Design Director

Design Director

Ornua (meaning “new gold”) is Ireland’s largest exporter of Irish dairy products, proudly bringing the unique taste of Irish dairy to the world for 60 years.

Are you a Design expert looking for a new and exciting challenge providing strategic design direction to Ornua’s iconic brands such as Kerrygold and Pilgrim’s Choice?

Are you looking for an opportunity to partner with the Global Brands Leadership Team and Global Insights Team on brand strategy, leading execution of design and visual communication that ensures brand consistency and leverages our distinctive design assets across all relevant design touchpoints.

If so, Ornua is seeking a Design Director to join our Global Brands Team as we continue our growth trajectory. This is a newly created position and will play a key role in strategic direction, development, implementation and evolution of design systems and brand visual worlds.

Why Ornua?

• Our co-operative ethos lies at the heart of how we do business as a purpose and values-led organisation, creating value for Irish dairy farming families.
• Our Values lie at the core of everything we do. Our five values encourage us to Seek and Embrace New Ideas, Make It Happen, Be Our True Selves, Show You Care, and Achieve Great Things Together.
• We invest in our people and foster a culture of continuous learning and improvement.
• Dynamic Working policy in place which facilitates flexible hours and hybrid working.
• Career Progression including Global Mobility opportunities.
• Comprehensive Benefits with regional specific offerings.

Why This Role Is Valuable:

The Design Director will be responsible for spearheading strategic design initiatives that propel business growth and brand recognition, translating brand strategy into award-winning consumer experiences that seamlessly integrate exceptional design and clear messaging. 

You will develop and articulate a clear design vision for the organisation, aligning it with business goals and consumer insight. 

You will champion Brand Distinctive Assets philosophy, ensuring it is at the heart of design strategy, brand identity and consumer experience. 

What You Bring To The Role:

• Extensive experience (10+ years) in design leadership, ideally within FMCG /CPG organisations. 
• Phenomenal ability to understand consumer insight and capability in foreseeing and translating this to strategically meaningful design choices.  
• Adept in inspiring and motivating high-performing design teams, fostering a collaborative and creative environment. 
• Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills to effectively influence key stakeholders and champion the value of design across all levels of the organization. 

• Deep understanding of design concepts, methodologies, and best practices across various design disciplines (e.g., user experience (UX), branding, distinctive assets, visual design, packaging design). 
• Proven ability to translate strategic vision into actionable design plans and oversee the entire design process from concept to execution. 
• Solid understanding of business fundamentals and the ability to translate design solutions into real business value (e.g., increased revenue, improved customer satisfaction). 
• Experience collaborating with multiple related disciplines, including R&D, Packaging Technology, Consumer Insights, NPD and Brand. 
• Vast technical experience using relevant Adobe design tools. 
• Ability to travel up to 20% of time as business demands and allows.   
• Inherent interest in food is a plus.  

Application Process 

• Please include a CV and cover letter.  
• In your cover letter, please reference a link to a portfolio of design projects relevant to this role. 

Ornua has ambitious growth plans and we’re building a team to help enable and accelerate that growth. We are looking for people who share our values, are curious, forward-looking, take ownership and work together to build a future for themselves and Ornua.

How do you want to make your impact?

To learn more, please visit Ornua at www.ornua.com

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