Head of Design

Do you want to lead the design agenda in Coloplast and shape the user experience of millions of Coloplast users around the world? Can you set direction for industrial design as a discipline and for creativity as a collective organisational craft? And are you excited about fostering collaboration and team-work across diverse functions as you integrate our design team in the greater Coloplast agenda?

In Coloplast’s Product Design & Engineering team, we are looking for a new Head of Design. In this role, you will be part of a leadership team covering functional disciplines such as Mechanical Engineering, Materials, Usability Engineering, Sustainability, and Design. Together, we are responsible for the design of Coloplast products within areas such as Ostomy Care, Continence Care, Bowel Care, and Advanced Wound Dressings.  

“The Product Design & Engineering leadership team and I are truly excited about meeting our new colleague and our new Head of Design. We are a team, where each member brings unique perspectives and the ability to represent individual functional disciplines, while valuing collaboration and collective growth. As such, we invest in each other as a team and in building mutual understanding of the diverse disciplines represented within the team.”, says Peter Herskind, VP Product Design & Engineering.

Welcome to Coloplast and the Design department 
Based out of our HQ in Humlebæk, greater Copenhagen area, you will lead the Design department, which at present counts 11 highly skilled and passionate industrial designers, CMF specialists, prototype specialists, and design thinking specialists. Additionally, the team regularly works with consultants and external agencies, but the DNA of the product design is defined and guided internally by the Design team. 

The impact of the department is significant. Together with the rest of R&D, the team has contributed to the launch of more than ten new products during 2024 and in this same period Coloplast has received a similar number of Design Awards. 
We are all proud of this, but we are also not done. Faced with societal developments such as increased focus on environmental sustainability and a healthcare system under pressure, while staying ambitious with respect to our company mission to make life easier for people with intimate healthcare needs, Design needs leadership that can build on our organisational strongholds, while leading and developing the team towards even greater impact for our users and society. 

Direction, leadership, and communication
Your primary task will be to lead and develop our Design department, ensuring motivated and engaged employees, organisational impact, and a culture that supports creativity and ideation.

Given the interdependency of product design decisions on a breadth of organisational agendas, stakeholder management is a key part of the role and having a knack for integrating Design into the greater organisation is highly valuable. Furthermore, the ability to form relationships across the organisation, as well as having a genuine interest in disciplines that interface with design, are important personal traits as well. Finally, communication-wise, we will look to you, to ensure that the value of good design is understood and that this understanding guides decision-making in projects and project steering groups. 

More specifically, you will be responsible for: 

• The design language of our products and its contribution to a superior user experience.
• Maintaining, developing, and positioning the Coloplast Design DNA to ensure coherence between legacy portfolio and new products. 
• Development of competencies and culture of the unit.
• Supporting early concept development and ideation.
• Developing and implementing creative processes to support innovation in Coloplast.
• Being the voice of Design in the R&D organisation and beyond.

“The leadership role comprises both front-line leadership of our specialists as well as long-term strategy for design as an agenda in Coloplast. I am looking for a leader who can develop and deliver the vision for Design, while maintaining a design department of highly motivated, skilled, and engaged employees”, Peter continues.

Skilled leader and communicator with a people focus    
You are an empathetic leader with great people skills and someone who thrives on developing both people and strategic agenda. You communicate matters of design effectively across organisational levels and you can integrate your own area agendas in those of adjacent functions within the organisation. 

You achieve results through your team members and you lead them through an empowering leadership style and with a coaching approach to their development. You stay current with matters outside your department domain to effectively navigate the organization and to set direction for your team such that you maximize their likelihood of success and impact. You actively seek to understand your stakeholders’ needs and constraints, and you know how to drive progress through relationships. 

Furthermore, we imagine that you have:

• Leadership experience – preferably with leading specialists within design.
• Experience developing and implementing department strategies. 
• Experience with ideation processes and with fostering a creative culture.
• Experience with leading design processes in product development – perhaps from a highly regulated industry, although this is not a requirement.
• Ability and drive to inspire us with new perspectives.
• English proficiency – oral and written. 

Interested? 
If you would like to know more about the position, please call Vice President, Product Design & Engineering, Peter Herskind on +45 4911 1593 or Senior HR Business Partner, R&D, Kasper Holst Andsager on +45 4911 1289. We will take candidates into the recruitment process continuously, so do not hesitate to apply. This position will remain open until a suitable candidate has been found.

Pursuing an ambitious growth agenda, Coloplast develops and markets products and services that make life easier for people with intimate healthcare needs. Employing about 16.000 people and with products available in more than 143 countries, we are one of the world´s leading medical device companies. We are constantly growing our business and always looking for new ways to move forward – we explore, learn and look for new ways of doing things.

Coloplast is committed to being an inclusive organization, where people bring their differences to work each day, fulfil their potential and have a strong sense of belonging because – and not despite – of their differences. We therefore encourage all qualified candidates to apply regardless of gender, age, race, nationality, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religious belief or physical ability.

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