Print Production Specialist

We are building something special at Three: an in-house agency that is re-energizing the brand and taking our marketing effort to new heights. We’ve had great success so far and are looking for people to join us as we prove that in-house can be just as good or even better than external agencies.
To help us achieve this, we need a skilled Print Production Specialist with solid experience in print production, project management and supplier management, so that we deliver the highest standard print to support our ambitions for the brand.
This role will work as part of the Generation (in-house agency) Creative Production team, reporting to the Print Production Manager.

The Print Production Specialist will contribute to the growth of Generation’s remit and reputation, enabling us to do bigger and better work. The right candidate will be up for the challenge and will continually improve our print management to deliver a competitive advantage.

Support the success of the in-house agency: Assist in delivering our creative ambitions for the brand by using your print production knowledge, skills, and experience. Assist the Print Production Manager in getting the best possible service from suppliers, improved speed to market, higher quality, and competitive pricing.
Manage and procure print materials: Ensure our print is consistently high quality while reducing costs and improving timelines. Promote new methods, technologies, and materials to the In-House Agency team, broadening the possibilities for what can be achieved in printing and print media. Assist in minimizing and mitigating risks in Three’s print supply chain across all territories. Maintain an excellent eye for creative and graphic quality, following existing and developing brand styles, and solving technical challenges.

Support the Print Production Manager in developing the print partner portfolio: Work within the print budget to ensure we have the best portfolio of supplier partners who deliver great service and results, complying with or exceeding Three’s purchasing, sustainability, ecological, and ethics policies. Build strong collaborative relationships with these partners, understanding each supplier’s capacity and capability, including their ability to respond to challenging timelines.

Get the best value from the print budget: Assist in purchasing, seasonal promotions, sales and retail collateral, and other printed media. Produce informative job specifications and tenders on a campaign-by-campaign basis to allow suppliers to deliver value. Apply your knowledge to get the best result from suppliers, making economical use of materials and using appropriate printing processes. Support in negotiating to reduce costs while maintaining collaborative relationships with suppliers.
Collaborate with the in-house agency team and its internal customers: Maintain quality while helping the team deliver to short deadlines and fast turnaround times. Build strong collaborative relationships with the rest of the IHA team, maintaining the focus on creative excellence and effective work. Develop positive relationships with marketing and other roles that brief the IHA.

Help the In-House Agency run efficiently and effectively: Support Creative Production and Account Management by creating job bags for all print jobs, ensuring that the relevant information and assets (dimensions, cutters, print codes, etc.) are available for the artworkers to pick up the jobs with minimal back-and-forth. Support the Print Production Manager in documenting and tracking all print jobs. Demonstrate behaviours that encourage respect across all functions of the IHA and show due regard for timelines, budgets, and other constraints inherent in the brief.

Assist with project management tasks: Support the Print Production Manager in scheduling, monitoring, and reporting on project milestones. Help to coordinate resources, manage budgets, and ensure that all print projects are delivered on time and within scope.

Must Have:
•    Experience in print production in marketing departments, integrated agencies, or in-house agencies.
•    Strong experience in procuring various types of marketing and retail print requirements, ideally within a retail environment.
•    Experience coordinating or assisting with booking print artworking into a busy studio/creative production environment. Experience working directly with creative designers and artworkers.
•    Experience in setting up and managing job bags, ensuring proper documentation and tracking of print jobs.
•    Basic project management skills, including scheduling, budget management, and milestone tracking.

Desirable: 
•    Ability to read and fulfil media schedules for press, print, and digital.
•    Experience managing fulfilment for multi-channel accounts is a plus.
•    Some capability in InDesign CC, Photoshop CC, Illustrator CC, and a strong understanding of materials and colour-management.
•    Some experience with retail display (POS and window).
•    Experience with cardboard engineering a plus.
•    Some experience with Marketing/Print procurement would be an advantage.

• We offer a competitive annual salary. Please note that the exact salary will vary depending on the specific job role and your experience.
• You’ll be eligible for a performance-based annual bonus and an additional ‘flexible allowance’. You can use this flexible allowance to avail additional benefits, top up your pension, or simply add it to your salary.
• We support hybrid working. You can work from your home for 2-3 days a week and spend the remaining 2-3 days at our brand new office in Reading’s Green Park.
• You’ll be entitled to 28 days of annual leave, plus 8 bank holidays and 3 personal days each year. The number of annual leave days increases with your length of service.
• We provide Private Medical Insurance, Life Assurance, and Income Protection.
• You’ll receive a free mobile phone package and an unlimited sim-card.
• We offer free on-site car parking, including electric car charging points. Enjoy the convenience of parking at work without any additional cost.

Our people make us who we are. We’re a diverse and inclusive bunch, and it’s important you can feel you belong here. We value everybody for who they are and what they bring to the table, supporting one another as we continue to deliver for our customers.

With that in mind, if you do not ‘tick every box’ in the job advert above, there are likely other valuable attributes and skills you have that would make you a great addition for the team. So, if you feel this role is for you, then please apply! We are committed to equality in employment and growing a diverse workforce. We embrace those of any race, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, religion, disability, marital status, family status or civil status and we want our teams to reflect this!

We are a Disability Confident Committed Employer. Need any reasonable adjustments? Let us know when you apply so we can support you throughout the interview process.

At Three we have a hybrid working arrangement in place as standard for office based employees, where employees work from a mix of office based location and working from their home in the UK to carry on their role.

Excluding retail, our core hours at Three are between 10:00 and 16:00, with operating hours between 08:00 & 18:30. This allows employees to have a start time between 08:00 and 10:00 and finish time between 16:00 and 18:30.