NPD Manager

The Company

Our client is a high-end manufacturing business that supplies retailers with their quality products. The business is people-oriented, respects staff, and promotes values aligned with the business ethos.

Overview:

- To aid defining the range strategy to ensure we strengthen the value proposition.

- To manage the whole product development lifecycle from brief to successful launch.

- Range planning process including upkeep with range amendments, deletions, and product introductions.

- Running the weekly NPD meeting to progress report range development and critical path decision making.

- Critical path timeline management to success launch.

- Successful on-time development of new products, accessories, and point-of-sale materials and displays.

- Present new product ideas for assessment along with feasibility costings.

- Direct briefing and liaison with 3rd parties.

- Ensuring all new products meet quality, technical, and production requirements.

- Drafting and signing off specifications in line with the new products being developed.

- Working with the Purchasing team to firm up costings and liaison with factories.

- Brainstorming new ideas to meet customer requirements.

- Studying customer requirements to develop new ideas.

- Competitive set and benchmarking analysis with presentations to the internal team with proposals.

- Sampling requirements with factories to meet concepts briefed.

- Undertake trials and assist customers in achieving successful technical performance.

- Ensuring all products are fully compliant.

- Signing off samples requirements and handing over to the Quality team to ensure compliance with specifications.

- Manage sample requirements to meet photography, development sign off, internal launch and play a hand in first-off gold seal sign off.

- Work with the Quality Manager and undertake risk analysis with FMEA and other such tools.

- As the product owner, determining which product features should be highlighted, ensuring that product features in scope are ready for development and carrying out acceptance tests on developed features.

Key Skills:

- Creative thinking skills

- Project management skills

- Facilitation skills

- Research skills

- Product knowledge

- Great communicator for all levels, across cultures and can sell the product vision and benefits

- Negotiations, influencing, and persuasion skills

- Commercial skills (costing and numerate)