Head of Design - Tiles

We're Hiring: Head of Design & New Product Development — Tiles & Surfaces

Design Leader for Premium, Trend-Led Product Creation — from Concept to Commercial Launch

Location: Remote — based in Italy (Sassuolo/Modena region preferred), with regular travel to Mumbai and manufacturing sites in India. Open to candidates willing to relocate to Mumbai, India, with relocation support provided. Reports To: Chief Marketing Officer (India), with close day-to-day collaboration across time zones Direct Reports: India-based Design Studio (Surface & Graphic Designers), CMF/Texture Specialists, Trend & Materials Research, Design Engineering / Pre-Production Liaison — led remotely from Italy or in person if relocated Career Path: Leadership role at the heart of the company's premiumisation agenda, with visibility to the MD & CEO and a pathway to a Chief Design Officer mandate as the design organisation scales Compensation: Competitive with market-leading building materials / design-led consumer businesses; structured to include a performance-linked component

THE OPPORTUNITY

Our client is a large, listed building materials company — a leading player in tiles and surfaces — repositioning toward premium, design-led categories. Design is moving from a support function to the engine of differentiation: what the company launches, how it looks and feels, and why an architect or homeowner chooses it over global and domestic alternatives.

The Head of Design & New Product Development will own product design end to end — trend sensing, concept creation, surface and texture development, and hand-in-glove collaboration with Marketing, R&D and Manufacturing to take every collection from idea to shelf. This leader builds and runs the design studio that defines the company's next generation of products.

This is a rare design mandate: creative ownership of a nationally recognised brand's product identity, a seat at the table where portfolio decisions are made, and the resources to build a world-class studio.

ROLE MANDATE

Own the design of all new products across tiles and surfaces — building a trend-led, commercially sharp design engine that consistently delivers collections which win at the point of choice, command premium price positions, and are manufacturable at scale.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Trend Intelligence & Design Direction • Set the annual and seasonal design direction for the portfolio, grounded in global surface trends (Cersaie, Cevisama, Coverings), Indian architecture and interior trends, and channel feedback • Build a structured trend-sensing capability — trade fairs, design councils, architect panels, social listening — so collections anticipate demand rather than follow competitors • Define and protect a distinctive, recognisable design language for the brand across categories and price points

New Product Design & Collection Development • Own the design pipeline for all new launches — concepts, surfaces, textures, colourways, formats and finishes — across wall, floor, large-format slabs and specialty categories • Translate marketing briefs and portfolio strategy into designed collections with clear target segments, price positions and differentiation logic • Curate range architecture within each collection — hero SKUs, companions, trims — so ranges merchandise coherently in showrooms and retail displays

Design-to-Manufacturing Collaboration • Work hand in glove with R&D, glaze/ink suppliers and plant teams to ensure designs are producible at target cost, yield and quality — first time • Own design adaptation for production technologies (digital printing, dry/wet application, polishing, rectification) and champion new surface technologies that unlock design possibilities • Sign off pre-production samples and first production runs for design fidelity before commercial release

Launch Support & In-Market Design Performance • Partner with Marketing on collection naming, storytelling, catalogues, display panels and showroom presentation so the design intent survives all the way to the buyer • Track the design performance of launched collections — sell-through by design, architect/dealer feedback, premium realisation — and feed learnings back into the next design cycle • Support rationalisation decisions with design-led insight on why products win or fade

Studio Leadership & Capability • Build, lead and inspire a high-calibre design studio — hiring, developing and retaining surface designers, CMF specialists and trend researchers • Establish studio processes: design calendars synced to launch windows, review gates, design libraries, and IP/originality safeguards • Cultivate external design partnerships — international studios, design schools, guest designers — to keep the studio's thinking fresh

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE — FIRST 12 MONTHS • A clear design vision and language for the brand articulated, socialised with leadership and visible in the next two collection launches • A trend-to-launch design calendar institutionalised and synced with Marketing's stage-gate launch process • At least two collections taken from concept to market with full design fidelity — and measurable premium price realisation or sell-through outperformance versus prior launches • Design studio strengthened with at least two to three key hires or capability additions (e.g., CMF, large-format, trend research) • Design rework and production-fidelity issues at launch measurably reduced through tighter design-to-plant collaboration

CANDIDATE PROFILE

Must Have • 12–18 years in product/surface design, including at least 5 years leading a design team or studio with ownership of complete collection development • A portfolio demonstrating commercially successful, trend-led product design — collections that launched, sold and commanded premium positions • Working knowledge of ceramic/surface manufacturing processes — digital printing, glazing, texture and finish technologies — and a track record of designing within manufacturing constraints • Demonstrated collaboration with marketing, R&D and plant teams through the full concept-to-launch cycle • Degree/diploma in Design (Industrial, Ceramic, Textile/Surface, Applied Arts) from a recognised institution such as NID, IIT-IDC, MIT Institute of Design, or an equivalent international school

Preferred Background • Tiles, ceramics, sanitaryware, laminates & veneers, stone/engineered surfaces, wallpaper & décor, paints (colour/CMF studios), lifestyle & home décor brands, or design studios serving these industries; exposure to European surface design trends a strong plus

Leadership Competencies • A rare blend of creative excellence and commercial judgment — designs for the buyer and the P&L, not the portfolio shelf • Deep trend fluency with the discipline to translate inspiration into manufacturable, sellable products on a calendar • A collaborative operator who partners naturally with Marketing, R&D and Manufacturing while holding a high creative bar • High ownership, attention to craft and detail, and the ambition to build a design organisation recognised as the best in the category