Lead Designer

Description

For over 80 years, the dedicated team at Winston Flowers has been committed to fostering excellence in everything we do. Today, our family-owned company has a worldwide online presence, two state-of-the-art design studios-60,000 square feet in Boston and 12,000 square feet in New York City- and retail shops throughout the Greater Boston area and in Greenwich, Connecticut. Each and every person on our team works in pursuit of a singular goal: to take care of our clients' precious moments as if they were our own.

We are seeking a Lead Designer to join our team in Greenwich, CT. Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

Overview

We are seeking a creative, highly organized Lead Designer to oversee all aspects of design execution and support studio design operations. This role blends hands-on floral design, leadership with production coordination, inventory control, and order fulfillment. The ideal candidate is both artistically driven and systems-oriented, ensuring exceptional product quality while maintaining efficient daily operations.

Responsibilities

Design Leadership

• Lead and execute floral designs for daily, weekly, monthly and custom orders.
• Partner with Event Designers in BOS/LIC on execution of events, and installations.
• Execute and maintain the company's design aesthetic and quality standards.
• Train, mentor and coach design staff while reinforcing Winston Flowers design standards and best practices
• Oversee production timelines to ensure timely completion of all orders.
• Collaborate with sales and event teams to interpret client vision into design concepts.
• Schedule and attend off-site visits with Clients to ensure scope and understanding of all projects is clear and executed properly.
• Oversee the execution of work by the design staff and provide feedback to ensure it is always meeting brand and client expectations.
• Conduct final quality review of florals to ensure all arrangements consistently meet Winston Flowers' design standard before leaving the studio.

Order Management

• Collaborate with Store Manager to process incoming orders from multiple channels (online, phone, in-store).
• Ensure accurate order entry, pricing, and fulfillment.
• Coordinate production schedules to meet delivery and event deadlines.
• Maintain clear communication between front-of-house and design teams.
• Assign orders to design staff based on designer skill level, workload and production priorities
• Develop and adjust daily production priorities to ensure deadlines are met while maintaining quality standards.

Floral Purchasing & Inventory

• Partner with Store Manager and Events teams to order flowers and hard goods for Events, Custom Orders & Weekly Accounts
• Assist the Manager in forecasting floral needs based on upcoming events, holidays and projected demand.
• Partner with Retail team to ensure flowers on the flower table represent the current season and can be used in designs to drive custom business and eliminate waste.
• Monitor inventory levels and minimize waste.
• Maintain productive vendor relationships and communicate purchasing opportunities or concerns to the Store Manager
• Ensure product quality upon delivery and address discrepancies.

Back-of-House Operations

• Partner with Store Manager to oversee daily workflow in the design studio.
• Maintain cleanliness, organization, and compliance with safety standards.
• Recommend workflow improvements and operational efficiencies
• Manage supplies, tools, and equipment.
• Support onboarding and coaching of design staff
• Collaborate with the Store Manager and delivery team to ensure production schedules are on track to make timely and efficient deliveries.
• Escalate staffing, personnel, financial, or customer concerns to the Store Manager as appropriate.

Requirements

• 3+ years of professional floral design experience (lead or senior designer preferred).
• Strong leadership, coaching and team management skills while maintaining quality standards
• Experience with inventory management and vendor ordering.
• Excellent organizational and multitasking abilities.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment.
• Strong communication and problem-solving skills.
• Proficiency with POS and order management systems is a plus.
• Ability to lift 30-50 lbs.
• Prolonged standing and working in refrigerated environments.
• Flexibility to work weekends and holidays as required.

Key Competencies

• Creative vision and design expertise
• Operational efficiency
• Attention to detail
• Time management
• Cost control and budgeting awareness
• Team leadership
• Coaching and developing others
• Production planning
• Organizational excellence
• Cross-functional collaboration