Job Description

The Chief Product Design Director serves as the company’s Chief Designer, setting the overall creative, design, and visual direction for the retail brand across product design, brand expression, and in-store experience. This role ensures consistency and authenticity across all customer touchpoints, including physical stores, digital channels, and customer-facing brand moments, while aligning creativity with business goals. This position is responsible for setting and leading the company’s overall brand merchandise design vision across retail environments, store visual merchandising, and brand expression, ensuring all design efforts are cohesive, brand-aligned, and commercially impactful. The Chief Product Design Director provides strategic oversight, creative leadership, and governance to elevate the brand while supporting business growth and customer engagement.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Support the “Cavender’s Culture” and drive our Mission, Vision, and Values
• Vision & Strategy: Define the overarching design and direction for the brand across product design, brand expression, and retail environments. Establish and lead the enterprise-wide design vision that supports brand identity, customer experience, and business objectives in a fashion/apparel/footwear retail environment.
• Team Leadership: Manage and inspire design and brand teams. Lead, mentor, and influence internal design teams and external creative partners while fostering a high-performing, accountable creative organization.
• Brand Stewardship: Act as the ultimate guardian of brand consistency and quality. Develop, maintain, and enforce design standards, guidelines, and visual systems across all customer-facing experiences, including in-store environments. Provide executive-level review and approval of major design initiatives to ensure quality, consistency, and brand alignment.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work with marketing, merchandising, product teams, and retail operations to translate business objectives into creative execution. Partner closely with store operations and merchandising to ensure store visual merchandising, product presentation, and visual storytelling bring the brand to life consistently across locations. Evaluate customer insights, retail performance, and market trends to inform design direction and innovation.
• Ensure design decisions enhance customer engagement while supporting commercial outcomes
• Balance long-term creative vision with practical execution, timelines, and budget considerations
• Communicate design strategy, concepts, and recommendations clearly to senior leadership

Qualifications and Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Design, Merchandising, Fine Arts, Fashion Apparel or a related field, or equivalent professional experience
• Minimum of 10 years of retail experience, including senior-level leadership responsibility
• Proven ability to develop and execute brand-level design strategies
• Strong understanding of retail environments, customer behavior, and product line storytelling
• Demonstrated experience leading and influencing creative teams at an enterprise level
• Excellent communication, presentation, and collaboration skills

Preferred Skills

• Passion for Western Lifestyle retail and a strong understanding of Cavender’s customers
• Experience supporting multi-location or national retail brands
• Oversight of design across multiple channels, including in-store, digital, product, and marketing
• Portfolio demonstrating strategic design leadership and measurable brand impact

Cavender’s is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, military status, national origin, sex, ancestry, age, sexual orientation, pregnancy, disability, genetic information, or any other personal characteristic protected under federal, state, or local law.

Cavender’s will provide reasonable accommodations for persons with a disability upon request. If you have a disability and need assistance completing the application, please call Customer Service at (888) 361 – 2555 or visit your nearest Cavender’s store.