Creative Packaging Production Manager

Dollar Tree•Chesapeake, VA

3d•$110,000 - $128,500

About The Position

Dollar Tree is seeking a Creative Packaging Production Manager to lead the creative and production execution of its packaging and product artwork. The role combines creative direction, packaging expertise, people leadership, relationship management, and operational excellence to deliver high-quality, visually compelling, on-brand packaging that meets customer and business expectations. The manager will lead and mentor production coordinators and graphic designers, provide creative direction and feedback, develop team capabilities, and establish efficient workflows. The role connects Creative, Merchandising, Sourcing, Marketing, Data Intelligence, Operations, Legal, vendors, agencies, and other partners to move work from concept through final production. The position helps shape Dollar Tree’s packaging portfolio and translates business objectives, product requirements, consumer insights, and market trends into effective packaging. It balances design quality and consumer appeal with brand standards, production requirements, budgets, timelines, technical specifications, vendor capabilities, and speed to market. The manager also oversees production processes, project tracking, artwork organization, approvals, and delivery of final artwork to vendors.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in graphic design or a related field; an equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered.
At least 5 years of experience in graphic design, packaging design, creative production, or a related field.
At least 2 years of experience in a managerial, supervisory, or creative leadership role.
Strong understanding of design principles, color theory, typography, layout, visual hierarchy, packaging design, visual identity, and brand strategy.
Ability to provide creative direction, evaluate design work, give constructive feedback, and elevate a team’s creative output.
Understanding of packaging design and production processes, including technical requirements, timelines, quality standards, cost considerations, and vendor capabilities.
Strong relationship-building, collaboration, influencing, negotiation, conflict-resolution, and consensus-building skills.
Ability to work across functions, understand differing perspectives and priorities, and align teams around common objectives.
Strong project management skills, including managing multiple projects, prioritizing demands, allocating resources, and meeting deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
Leadership and communication skills to motivate, coach, develop, and guide a creative team and communicate with creative and non-creative audiences.
Ability to identify trends and translate consumer, design, and industry insights into creative opportunities.
Attention to detail and a strong eye for quality control, design consistency, and creative excellence.
Ability to adapt to changing priorities, solve problems creatively, manage ambiguity, and work collaboratively in a fast-paced, team-oriented environment.
Ability to build productive relationships with external vendors, agencies, art houses, and other creative and production partners.
High proficiency with Microsoft Office, including Access, Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.
Experience with project management systems and DAM/PIM software.
Strong proficiency in graphic design software, such as Adobe Creative Suite, including Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign.

Responsibilities

Lead, mentor, coach, and develop production coordinators and graphic designers; provide creative direction, feedback, and support.
Set creative direction for packaging and product artwork, ensuring it is visually compelling, commercially relevant, and aligned with Dollar Tree’s brand and customers.
Review and elevate creative work, lead creative reviews and critiques, and maintain consistent design quality and brand standards.
Facilitate weekly packaging design team meetings covering timelines, project status, creative opportunities, production needs, challenges, and best practices.
Lead the creative and production process from concept and ideation through final production; assign work, balance workloads, and allocate resources against merchant timelines.
Develop and evolve packaging and product art strategy in alignment with brand image, product positioning, customer needs, seasonal opportunities, and business objectives.
Collaborate with Merchandising and other partners on creative briefs, product requirements, creative opportunities, and packaging that communicates product value and benefits.
Identify relevant packaging, design, typography, color, visual, consumer, and industry trends and translate them into creative opportunities.
Develop creative solutions that balance consumer appeal, product positioning, brand standards, production requirements, cost, and speed to market.
Ensure packaging and product artwork meets visual identity, brand guidelines, quality standards, and production requirements.
Collaborate with Data Intelligence and Merchant teams to use product requirements, target audiences, consumer insights, and market trends in creative decisions.
Educate stakeholders on packaging, design, consumer, and industry trends and standards.
Build and maintain collaborative relationships with internal teams, vendors, agencies, art houses, and production partners.
Translate stakeholder business objectives into creative direction, actionable plans, and packaging solutions; influence without direct authority and resolve competing priorities and conflicts.
Represent the packaging creative team in cross-functional meetings and initiatives, advocating for creative quality while supporting broader business objectives.
Develop and improve production processes, workflows, productivity, and resource utilization.
Track and report project progress, identify risks and bottlenecks, and implement solutions to keep projects on schedule and meet quality expectations.
Communicate project status, responsibilities, decisions, timelines, and next steps throughout the project lifecycle.
Manage the corporate art file solution so packaging and product artwork is organized, accessible, maintained, and managed to established standards.
Ensure final artwork is approved, uploaded to the vendor portal, and communicated to vendors in a timely manner.
Perform other projects as assigned.