Senior Manager, Brand Design & Art Direction (Mat Cover)
Hotel Chocolat has built a strong position as the UK’s favourite premium chocolate brand. We’re multi-category, multi-channel and multi-territory, and always have the customer and our connection with them at the heart. Our mission is to make people happy through chocolate – customers, colleagues, cacao farmers and suppliers can all benefit from the success we create together.
We're looking for a Senior Manager, Brand Design & Art Direction to join us on a fixed-term basis covering maternity leave. This is an opportunity to lead talented creatives, influence a beloved premium brand and leave a lasting mark on our creative output during an exciting period of growth.
As well as a competitive salary and a range of company benefits, you’ll receive 50% discount on all products, and a 70% discount for you and your guests when you stay at our Rabot Estate hideaway on the paradise island of Saint Lucia.
Here at Hotel Chocolat, we've adopted hybrid working. This means you’ll join us on site for three days a week, and for the other two days – you can work from wherever you like! The on-site location for this role is our London Design Studio.
Enjoy a unique blend of creative leadership and hands-on design, guiding a team of talented designers while shaping and delivering inspiring work across campaigns, art direction, graphic design and editorial content.
We're looking for someone who understands that great design isn't just about aesthetics—it's about building a distinctive brand and delivering meaningful business impact.
What You’ll Take On The Role
Creative Leadership
- Lead, mentor and inspire a talented team of brand designers, supporting both day-to-day delivery and long-term creative development.
- Foster a culture where design is recognised as a strategic tool that shapes customer perception and drives brand value.
- Encourage creative excellence through constructive feedback, collaboration and high standards.
Brand Design & Art Direction
- Translate brand strategy into compelling creative ideas and design solutions that strengthen and evolve the Hotel Chocolat brand.
- Challenge briefs through insight, research and creative thinking, elevating every project beyond expectations.
- Art direct and oversee photography and video shoots, ensuring all visual content is distinctive, desirable and commercially effective.
- Deliver your own creative projects across campaign development, graphic design, editorial and brand communications.
Creative Insight & Innovation
- Stay immersed in contemporary culture, design and branding trends, bringing fresh inspiration and new perspectives into the business.
- Lead competitor and trend reviews, ensuring Hummingbird's creative output remains relevant, ambitious and ahead of the curve.
- Confidently present creative concepts and rationale to senior stakeholders, influencing decision-making through strong storytelling and strategic thinking.
What You’ll Bring
- A strong portfolio showcasing excellence across art direction, graphic design and editorial design, ideally within premium, luxury or lifestyle brands.
- Proven experience leading and developing creative teams, with a passion for coaching others and elevating creative standards.
- A strategic thinker who understands how design influences brand perception and commercial performance.
- Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the confidence to advocate for creative ideas at senior level.
- Strong commercial awareness and the ability to balance creativity with business objectives.
- Experience managing multiple projects and priorities within a fast-paced environment.
- A genuine curiosity about culture, design, branding and emerging trends.
Who We Are…
We’re one of the UK’s favourite premium chocolate brands, with a range of products spanning luxury gifts, alcohol, and our pioneering drinking chocolate system, the Velvetiser™.
A cacao pod takes years to grow – it can’t be rushed if it’s going to be just right for our products. The same can be said for Hotel Chocolat, which originally started as a mint production company before we realised it was luxury chocolate that we were really passionate about.
Now, we’re market leaders in the industry. What began as an online-only business grew to 135 stores across the UK, and we’re still growing… Today, we’re multi-category, multi-channel, and multi-territory, and our customers, colleagues, cacao farmers, and suppliers all benefit from the success we make together. To learn more about us and read about our People Pledge – our commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion – click here: hotelchocolat.com/uk/engaged-ethics/our-people.html