Marketing Ho-ho

**Job Title**:Retail Experience Head

**Location**:Mumbai

**Job Summary**:
We are seeking a dynamic and talented individual to join our team as a Retail Experience Head. In this role, you will be responsible for leading the design and customer experience strategies for our retail locations. Your expertise and creativity will drive the overall customer experience, brand representation, and sales performance within our branches and ATMs. As the Retail Experience Head, you will collaborate with cross-functional teams and external partners to a create compelling and innovative retail environment that enhance our brand affinity and engage our customers.

**Roles and Responsibilities:
- **Design Strategy**:Develop and implement a comprehensive retail brand experience strategy for our retail locations that aligns with the brand's vision, values, and target audience.
- Experience Design Strategy: provide strategic input, with the customer at the centre, design for various user journeys, ensuring the brand ethos comes through at every touch point. Also, ensure synergy across all channels - online and offline.

**Visual Merchandising**:Conceptualize and execute visually appealing and customer-centric merchandising plans to enhance product visibility, increase engagement, and maximize sales opportunities. (Question: is this internal? As against other requirements)
- **Store Layout and Design**:Oversee the creation and optimization of branch layouts, ensuring a seamless flow, efficient use of space, and an exceptional customer experience.
- Design Engineering: ensure, with third party vendors that the fit out is designed for usability and durability, optimise costs and ensure low maintenance

**Fixture and Display Design**:Collaborate with external vendors and internal teams to design and select fixtures, displays, and signage that align with the brand aesthetic and effectively showcase products/services.(if this is through the design firm then it need not be mentioned separately)
- **Brand Representation**:Ensure that the brand's identity and values are consistently reflected across retail touch points: including colors, materials, graphics, and other visual elements.
- **Project Management**:Lead design project execution from concept to completion, ensuring adherence to timelines, budgets, and quality standards.
- **Market Research**:Stay abreast of industry trends, consumer behavior, and competitive landscape to inform design decisions and identify opportunities for innovation.
- **Collaboration**:Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including marketing, operations, and retail management, to ensure alignment and effective execution of design strategies.
- **Branch/ATM Visits and Evaluation**:Conduct regular branch visits to evaluate design implementation, gather customer and retail staff feedback, to identify areas for improvement.

**Qualifications**:

- **Education**:Master’s degree in Interior Design, Retail Design, Architecture, or Design Strategy.
- **Experience**:A minimum of 10 to 15 years of experience in design, architecture, retail design & ops, service design with at least 3 years in a leadership position.
- **Retail Expertise**: In-depth knowledge of retail design principles, customer experience design and store planning concepts. Experience in various retail formats (e.g., flagship stores, boutiques, pop-up shops) is highly desirable. Demonstrate an awareness of best practise Interior and experience design from both a local and global perspective. Any exposure to Banking would be an added advantage
- **Design Proficiency**:Conceptualisation skills and understanding of retail landscape in India. Working knowledge of Acad and 3D softwares.
- **Project Management**:Proven ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously, prioritize tasks, and meet deadlines. Experience in budgeting and resource allocation is essential. Manage liaison with appointed vendors and suppliers to ensure all design solutions can be implemented on time and on budget. Work with vendors to develop alternative solutions if/when issues arrive Will not be responsible for vendor selection and management?
- **Leadership Skills**:Strong leadership and people management abilities, with a track record of building and motivating high-performing teams. Guide and mentor the progression of junior members of the team
- **Strategic Thinking**:A strategic mind-set with the ability to translate brand objectives into innovative design concepts and customer experiences.
- **Communication Skills**:Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to present design concepts effectively to diverse stakeholders and influence decision-making.
- **Attention to Detail**:Meticulous attention to detail and a strong sense of aesthetics, ensuring the highest quality standards in design execution. Detail and specify design concepts up to fully detailed construction drawings as required. Ensure all design specifications are compliant wit