NPD Manager

Sharp and Carter; Sydney; On-site; AUD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Sharp and Carter in Sydney is seeking an NPD Manager to lead a small, high-performing product development team and own end-to-end development across retailer and branded portfolios in a fast-moving, customer-led FMCG environment.

You’ll drive range reviews, lifecycle management and packaging updates, partnering with sales and commercial teams to deliver customer-centric solutions and rapid, stage-gate aligned delivery.

Qualifications

• Experience in FMCG product development, category management, or commercial product roles.
• Retail-facing product development and range review exposure.
• Strong understanding of product lifecycle management including renovation.
• Ability to lead in fast-paced, customer-driven environments with tight timelines.
• Demonstrated leadership or readiness for a team leadership role.
• Strong commercial acumen with category, trading, and supply chain awareness.
• Excellent stakeholder management with sales and retail partners.
• Experience with structured project management tools and stage-gate processes.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a small product development team with growth potential.
• Oversee end-to-end product development and renovation across customer portfolios.
• Drive range reviews, updates, and lifecycle management.
• Collaborate with sales and commercial teams to deliver customer-led solutions.
• Coordinate fast-paced projects within stage-gate processes.
• Support refurbishment activities including packaging updates and labeling changes.
• Manage multiple concurrent projects with tight turnaround timelines.
• Use project management systems to track delivery and priorities.
• Build cross-functional relationships across trading, procurement and supply chain.
• Support transition toward an innovation-led development pipeline.

Skills

FMCG product development

Category management

Retail-facing product development

Product lifecycle management

Leadership

Stakeholder management

Project management

Cross-functional collaboration

Job description

About the Company

Our client is a well-established FMCG business with a strong presence across branded and private label products. The organisation operates in a fast-paced, customer-led environment with a strong focus on delivering high-quality, commercially viable product solutions to retail partners.

Following an internal restructure, a new leadership opportunity has been created within the Product Development function to support continued growth and capability uplift across the team.

About the Role

The NPD Manager will take ownership of a small but high-performing team, leading end-to-end coordination of product development activities across retailer and branded portfolios.

This role sits at the intersection of product, sales, and commercial delivery, with a strong emphasis on range management, product renovation, and delivering fast turnaround outcomes in a highly responsive market.

Key responsibilities include:

• Leading, mentoring, and developing a small product development team, with scope for future growth
• Managing end-to-end product development and renovation activities across multiple customer portfolios
• Driving range reviews, product updates, and lifecycle management initiatives
• Partnering closely with sales and commercial teams to deliver customer-led solutions
• Coordinating fast-paced project delivery cycles within structured stage-gate processes
• Overseeing product refurbishment activities including packaging updates, labelling changes, and specification amendments
• Supporting limited formulation work where required, with a strong focus on commercial outcomes
• Managing multiple concurrent projects with tight turnaround timelines
• Leveraging project management systems to track delivery and priorities
• Building strong cross-functional relationships across trading, procurement, and supply chain functions
• Supporting the transition toward a more innovation-led product development pipeline

This is a high-visibility leadership role suited to someone who thrives in fast-paced environments, can bring structure to complexity, and enjoys working closely with commercial stakeholders to deliver outcomes at pace.

Skills & Experience

To be successful in this role, you will have:

• Strong experience in FMCG product development, category management, or commercial product roles
• Proven exposure to retail-facing product development and range reviews
• Strong understanding of product lifecycle management, including renovation and refurbishment activities
• Experience working in fast-paced, customer-driven environments with short turnaround cycles
• Demonstrated leadership capability or readiness to step into a team leadership role
• Strong commercial acumen with an understanding of category, trading, and supply chain dynamics
• Excellent stakeholder management skills, particularly with sales and retail partners
• Ability to manage competing priorities and deliver under tight timelines
• Experience with structured project management tools and stage-gate processes