Are you the one with a passion for design that will help us to stay relevant for our consumers now and in the future, bring more green in our daily lives and grow our business in line with our purpose? Come join our green team!

elho inspires as many people as possible to bring more green into their daily lives. We do so with beautiful, sustainable design flower pots and smart plant care solutions that make people and nature happy. And because nature is so dear to us, we feel responsible for its preservation for man and planet. Our products are made of 100% recycled plastic and our production runs on our own wind energy. Our family business has been at the forefront of sustainability and innovations in the flower pot segment for years. We are therefore proud that elho B Corp is certified and has the TÜV certification of approval for the use of recycled plastic.

What will be your mission?

To be relevant for consumers now and in the future we are looking for an experienced head of design. Developing beautiful and functional designs, supporting the best plant growth, is a key growth driver for the elho group and the company has a unique and leading position for this in the international green sector. In this role you have the end responsibility to deliver the designs of all the three labels of the elho group: elho, Florus and Good(s)factory. Together with the Head of Innovation and working closely with the Head of Marketing you define the innovation roadmap for the coming years and make sure that all the concepts are translated into strong designs which are ready on time to move to the production phase.

Next to bringing your own design ideas & solutions (inspired by the world outside the company, consumers, design world, fairs etc.) you are working closely together with your internal colleagues from innovation, marketing and operation. You make sure that innovation ideas are translated in beautiful designs via the design team (consisting of 3 designers and an innovation process manager, all reporting to you).

What can you specifically expect in this role?

• Define & implement strategic direction for design at elho group
• You work closely together with the head of Innovation and head of Marketing on the 3 yrs innovation strategy road map for elho, Florus and Good(s)factory and keep the total over-view. Your focus is mainly product design projects for the coming 1-2 years for the three labels of the elho group
• Keep close eye on our consumer target and competition from a design point of view
• Stay connected with design world and trends
• Lead, facilitate and support the team of designers and the innovation process manager who oversees the entire innovation process at elho from idea till readiness for market launch
• You bring the design team professionally to the next level (and secures documentation of design process and principles)
• Manage & closely work with Innovation process manager to ensure execution & timing. responsible to deliver each year the designs on time in full ready to go into production
• Closely working together with the product management team and other disciplines (e.g. production/logistics/legal/finance)
• Able to lead design for aesthetics as well as cost driven designs (for example in the basic segment), depending on the needs and focus.
• Affinity with/curious attitude towards new raw materials/production method approaches
• Exploring the usage of new technology (AI/VR etc.) to increase efficiency of the design process and-or increasing the creative output of the process
• Acting upon our company sustainability strategy (e.g. circular design thinking) and optimizing usage of waste to make beautiful products from a design perspective
• It’s a dynamic business you are working in; you oversee design/product development budget (including mould) and design resource planning/allocation
• It’s a unique role where you are fully engaged in the process from the begin of the idea/design till the phase the design is ready to produce in the production facility at the HQ and all the stages in between
• Report to the CCO and connects with the elho group board

What do you bring on this adventure?

• University level / HBO in industrial design or equivalent, 10+ years working experience
• (Senior) Management experience in the field of product design (good track record in a relevant design area e.g. in consumer goods or home living/deco industry)
• Experience in synthetic product development (injection/blow molding/rotational prod-ucts) and circular design in a mass production context is a plus
• Has strong affinity and has the right balance between aesthetics, technique, and organization
• Oversees all relevant factors in product development (Briefing, Timing, Aesthetics, Producibility, Prototyping, Costs, Testing, Legal, etc.)
• International mind set (preferably Dutch or international living in the Netherlands)
• Experienced in and able to engage with a multidisciplinary team and external partners. You have a creative as well as technical eye.
• Can easily work on strategic and operational level
• Curious, decisive, pragmatic, creative, result driven. Entrepreneurial, personality that’s al-ways thinking of great designs while at the same time about commercial opportunity, cost effectiveness of designs, practical considerations supply chain, material usage implications. Eager to do good for the planet
• Challenging the status quo and brings new ideas on the table
• Excellent communication skills and relationship builders, moves easily between stakeholders (internal and external) and creates a high performing team. Strong team player.
• You can easily bridge the world of designers with the product management team & other departments (and vice versa)
• Knows how to leave enough room for creativity, yet have useful output on time.
• Excellent command of the Dutch and English language (in word and writing)
• You recognize yourself in the elho group values: always forward, beauty, entrepreneurship, meaningful, cooperative and supportive.

What do we offer?

• A dynamic organization with an organizational culture characterized by maximum attention to people. elho believes in creating a culture based on trust. A place where employees are proud of their work and where fun is had! We are not certified as a Great Place to Work for nothing
• You get the freedom and opportunity to leave your mark on the further development of elho's culture and growth. In our green working environment there is plenty of room for your personal growth!
• A pleasant and attractive workplace in one of the greenest offices in the Netherlands with lots of plants, open spaces and quiet workplaces and all facilities for live and online meetings.
• 26 holidays with the possibility of exchanging a working day to work for a charity of your choice
• The most sustainable company within the pottery category. And we are proud of that! In fact, our collection is made of 100% recycled plastic. In addition, our production site runs on wind energy from our own wind turbine!
• For a small contribution, we offer a daily fresh lunch in our modern, green and inspiring office in Tilburg.
• A very nice staff discount so you can green up your own home, patio or garden with elho products

Who are we?
Our mission is to connect as many people as possible with nature. Nature makes you happier, healthier and gives you an energy boost! We do this by making beautiful design pots and continuing to innovate. Elho is a family-owned company and proud to be considered a leading pioneer in the plastic flowerpot market. Ever since 1964. Based on the latest colour and shape trends, our designers design the most beautiful pots that we sell in more than 75 countries.

We design and make our sustainable flower pots and planters with great care for nature. We currently process some 12 million kilos of waste per year into beautiful new products. For us, however, sustainability goes beyond using recycled materials. Everything is produced with sustainable energy, elho has its own wind turbine and no waste is created during the production process. All products come from one of Europe's most sustainable distribution centres. Naturally, all products have a long lifespan (frost-proof and UV proof) and are recyclable again.

The elho team inspires as many people as possible to surround themselves with green. We give room to nature. Join us!

Join us!

Excited about what you're reading? Let us know more about who you are and why we should work together! You can send your CV and motivation letter to Dominique.nelemans@elho.nl to the attention of Dominique Nelemans, recruiter. Follow us on LinkedIn for news and up-dates. We look forward to hearing from you!

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