Head of Packaging Design Planning

M&S Food is changing, and fast! We are undergoing one of the biggest transformations in retailing today to build a bigger, better, fresher food business.

From Percy Pig to the freshest M&S Select Farms produce, we grow, source, and develop our own products to give our customers family-ready food that's unbeatable on flavour and innovation.

We need motivated people who are ready to bring their whole self to work and give it their all in a fast-paced team committed to being the best. After all, this is not just food… This is M&S Food.

This is not just any job, this is a job working within our award winning M&S Design team. Our dynamic studio creates all the design and photography for all M&S Food packaging from the Organic range, to the Frozen category or Beers, Wines and Spirits - who wouldn’t want to work for M&S Food?

As our Head of Packaging Design Planning you'll be accountable for delivering an effective plan for the Food Packaging Design Studio to ensure deadlines are met and risks and issues are resolved.

Key responsibilities and measures

• Accountable for resource planning across the studio working with Design Leads ensuring the right designers are allocated to the right projects. Ensure that capacity is proactively managed and highlight issues where increased resource is required
• Use the 18-month Product Activity Plan and key strategic initiatives to create a long term view of the activity required by the design studio
• Identify and mitigate any risks and issues to project delivery ensuring key stakeholders are well briefed and any issues are raised appropriately
• Support the creative process by ensuring the briefing process is fit for purpose and by setting up and facilitating effective Design Clinics and Forum meetings
• Collaborate closely with the Cluster Project Managers to ensure the critical paths allocated to product and packaging activities provide the right amount of time to deliver high quality designs and to meet commercial deadlines
• Build and maintain excellent collaborative relationships both internally and externally
• Lead, inspire and develop Design Planning team, continually driving improvements and efficiencies

To be successful in role you'll have significant project management experience in a fast-paced environment with an outstanding track record in production planning. You'll demonstrate the ability to deliver against key accountabilities while motivating and leading a team through a period of change. A problem solver with strong emotional intelligence, resilient, coupled with meticulous organisation and outstanding planning skills.

M&S is ready to push boundaries to lead the industry into a greener, speedier, more inspiring digital era. That’s why we’re revolutionising how we work and offering our most exciting opportunities yet. There’s never been a better time to be part of our team. Marks & Spencer aims to be an inclusive organisation, trusted and admired by our colleagues, customers and suppliers. Join us and make an immediate impact. We are committed to an active Inclusion, Diversity and Equal Opportunities Policy, which starts with our recruitment and selection process, and we are happy to talk smart/flexible working. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process. If you consider yourself to have a disability or learning difficulty which means you are unable to complete the application process online, please get in touch either by phone on 0345 300 3725 or by email recruitment.online@marksandspencer.com so we can make alternative arrangements for you.