Assistant NPD Manager

Kayali; Dubai; On-site; AED 220,000 - 294,000; Full time

Job summary

A modern fragrance company in Dubai is seeking a New Product Development Assistant Manager to coordinate product development from concept to launch. The role includes managing timelines, collaborating with departments, and ensuring on-time delivery of innovative products. Ideal candidates will have 3-5 years of experience in NPD project management within the beauty industry, strong organizational skills, and proficiency in project management tools. Comprehensive benefits are offered, including medical coverage and employee discounts.

Benefits

Premium Medical / Dental / Vision coverage

Professional Development Days

Employee discounts Kayali products

Birthday leave

Qualifications

• 3-5 years of experience in NPD project management ideally in the beauty industry.
• Strong communication skills and ability to collaborate across functions.
• Experience in building and managing complex timelines.

Responsibilities

• Manage new product development projects from concept to launch.
• Collaborate with key departments for successful product launches.
• Develop and maintain timelines for project milestones.

Skills

NPD project management

Cross functional collaboration

Planning and organizational skills

Proficiency in project management tools

Knowledge of supply chain processes

Tools

Asana

Microsoft Project Plan

Job description

Who We Are

Fueled by passion, KAYALI was founded in 2018 by beauty mogul and fragrance fanatic, Mona Kattan. Translating to ‘my imagination' in Arabic, KAYALI provides a modern fragrance experience inspired by Mona's rich Middle Eastern heritage and the art of layering scents to help you create your mood; where sharing scents is a ritual and smelling good is both an act of goodwill and self-love. Mona collaborates with some of the world's most renowned perfumers and sources the finest ingredients to create unique juices that are infinitely memorable, long-lasting, and cruelty-free. Each luxurious fragrance is an ode to true craftsmanship and tells a special story, from the addictive notes to the multi-faceted jeweled bottles.

Our Mission

To make everyone feel like the diamond they are! To build a global community of fragrance lovers through the power of scent and by providing them with the most innovative & luxurious fragrances, education and sharing our Middle Eastern fragrance rituals with the world.

Summary

We are looking for a talented New Product Development Assistant Manager to join our Supply Chain team. The NPD Assistant Manager will have a big impact by coordinating the product development processes from “blue sky” to shipment i.e. the Conceptual, Evaluation and Execution phases. They do not develop products, but they coordinate and manage projects and all the tasks associated with the launch across the organization. As a result, the NPD Assistant Manager will ensure that Kayali supplies its customers with new innovative products on time and in full, at the targeted KPI’s and quality levels and at the quickest speed to market within the industry.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Responsible for the overall project management of new product development projects from concept generation to launch, ensuring timing, quantity and KPIs targets are achieved
• Work in collaboration with key departments involved in product launches such as Supply Chain, Product Development, Packaging, Quality, Regulatory, Purchasing, Finance, Regional Markets, S&OP, Logistics
• Help in building the Kayali 24-month launch calendar in conjunction with the brand leaders
• Provide the product development team with launch feasibility and scenarios as and when requested using project management tools that vary in duration and need to be adapted according to product specification and complexity
• Build detailed timelines for each launch with key development milestones and proactively track and manage the adherence to the timelines
• Regularly update the timelines based on project evolution, suppliers feedback and launch calendar changes
• Lead project meetings to closely follow the evolution of each project with the relevant teams, ensuring successful completion of all tasks, and provide agendas and recaps for those
• Consistently challenge and reduce the development lead-times by ensuring appropriate balanced risks are factored into the original time plans, whilst ensuring all service requirements are achieved / exceeded
• Work closely with suppliers and contract manufacturers all along the development of newness, ensuring our projects are on track and orders are delivered on time and up to our quality standards
• Be able to anticipate potential risks and issues linked to development, production, shipment and proactively look for solutions when they occur
• Develop contingency plans where required and implement risk mitigation strategies
• Ensure information is forwarded in a timely manner and made more accurate all along the development process e.g. Specifications, BOM’s, Quantities, Shipping plans according to company’s standards
• Provide timely and effective communication of the risks and corrective actions required to ensure perfect execution and encourage an environment of full transparency via the use of project meeting action plans, “red flag” alerts to senior management and other similar tools
• Manage the forecasting process ensuring launch forecast are submitted for each launch by collaborating with the Regional Markets and the Demand Planning team and place orders of all components and finished goods for launch
• Check against KPIs that are in place and used effectively to measure and improve the effectiveness of the key elements of launch management process and overall NPD performance

Requirements

• 3-5 years of experience ideally in NPD project management within the beauty industry with a solid grasp on product development & supply chain terminology
• Excellent communication skills and cross functional collaboration
• Strong planning and organizational skills, with a great ability to multi-task while staying rigorous
• Proficiency in project management tools (e.g. Asana, Microsoft Project Plan, etc) to build and manage complex timelines
• Good knowledge of the entire supply chain processes

Benefits

• Premium Medical / Dental / Vision coverage
• Find Your Magic Days
• Volunteer Day
• Professional Development Days
• Birthday leave
• Employee discounts Kayali products
• Product gifting
• Egg Freezing Benefits

Kayali is committed to building diverse and inclusive teams and upholding an equal employment workplace that is free from discrimination. We hire stellar individuals regardless of their race, color, ancestry, religion, gender identity, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, medical conditions, disability, or veteran status. If you need reasonable accommodations at any point in the application or interview process, please let us know.