Hero Image

Careers at Original Duckhead

Join us.

Original Duckhead is a London-born brand rethinking weatherwear.

Best known for our distinctive umbrellas, we are sold worldwide and are now expanding into a broader world of products designed for rain, sun and life outdoors.

We are building the next chapter of Original Duckhead with the same principles that got us here: strong product, distinctive creative, responsible materials and a point of view of our own.

We are looking for talented people who want to help shape what comes next.

Explore our current opportunities below.

Current vacancies

Product Development & Custom Projects Manager

Location: London, hybrid
Hours: Full-time
Contract: Permanent
Reports to: Founder & CEO

Help us build the product development function behind our next stage of growth

Original Duckhead is a London-based, B Corp-certified design brand, best known for our distinctive premium umbrellas.

We believe products for changing weather can be functional, sustainable and genuinely joyful to use. As the brand grows, our ambition is to build a distinctive product world around changing weather, with umbrellas remaining at the heart of the business.

Alongside our core collections, we are growing our custom, collaboration and partnership business and beginning to develop new products and categories.

We are now looking for a Product Development & Custom Projects Manager to build and own the process that takes a creative idea or customer brief through development, sampling and into a product that is ready for production.

Why this role matters

This is a new role at Original Duckhead.

As our product range, collaborations and custom business grow, our development process is becoming more complex. We need someone who can bring structure, technical product knowledge and strong project ownership to that process.

You will sit between our commercial team, customers, creative partners, factories and supply chain team.

A customer may come to us with a fully developed concept. They may also come with little more than an idea, some artwork and a delivery date.

Your job is to understand what is required to bring that idea to life, identify what information is missing and turn it into a clear, technically complete and manufacturable product.

This is not a product design role. We work with specialist designers where new design expertise is required. You will own the development process that turns ideas and designs into products that can actually be made.

What you’ll own

You will manage product development from initial brief through sampling, approvals and production readiness.

You will turn creative concepts and customer requirements into clear product specifications and factory briefs.

You will own day-to-day communication with manufacturing partners throughout the development process.

You will manage sampling, sample reviews, revisions and approvals across materials, components, colours, artwork, labels, packaging and other product details.

You will create and maintain accurate product specifications and technical development documentation.

You will work with suppliers on feasibility, costs, MOQs, lead times and manufacturing constraints.

You will identify potential quality, technical or production problems early and recommend solutions.

You will coordinate product testing and compliance requirements where relevant.

You will maintain clear development timelines and manage multiple products and custom projects simultaneously.

Custom projects and collaborations

A significant part of the role will be helping us build a much more scalable custom-product business.

You will take ownership once an opportunity has been commercially qualified and work with our commercial team and directly with customers to develop a complete product brief.

Many customers will not know all the technical information required to manufacture their product. We do not expect them to.

You will guide them through the process, understand what they are trying to achieve, identify what is missing and ask the right questions before the project moves forward.

You will then translate that information into clear, factory-ready specifications covering areas such as artwork, Pantones, components, labels, packaging, quantities and sampling requirements.

You will manage samples and consolidate customer feedback into clear revision instructions rather than allowing projects to become long chains of fragmented requests.

Ultimately, you will make the process easier for the customer, our team and our manufacturing partners.

Build a better way of working

We are not looking for someone simply to inherit an existing process.

One of the most important parts of this role will be working with our Founder and team to build a stronger product development and custom-project operating system.

That means improving how customer briefs are collected, defining what information must be complete before a project progresses, creating stronger specification templates, improving sample and approval workflows, developing clear project trackers and establishing better handovers between commercial, product development and supply chain.

You should enjoy taking something complex and making it work better.

What we’re looking for

You have strong experience developing physical consumer products and understand how a product moves from an initial brief through sampling and into production.

Your background may be in accessories, bags, fashion accessories, outdoor products, lifestyle products, soft goods or another design-led consumer product category.

You understand how products are actually manufactured and are confident working directly with factories and suppliers.

You have experience with sampling, technical product specifications, materials, components, packaging, quality, costing, MOQs and manufacturing lead times.

You are highly organised, but you also have strong product judgement.

You can look at an incomplete brief and quickly understand what information is missing, what questions need to be asked and what needs to happen next.

You are comfortable working across creative, commercial and technical teams and can translate effectively between people who approach products very differently.

Experience managing custom products, collaborations or customer-led development projects would be particularly valuable.

Experience developing umbrellas is not required.

What success looks like

Our product development process becomes clearer, faster and easier to scale.

Factories receive better briefs.

Custom projects reach sampling with the information they need from the outset.

There are fewer unnecessary sample rounds and less back-and-forth between customers, the team and suppliers.

Development timelines and responsibilities are clear.

Product information is accurate and easy to find.

Our commercial team can grow the custom and collaboration business without creating an operational bottleneck.

And our Founder is able to focus on product direction and key approvals rather than managing every stage of development.

The opportunity

Original Duckhead is at an important point in its evolution.

We are growing the complexity of our umbrella business, expanding our custom and collaboration work and developing a broader product universe around changing weather.

This is an opportunity to build an important function within the company rather than simply step into an established process.

You will have real ownership over how products move from ideas into beautifully executed physical products and help build the product development capability needed for Original Duckhead’s next stage of growth.

How to apply

Please send your CV to careers@originalduckhead.com.

We would particularly like to hear about products you have taken from brief through development and into production, and any product development processes you have helped build or improve.

ODH Limited is an equal-opportunity employer.

Location: Clapham, London (office-based)
Hours: Full-time
Salary: Up to £50,000 depending on experience
Reports to: CEO
Start date: ASAP

Build the finance backbone of a growing global brand

Original Duckhead is a London-based umbrella brand selling across wholesale and D2C, with customers and partners across the UK, Europe, the US, and other international markets.

We are hiring a hands-on Finance Manager to bring order, clarity, and control to our finance function. This is not an oversight role. You will be in the detail, owning the day-to-day bookkeeping in-house, producing monthly management accounts, managing UK VAT, maintaining a rolling cash flow forecast, and improving the quality and usability of our reporting.

You will work closely with the CEO and external accountants, and you will play a key role in building financial discipline across the business.

Why this role matters

This role is critical to improving visibility, control, and reporting quality. The goal is a finance function that gives clear insight into cash, costs, margin, and performance across channels, markets, and major areas of spend.

What you’ll own

Bookkeeping and finance operations

  • Own day-to-day bookkeeping in Xero
  • Maintain accurate records across GBP, EUR, and USD accounts
  • Reconcile bank accounts, payment platforms, and control accounts
  • Post journals, accruals, prepayments, and month-end adjustments
  • Own accounts payable and accounts receivable
  • Own credit control and maintain visibility on aged debt

Management accounts and reporting

  • Prepare monthly management accounts (P&L, balance sheet, cash flow)
  • Deliver variance analysis and clear commentary to the CEO
  • Build meaningful cost centre reporting
  • Improve visibility on channel performance, margin, and overheads
  • Create reporting that highlights profitability drivers, including major projects and trade shows where relevant

Cash flow and financial control

  • Maintain a rolling 13-week cash flow forecast
  • Track key cash commitments and upcoming outflows
  • Improve visibility on receivables, payables, VAT, payroll, and major costs
  • Strengthen financial control and reporting discipline across the business

VAT and accountant coordination

  • Own UK VAT returns and filings
  • Prepare clean finance data for external accountants and advisors
  • Coordinate with external accountants on EU VAT, US sales tax and year-end requirements where needed
  • Maintain accurate multi-currency reporting and organised underlying data for compliance support

Systems and process improvement

  • Improve the structure and cleanliness of Xero over time
  • Help create consistent reporting across Xero, Cin7, Shopify, Stripe, Faire, and related systems
  • Reduce manual errors and improve processes through simple, practical improvements

What we’re looking for

  • Fully qualified accountant (ACCA, CIMA, ACA, or equivalent)
  • Experience in a hands-on finance role in a retail, wholesale, consumer goods, or e-commerce business
  • Experience working across multiple markets and currencies
  • Strong bookkeeping and management accounts experience
  • Strong understanding of accruals, prepayments, journals, reconciliations, and month-end close
  • Experience owning UK VAT
  • Experience working with external accountants and tax advisors
  • Exposure to EU VAT and US sales tax or nexus coordination
  • Strong attention to detail and strong organisational discipline
  • Commercial understanding of costs, margin, and reporting
  • Comfortable working in a small, ambitious business where ownership matters

What success looks like

Within the first few months:

  • Bookkeeping is accurate and fully run in-house
  • Monthly management accounts are clean and on time
  • Reconciliations are up to date and reliable
  • UK VAT is owned internally and filed correctly
  • The 13-week cash flow forecast is live and maintained
  • Cost centres are clear and useful
  • The CEO has materially better visibility on cash, costs, and performance
  • External accountants receive organised, reliable data

How to apply

Apply via LinkedIn Easy Apply or via our careers page. Please include:

  • Your CV
  • A short note explaining the type of business you have worked in
  • Your experience with management accounts, bookkeeping, and VAT
  • One example of messy finance data or reporting you cleaned up and made usable

Location: Remote, UK or Europe preferred. Occasional collaboration in our London studio

Hours: Approximately 1 day per week, with additional work around campaigns and launches

Contract: Freelance Rate: £40 to £50 per hour, depending on experience

Start date: As soon as possible

Help bring the next chapter of Original Duckhead to life

Original Duckhead is a London-based, B Corp-certified design brand, best known for our distinctive premium umbrellas.

We have recently evolved our brand identity and are looking for a talented freelance Graphic Designer to help us bring it to life consistently and creatively across campaigns, e-commerce, advertising and wider brand communications.

This is not a rebranding project and we are not looking for a Creative Director.

The foundations are already there. We are looking for a strong midweight designer who can take our brand identity, campaign photography and creative ideas and turn them into polished, distinctive commercial design.

Why this role matters

As Original Duckhead grows, we want the quality and consistency of our visual communications to grow with us.

Rather than design being handled across different members of the team, we want one talented designer who gets to know the brand deeply and helps us build a more recognisable and consistent visual world.

You will work closely with our internal team across campaigns, product launches and ongoing brand communications.

What you'll work on

  • Campaign artwork and creative rollouts
  • Turning campaign photography into finished advertising and brand creative
  • Paid social and digital advertising assets
  • Typography and graphic treatments for photography
  • Website graphics, homepage creative and landing page assets
  • Seasonal and product launch e-commerce creative
  • Lookbooks and sales materials
  • Email and newsletter design assets
  • Social and digital content
  • Retail, B2B and event collateral
  • Occasional packaging and print projects
  • Resizing and adapting creative across different formats

Simple motion or animation skills would be a bonus, but are not essential.

What we're looking for

You are a strong midweight graphic designer with an excellent eye for typography, composition, photography and brand.

You understand how to work within an established visual identity while still bringing creativity and new ideas to the work.

You are comfortable taking a campaign photograph and thinking about how it should become an advert, website treatment, email, lookbook page or piece of social content.

You enjoy creative thinking, but you are equally happy executing, adapting and delivering finished artwork.

Experience working with fashion, beauty, lifestyle, culture or design-led consumer brands would be particularly relevant.

Strong Adobe Creative Suite skills are important. Figma experience would also be valuable.

What success looks like

You help us create a more consistent and distinctive visual identity across every customer touchpoint.

Campaigns translate strongly across web, advertising, email and sales materials.

The team has a trusted designer who understands Original Duckhead and can take a brief from idea through to finished creative without excessive direction.

Most importantly, the work feels unmistakably Original Duckhead rather than templated or generic.

How to apply

Please send your portfolio, hourly rate and availability to careers@originalduckhead.com

We would particularly like to see three examples where you have taken an existing brand identity, campaign photography or creative concept and developed it into finished commercial design across different formats.

We are less interested in standalone logo or branding projects. We want to see how you bring a brand to life.

Location: Remote, UK or Europe preferred. Occasional collaboration in London during key development stages.
Hours: Part-time, freelance
Contract: Project-based, with potential for an ongoing relationship
Rate: Competitive freelance rate, depending on experience and scope
Works closely with: Founder & CEO

Help us design what comes after the umbrella

Original Duckhead is a London-based, B Corp-certified design brand, best known for our distinctive premium umbrellas. We sell internationally across D2C and wholesale and are now entering an important next stage of product development.

Our ambition is to build a distinctive collection of products for changing weather, with umbrellas remaining at the heart of the brand.

We are looking for an experienced Senior Soft Goods Designer to work directly with our founder and help shape what that product world looks like.

This is not about taking generic products and applying an Original Duckhead print.

We want to develop products where the construction, materials, functionality and details are as considered as the visual design itself.

Why this role matters

Until now, much of our product development has grown from our expertise in umbrellas and close collaboration with our manufacturing partners.

As the brand expands into new categories, we want to build a much stronger product design capability.

We are looking for someone who can come into the process early, question assumptions, solve practical problems and help turn an opportunity or customer need into a product that feels unmistakably Original Duckhead.

Sometimes we will come to you with a product idea.

Sometimes we will come with a problem:

How should you carry a wet umbrella?

How can we make travelling in unpredictable weather easier?

What should a beautifully designed outdoor product do differently?

We want someone who enjoys answering those questions through design.

What you'll work on

Potential projects could span:

  • Bags and carry systems
  • Waterproof and water-resistant accessories
  • Travel organisation
  • Pouches and protective products
  • Outdoor and picnic products
  • Technical textile accessories
  • New product concepts built around changing weather

The exact roadmap will evolve. Part of the value of this role is helping us determine what the right products should be.

What you'll do

  • Work directly with the founder on early-stage product concepts
  • Translate ideas and user problems into considered product solutions
  • Develop construction, functionality and product detailing
  • Recommend fabrics, materials, trims and hardware
  • Create technical drawings and production-ready tech packs
  • Review samples and prototypes
  • Refine designs through multiple development rounds
  • Advise on durability, usability and technical performance
  • Provide technical design input to manufacturers during development
  • Help establish a coherent product design language across future Original Duckhead products

What we're looking for

You will have substantial professional experience designing soft goods and technical sewn products.

Relevant experience might include:

  • Bags and carry systems
  • Travel accessories
  • Outdoor products
  • Technical textile products
  • Performance or waterproof materials
  • Sewn product construction

You understand how products are actually constructed and manufactured, not simply how they should look.

You care about how something folds, fastens, packs, carries, stores and feels in someone's hands.

You can balance originality with commercial reality and manufacturability.

Most importantly, you are comfortable challenging a brief when you see a better solution. We want a design partner who thinks with us, not simply someone who executes instructions.

Experience designing umbrellas is not required.

The opportunity

This is initially a freelance, project-based role, but we are looking for someone with the potential to become a long-term product design partner to Original Duckhead.

You would be joining at an unusually exciting point: early enough to influence not just individual products, but the design language and product philosophy that will shape the next chapter of the brand.

How to apply

Please send your portfolio to careers@originalduckhead.com, highlighting two or three products most relevant to this role.

For each, we'd love a very short explanation of your role in the project.

We are particularly interested in seeing products where construction, materials, functionality or technical problem-solving played an important role in the final design.

Working at Original Duckhead

We are independent, ambitious and hands-on.

People here are trusted to own their area, make good decisions and bring ideas to the table. We value high standards, commercial thinking, curiosity and attention to detail.

There is a lot still to build.

About Original Duckhead

Design-first. Always.

Original Duckhead started with a simple belief: the everyday umbrella could be better.

Better considered. Better made. More distinctive. Something you would choose to carry rather than simply tolerate when it rains.

That idea has grown into a brand sold around the world, known for colour, originality and products that combine form with function.

Now we are taking that thinking beyond the umbrella and into weatherwear, creating products for changing conditions without compromising on style, practicality or longevity.

We are a certified B Corp. Responsible materials, thoughtful manufacturing and products made to last are part of how we operate, not a marketing exercise.

ODH Limited is an equal-opportunity employer. Simply send us your CV to careers@originalduckhead.com.