Lead Product Designer

Location: Stamford Bridge
Contract Type: Permanent, Full-Time

The Opportunity

Chelsea FC is seeking an exceptional Lead Fashion Designer to lead the creative vision and development of our mono-branded apparel and lifestyle collections across men's, women's and kidswear.

Reporting to the Head of Product, this role sits at the heart of an ambitious growth journey as we evolve our merchandise offering into a credible football fashion and lifestyle brand. You'll be responsible for translating Chelsea FC's heritage, identity and cultural relevance into contemporary collections that resonate both with supporters and wider fashion-conscious consumers.

This is a unique opportunity for a commercially minded creative leader who is equally comfortable defining seasonal design direction as they are overseeing the hands-on development of products from concept through to launch. You'll play a pivotal role in creating collections that move beyond traditional fan merchandise and establish Chelsea FC as a leader within the football fashion space.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the creative development of Chelsea FC's men's, women's, kids' and lifestyle collections.
• Support the Head of Product in shaping seasonal product strategy and design direction.
• Create compelling product concepts, colour palettes, graphics and range stories inspired by football, fashion and culture.
• Translate consumer trends and Chelsea FC heritage into commercially successful products.
• Manage and develop the Junior Product Designer, providing guidance and creative leadership.
• Collaborate with Product Development, Merchandising, Brand, Retail, Licensing and external partners including Nike and Fanatics.
• Present seasonal concepts and range direction to senior stakeholders and key partners.
• Ensure all collections meet high standards of design, quality and brand consistency while delivering to seasonal timelines.

Skills & Experience

• Significant experience designing sportswear, streetwear, lifestyle or branded apparel collections.
• Strong multi-category design experience across menswear, womenswear, kidswear and lifestyle products.
• Excellent understanding of colour, graphics, fabrication, fit and garment construction.
• Strong awareness of football culture, fashion trends and consumer behaviour.
• A creative thinker with strong commercial instincts and product judgement.
• Experience leading and developing junior design talent.
• Excellent communication, presentation and stakeholder management skills.
• Confident working with senior leaders, external partners and suppliers.
• Advanced Adobe Creative Suite, CAD and presentation skills.
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Our Expectations:

• To embody the club’s BLUE behaviours (Brave, Lead, Unity, Edge) in the approach to work and interaction with others
• To adhere to the club’s policies and procedures, including Health & Safety, Financial Authorisation, Confidentiality and GDPR.
• To act as an ambassador for diversity, equality, and inclusion, and demonstrate a positive commitment by treating others fairly in line with our Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Policy and reporting any acts of discrimination through appropriate channels
• To create a safe environment and act to protect all young people and vulnerable adults that are either in your care or attending club premises, and report any concerns to the Safeguarding Lead
• To report any misconduct or suspected misconduct to the HR Department

Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

At Chelsea we recognise that the diversity of our people is one of our greatest strengths and we are taking positive action to ensure our existing colleagues and job applicants can fully be themselves and bring their own unique experiences and perspectives to Chelsea FC. This means giving full and fair consideration to all applicants regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership, and pregnancy and maternity.   

If you need reasonable adjustments made to the recruitment process, please reach out to your recruiter, who will be able to advise and support you.

Chelsea FC is fully committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of all children, young people and adults at risk (vulnerable groups). We therefore require all successful applicants to complete a DBS Check prior to starting employment. Depending on the role, successful applicants may also be required to undergo other child protection screening where appropriate.