Design & Artwork Program Manager

Design & Artwork Program Manager - Grocery & FMCG

Contract: 9 months

Day rate: £370 – £411

Hybrid working: 3 days onsite (London)

We are looking for an experienced Program Manager with a strong background in artwork and design to join a fast-paced team developing and delivering high-quality own-brand grocery products for one of the world’s leading digital retailers. This team leads the development of private-label food and drink products sold through a rapidly growing online grocery channel, as well as physical stores.

About the role:

You will be responsible for managing the full end-to-end design and artwork process across new and existing product lines, ensuring critical milestones are met on time, every time. This includes briefing and overseeing external creative agencies, managing internal and external timelines, ensuring visual brand consistency, and streamlining workflows to support faster delivery, without compromising on quality.

Key responsibilities:

• Manage the full end-to-end artwork development cycle, from design brief to final approval and launch
• Oversee creative agencies, reviewing briefs, managing timelines, costs, and approvals
• Act as the key interface between creative, product development, food safety, and regulatory teams
• Use workflow/project management tools to track progress, flag risks, and update key stakeholders
• Identify and implement process improvements to streamline delivery, improve efficiency, and maintain brand consistency
• Ensure creative output meets internal brand guidelines and quality expectations
• Contribute to post-launch reviews to help refine and strengthen processes

About you:

We’re looking for someone who blends creative flair with operational rigour. You’ll have a solid background in artwork or creative project management – ideally gained within the grocery, retail, or FMCG space - or via a design or packaging agency working with similar clients. To succeed in this role, you will bring:

• At least 3 years’ experience in artwork or packaging project management, ideally from grocery, retail or agency environments
• Strong knowledge of artwork development processes and critical path management
• Experience working with creative agencies or design studios on high-volume product ranges
• A structured, organised approach and the ability to keep complex projects moving
• Excellent stakeholder communication skills - clear, concise and proactive
• Strong working knowledge of project planning tools and systems
• A high level of accuracy and attention to detail, particularly when reviewing creative output
• A mindset for simplification and continuous improvement
• Experience in own-brand product development and the grocery or private label space would be a strong advantage

This is a fast-paced, delivery-focused role in a collaborative and energising team. If you’re excited by the idea of shaping the packaging of thousands of products seen by millions, and you have the creative operational skill set to make it happen, we’d love to hear from you.