The Role

Fisher & Paykel is one of New Zealand's best-known brands, a global company with a strong heritage. Our New Zealand origins, curious nature and passion to develop products designed around people are core elements that make us unique. Driven by our brand values of being trusted, sustainably minded, innovative, generous and curious, as a team we take a collaborative approach, we have a culture where ideas are heard and are united in our leading goal to be the world's most human-centred, #1 premium appliance brand.

The General Manager, Industrial Design is a rare and exciting opportunity to shape and lead world-class industrial design at Fisher & Paykel. You will guide our globally awarded design team to deliver elegant, brand-led outcomes that elevate our premium positioning and user experience across all categories and brands.

You are a recognised design leader with a global reputation for excellence, whose portfolio reflects deep expertise and impact. Your mana and humility will inspire respect and foster followership. With strong strategic and creative leadership, you will influence and inspire across product design and retail design to shape the future of our brand.

Your Scope

Act As Voice of Future Customer: You will anticipate emerging trends and consumer behaviours to create a clear design direction that includes layout, materiality, VBL, product styles, sustainability and connected home. As a key senior leader in the Design and Brand team you will have both the expertise and credibility to influence and lead collaboratively to deliver exceptional outcomes.

Deliver Compelling Design Outcomes: You will operate seamlessly between big picture (why) and obsession for detail (how) to deliver a compelling design outcome. You uphold design excellence that not only meets objectives but enhances brand desirability.
 

Work Collaboratively to Build Vision: You can work collaboratively across the business to build vision, alignment and provide transparency to the wider business on design thinking and design integration, supporting our brand position & user experience.  

Responsible for Industrial Design Excellence: You will actively oversee the build of industrial design excellence, ensuring project delivery adherence to the product category roadmap, brand, guiding frameworks and on-time delivery. Proactively inserts self to eliminate risks early. 

Contribute to Industrial Design Projects: You will contribute to creating multiple concepts, translating deep product and customer insight into compelling design concepts that balance aesthetic elegance, functional excellence and feasibility, while ensuring stakeholder alignment throughout.

Senior Leadership: Leads projects through influence, which involves aligned delivery from a diverse range of functional groups at a senior level. Takes responsibility for establishing and aligning values and behaviours consistent with F&P’s values.

Team Leadership: Your leadership doesn’t stop at strategy. You will ensure deep understanding, and alignment to F&P’s brand aspiration, purpose and strategic direction and you will take responsibility for establishing and aligning a culture which demonstrates F&P’s brand values and step up behaviours

You develop, mentor, and elevate a team of expert designers, cultivating a design culture of excellence, growth and collaboration. You ensure alignment to Fisher & Paykel’s brand aspiration, values and step-up behaviours in both process and output.

Business Leadership: Strong strategic understanding, budget management and analytical skills. Ability to use customer insights to develop and apply the best commercial and financial solution for the right situation and environment ensuring design contributes to our long-term business success and brand position. 

Culture Shaper: Demonstrated ability to develop the right internal culture to enable business growth. Brokers cross functional engagement, working effectively across key cross-functional teams. 

Leading and Influencing: You will thrive in a design environment; you will be highly proficient in leading and influencing within team and cross-functionally with a strong track record of navigating complex stakeholder environments to deliver impactful design outcomes.

Courageously Challenge: Courageous and constructive, you ask the tough questions and hold high standards while fostering trust and collaboration. You challenge anything that limits design ambition or execution potential.

Detail Focused: You are able to balance precision with perspective, understanding when to zoom in and when to elevate to the bigger picture – always with brand and customer in mind.

You Are

A senior design leader with a proven international track record, you blend creative excellence, strategic thinking and humility. You understand how to create products that are emotionally resonant, brand-aligned and commercially viable — translating customer needs into iconic, meaningful design.

What We Offer

We can give you the opportunity to move into a large, complex global organisation headquartered in Auckland NZ, where you will gain wide exposure across the business. This role has diverse and exciting challenges and the chance to continually learn and develop.

Along with a competitive remuneration package, flexible working, ongoing development and excellent growth and progression opportunities, as a valued member of our team you’ll enjoy generous discounts on Fisher & Paykel and Haier products, life & disability insurance, discounted medical cover, access to our superannuation scheme, access to our leading Whanau/Family leave offering.

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Fisher & Paykel is an Equal Opportunity Employer.  Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, or other characteristics protected by law.