
Senior Product Development Manager - 12 Month Fixed Term
- London
- Temporary
- Full-time
- Product Pipeline Leadership: Support in driving the development and execution of the 3-year rolling product pipeline, ensuring alignment with customer needs and business objectives.
- Innovation & Research: Lead the research and development of new and existing products, including claims strategy and a one-off clinical research project, to ensure relevance, compliance, and commercial success.
- Stage-Gate Process Ownership: Oversee the NPD stage-gate process, ensuring all key milestones are hit to ensure timely, accurate, and globally compliant product launches.
- Supplier Management: Collaborate with suppliers to drive project forwards, extract insights, foster innovation, and secure optimal cost structures.
- Market & Trend Analysis: Stay ahead of global trends, customer insights, and internal commercial reviews to inform pipeline development and introduce breakthrough products.
- Product Lifecycle Management: Evaluate existing product performance to identify opportunities for improvement, delisting, or relaunching to maintain a productive assortment.
- Strategic Briefing: Lead the creation of product briefs and business cases aligned for all allocated projects.
- Project Coordination: Manage CPAs and ensure timely progress across all project elements including legal, artwork, samples, and approvals.
- Commercial Tracking: Monitor project profitability and margins, negotiating costs to ensure value-driven, high-quality products.
- Budget Oversight: Support with managing the NPD department budget effectively.
- Packaging Development: Work within brand guidelines to develop packaging that meets merchandising standards.
- Cross-Functional Enablement: Prepare and present product information manuals to support marketing, sales, and customer service teams with sell-in materials and key fact sheets.
- Retailer Engagement: Contribute to tailored marketing presentations for seasonal strategy meetings with retail partners.
- Team Leadership: Act as an NPD champion within the business. While this role will have no direct reports, they will support other managers and members of the team, covering as necessary and contributing to a high-performing Product Development team.
- Proven track record operating at a senior manager level, with extensive experience leading end-to-end product development from concept through to launch, ideally within a consumer goods or FMCG environment.
- Strong understanding of NPD stage-gate processes and experience managing multiple projects simultaneously to tight deadlines.
- Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional teams and collaborate effectively with senior stakeholders, including Product Director, Creative Director, and Commercial teams.
- Experience working closely with suppliers across multiple product categories to drive innovation, cost efficiency, and quality.
- Commercial acumen with a track record of delivering profitable, margin-enhancing product launches.
- Skilled in developing compelling product stories and business cases aligned to brand strategy and customer needs.
- Confident in managing budgets, negotiating costs, and tracking project financials.
- Familiarity with compliance processes, technical documentation, and working with regulatory or technical teams.
- Strong communication and presentation skills, with experience preparing sell-in materials and supporting retailer engagement.
- Experience mentoring team members, fostering a collaborative and high-performing team culture.
- Passionate about customer insight, trend analysis, and continuous improvement in product performance and assortment.
- Prior experience within the beauty industry is desirable
- Genuine passion and enthusiasm for the brand
- TIME TO CHILL - 25 days holiday plus bank holidays
- BIRTHDAY TREAT - Extra Day off on your birthday
- WELLBEING DAYS - take some time to recharge and reset
- NEOM GOODIES - a free NEOM product each month plus staff discount for you to enjoy
- HEALTH CARE - Cash back plans, outpatient cover, GP consultations, therapies, and Mental Health Support.
- DO GOOD, FEEL GOOD - Time off for you to volunteer plus support for nay personal fundraising efforts too.