NPD Program Manager: Product Development & Innovation

Crane Building Services & Utilities; Hitchin; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Crane Building Services & Utilities is seeking a seasoned Project Manager to lead end-to-end New Product Development initiatives within a large engineering/manufacturing context (£20m+). The role requires exceptional stakeholder management, strategic oversight and the ability to drive complex projects to plan, budget, and schedule targets.

The successful candidate will coordinate cross-functional teams, implement structured NPD processes, and maintain rigorous progress tracking to ensure timely

Qualifications

• The successful candidate will ideally be educated to degree level (or equivalent) in a technical and/or business management subject.
• Experience of large-scale high exposure Product Development projects in a medium or large Engineering/ Mechanical/ Manufacturing business (£20m plus).

Responsibilities

• Lead the full lifecycle of NPD projects.
• Organise and manage cost, resource, risks, issues, quality, scope etc.
• Lead new product development through the structured NPD process to ensure that new products are delivered, meeting specification, to plan and within agreed timescales.
• Lead, assist, motivate and manage the indirect team to achieve project objectives through leadership and influence.
• Develop and Implement a Project Management process and suite of tools including metrics and dashboard to facilitate excellence of execution of New Product Development projects.
• Maintain and execute action plans and drive cadence reviews to track ongoing performance and ensure project deadlines are achieved.
• Identify and manage risks to ensure delivery is on time.
• Track progress through relevant systems/applications and regularly communicate and provide project updates to ensure visibility of project performance, budgets, schedules, and risk.
• Meet financial objectives by forecasting requirements, preparing a budget, scheduling expenditures, analysing variances and initiating corrective actions.

Skills

Project management

Stakeholder management

Leadership

Problem solving

Strategic thinking

Organisational awareness

Education

Degree level in technical or business management

Job description

Crane Building Services & Utilities is seeking a seasoned Project Manager to lead end-to-end New Product Development initiatives within a large engineering/manufacturing context (£20m+). The role requires exceptional stakeholder management, strategic oversight and the ability to drive complex projects to plan, budget, and schedule targets.

The successful candidate will coordinate cross-functional teams, implement structured NPD processes, and maintain rigorous progress tracking to ensure timely