brand team for buy in of the design concepts developed by the design team which has potential

5. Ensure that the product sample is developed as the timelines and budget, monitoring the various stages as per the criticality of the project

6. Evaluate the prototype developed by the vendors / production team for its alignment with the concept and product brief

7. Advocate for the design concepts / products that has potential with the leadership team / business for adopting the idea / products into the product line

8. Lead the NPIM meet to showcase the products to the leadership team and other key stakeholders and garner buy-in from the participants on the design and prototype

9. Ensure that the production quantity is determined, and the production of the finalised samples are undertaken as per the guidelines to ensure timely delivery of products

- Product brief

- Final design in line with the brief

- Prototype in line with the design

- Launch of the product - Adherence to timelines

- Adherence to guidelines

- Product performance against targets

Design: Design Excellence

1. Develop core competence within the team to develop design leadership in the firm

2. Collaborate with professionals, educational institutions, organisations, etc. for evangelising design thinking in the firm

3. Develop alliances and partnerships with educational institutions, professionals, designers, agencies, etc. to bring best in class design ideas and products - Product pricing

- Promotional pricing - Gross contribution %

- Revenue contribution

Design: Product Innovation

1. Lead targeted research on the existing product line with sample customers, retail team, marketing team, etc. to identify potential areas of improvement

2. Prioritise the problems identified to be addressed based on the business impact and budgetary constraints

3. Evaluate the design concept developed for the problem statement and provide inputs to ensure the development of the best possible solution to the problem

4. Evaluate the prototype to ensure its alignment with the requirements and take it to the customer for gathering the feedback

5. Advocate for the innovations that has potential with the leadership team / business for adopting the idea / products into the product line

6. Liaison with the legal team in the development of patents for authentic innovations to gain competitive advantage for the firm

7. Collaborate with the future and existing customers to develop a point of view on emerging business opportunities - Problem identification

- Design brief

- Design concept

- Prototype development

- Design sample finalisation

- Patent development

- Solution effectiveness

- Product performance

- Adherence to guidelines

- Adherence to timelines

- Adherence to budget

- Performance against targets

Design : Vendor Management & development

1. Identify vendors to partner with the firm basis their capability, offerings, etc. to best partner with the firm

2. Negotiate with the vendor on the on the rate and the statement of work to carve a deal that is mutually beneficial

3. Evaluate the performance of the vendor based on the feedback from the team and determine appropriate actions based on the feedback

4. Work alongside the vendor to identify their areas of improvement and provide required training & support for developing the vendors to build the capability as per the business requirements - Vendor selection & finalisation

- Vendor performance management

- Vendor development - Adherence to guidelines

- Performance of vendors

- Adherence to budget

Design : People Management

1. Provide the annual manpower requirements to the HR team in line with the business requirements

2. Liaison with the HR team to ensure timely recruitment as per the agreed manpower plan

3. Cascade the function goals to the team, review performance of the team and provide feedback on a periodic basis to the team members

4. Provide subordinates with adequate exposure and growth opportunities to enable readiness for higher roles

- Employee experience

- Trained employees

- TAT for recruitment

- Employee engagement score

- Effectiveness of training