Custom Graphics Team Leader (Canterbury)

We’re Pentland Brands; a dynamic, global family business, and proud owners and licensees of many iconic active and footwear brands. With a community of over 1,300 team members worldwide, we embrace diversity and inclusion, and champion growth and development. Our success is built on teamwork, courage, innovation, and an unwavering commitment to excellence.

WHAT’S THE MISSION FOR THIS ROLE?

As our Custom Graphics Team Leader, you will be a highly hands-on designer responsible for delivering high-quality, on-brand custom graphics while providing day-to-day guidance, workflow coordination, and quality control for the team. This role is approximately 80% operational design and 20% leadership, ensuring both strong creative output and smooth workflow management.

WHAT DOES THIS ROLE DO?

As our Customer Graphics Team Leader , you will be responsible for:

Hands-On Graphic Design

• Produce high-quality, technically accurate custom graphics for teamwear, including kit templates, sponsor placements, numbering, and logo applications.

• Manage high volumes of incoming briefs and artwork amends with rapid turnaround times.

• Create artwork packs and production-ready files with precision, ensuring compliance with brand, licensing, and sponsor guidelines.

• Translate briefs into effective graphic solutions across multiple products and formats.

• Support mood boards, trend-led concepts, and visual presentations for custom work when needed.

Day-to-Day Team Guidance & Support

• Act as the go-to support for the Custom Graphic Designers, offering daily guidance and problem-solving.

• Coordinate workflow, helping allocate briefs and monitor progress against tight deadlines.

• Provide informal coaching and feedback to maintain consistency and quality across the team.

• Help foster a collaborative, positive, and high-performing environment.

Creative Direction & Quality Control

• Review artwork for accuracy, brand alignment, correct sponsor placement, and template compliance.

• Ensure all graphics meet Canterbury’s standards and technical requirements before submission.

• Provide clear, constructive feedback to elevate creative and technical output.

Project & Workflow Management

• Oversee incoming briefs, ensuring they are clearly understood, prioritised, and completed efficiently.

• Work closely with Sales, Product, and Design teams to interpret customer requirements into accurate artwork.

• Maintain an organised workflow, ensuring artwork files and documents are accurate and delivered on time despite high volumes and frequent changes.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Liaise with Materials, Product Development, and Suppliers to ensure artwork is technically feasible and correctly executed in production.

• Support communication with customers when clarification is needed on artwork direction, compliance, or technical considerations.

• Help align teams to ensure a smooth, repeatable teamwear artwork process.

Innovation, Process & Continuous Improvement

• Identify opportunities to streamline artwork processes, templates, and tools for greater accuracy and speed.

• Suggest improvements that reduce repetitive manual work and increase output consistency.

• Stay updated on new graphic techniques, print methods, and teamwear-specific innovations.

• Champion brand standards across all custom teamwear graphic work.

WHAT DO I BRING TO THE ROLE?

You just might be our next superstar if you have the following skills and experience:

• 5+ years’ experience in graphic design, apparel graphics, or surface design, including experience managing or mentoring designers.

• A strong portfolio showcasing commercial graphic design for products.

• Proficiency in Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and relevant creative tools.

• Strong understanding of print methods, artwork preparation, and production constraints.

• Excellent communication, time management, and leadership skills.

• Ability to balance creativity with commercial and technical requirements.

• A collaborative mindset and alignment with Pentland principles: consumer-first thinking, ownership, boldness, honesty, and doing the right thing.

WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME?

• Competitive salary + discretionary bonus

• 25 Days Holiday : Increases with length of service and the option to purchase additional days to suit your needs.

• Discounts: Brand discounts (including friends and family and JD Sports), Sample Sales, and other retail discounts and perks.

• Family-Friendly Benefits : Generous enhanced parental leave policies (including six months fully paid maternity leave)

• Health Perks : Choose from a variety of health-related perks including medical cash plan, critical illness cover, life assurance, gym and fitness discounts, dental insurance, eye care, and health screening to maintain your wellbeing.

• Travel Perks : Take advantage of our season ticket loan, cycle to work schemes, electric car schemes, and discounts on home charging units to support eco-friendly commuting.

• Flexible Working : We offer hybrid working, core office hours, and flexible working, allowing you to start your day earlier or later to help with commute costs or personal commitments.

We want you to live our company principles, bringing a strong consumer focus, while always looking for ways to improve and grow in your role. Take ownership of your work and be proactive in solving problems whilst communicating openly and treating everyone with respect and kindness. And, of course, let your creativity shine by bringing your unique style and individuality to the Pentland Brands Team.

As an equal opportunity employer, we’re committed to fostering diversity and creating an inclusive culture across our business, stores, and office environment.

We warmly welcome your application.

This vacancy is a newly created role as part of organisational changes. Final appointment will depend upon the outcome of consultation processes and affected employees will have priority for consideration.