NPD Project Manager

SURI; London; Hybrid; GBP 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

A sustainable personal care company in London is seeking an NPD Project Manager to lead product development initiatives. The role involves managing new product development from concept through commercialization, conducting market analysis, and establishing sourcing strategies. Candidates should have proven experience in project management and excellent negotiation skills. This position offers hybrid working, extensive benefits, and opportunities for personal development.

Benefits

25 days annual leave

Flexible working hours

Bupa Private Healthcare

£1000 personal development budget

Cycle to Work scheme

Qualifications

• Proven experience in NPD/NPI development.
• Hands-on individual with both details and strategic knowledge.
• Excellent negotiation skills with stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead NPD projects from concept to commercialization.
• Conduct market analyses to inform product development.
• Develop a sourcing strategy aligned with business needs.
• Manage supplier relationships and risks.

Skills

Project management

Market analysis

Sourcing strategy

Financial modeling

Advanced Excel

Data analysis

Tools

Excel

Power Pivot

Job description

Hello, we’re SURI (Sustainable Rituals) -we’re on a mission to make personal care more enjoyable and sustainable, one daily ritual at a time.

For like-minded individuals who already believe in the power of sustainable choices, we aim to create personal care products that are more sustainable, beautiful, and convenient alternatives. We seek to continually push the boundaries of what is possible and invite honest conversation on our collective journey. We launched our first product, an award-winning sustainable sonic electric toothbrush, in 2022, and have sold to nearly 800k customers, across Europe US. Along the way, we have received many awards (Red Dot Design Award, DeZeen People’s Choice Award, Amazon Innovations Awards, Fast Company Most Innovative CPG Company, and more) and great organic press coverage (Wired, Monocle, The Times, The Independent, GQ, and more).

We have a closely knit team of experts who have a strong attention to detail and willingness to think differently. We are looking for someone to redefine the rules on how we bring products to market at SURI, helping us be an exemplary example of a challenger brand and keep momentum building.

As NPD Project Manager you will be leading NPD/NPI programs directly with Product & Innovation to determine critical paths and then project manage all NPD from concept to commercialisation. This would likely be around 70% of the time. 30% of role will be making sure we have appropriate sourcing strategies and suppliers, agreements / contracts, codes of conducts and running of RFI’s, RFP’s and RFQ’s.

Be part of our continuous improvement expertise – we are currently developing fundamental supply chain practises and require innovative and thoughtful input via utilisation of relevant experience

If this excites you and you are keen to shape SURI with us we’d be thrilled to hear from you!

Responsibilities

• Lead all new and exciting new developments of products managing project scope, timelines and resources ensuring the projects meet the business objectives
• Conduct Market Analysis on keys areas for SURI products and build intricate knowledge that allows us to conduct better negotiations with partners
• Develop and execute a sourcing strategy that will meet SURI’s business needs (capacity, sustainability, price, service levels)
• Lead and set the Project Management expectations of NPD across the entire business including meeting cadence, documentation, information sharing, process mapping of route to market and focused workstreams
• Promote effective working relationships with internal and external stakeholders across the operation which ensure continued business growth and KPI standards
• Work with all area specialists across the operations to understand and develop Define-Measure-Analyse-Improve & Control (DMAIC) approaches to all activities that we would source and tender
• Develop a supply chain risk mitigation plan as an integral part of the sourcing strategy and lead its execution to de-risk supply chain operations
• Responsible for aligning all stakeholders on the Product Briefs and deconstructing the briefs into clearly understood commercial areas for negotiations and contract clauses
• Run consumer testing with suitable partners and feedback insights to the business
• Ensure supplier, financial and delivery risks are identified, and managed through robust Business Continuity Plans with alternative suppliers and specifications if necessary
• Clearly communicate on all the above to influence and drive change

• You are calm in high stakes environments that need to work in ambiguity

• You do not just have one way of doing things, you have a suite of scenarios
• Hands on individual with experience to seamlessly talk details and strategy on the line
• NPD/NPI development process – you have led and improved these before
• Project management – you have led and tailored techniques before
• Financial & Cost modelling – you are comfortable with details, modelling in excel and talking people through how these models work
• Able to demonstrate the ability to influence, challenge and negotiate with a wide range of knowledgeable stakeholders, including suppliers and colleagues
• You are a data whizz and an Advanced Excel user (happy with Power Pivot, Query, DAX queries)
• You are able to map out supply chains visually and are comfortable drawing process flow diagrams and writing Standard Operating Procedures

• 25 days annual leave, plus bank holidays and an additional day for your birthday

• Flexible working hours
• Hybrid working - up to 2 days working from home each week
• Bupa Private Healthcare and Dental cover
• Income Protection and Life Assurance
• 1 Charity Day per year
• Central London offices- based in London Bridge; a stone’s throw from Borough Market
• 4x “Work from Anywhere” weeks, with no requirement to be in the office those weeks
• Access to our Employee Assistance Programme, which grants free therapy and coaching sessions to all staff
• Monthly social events, organised by different team members
• 5x free toothbrushes every year
• £1000 personal development budget each year, per employee
• Fantastic career opportunities; with the chance to grow as SURI does
• Ross Fridays; dreamed up by our Head of Commercial, Ross; a Ross Friday gives you the opportunity to finish at 3pm on a Friday of your choosing every month
• Fresh fruit and snack orders every week
• Cycle to Work scheme, and Electric Bike Cycle to Work scheme
• Regular product swaps with other fantastic companies

At SURI, we value diversity and welcome applicants from all backgrounds. We look for team members who will positively contribute to our dynamic, passionate culture and believe that an inclusive and diverse work environment is one in which we all thrive.

Please let us know if you require any reasonable adjustments to be made for the recruitment process.