Product Developer - 12mths FTC

Merry Hill Group; Castleton; Hybrid; GBP 30,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

Merry Hill Group in Manchester is seeking a Product developer for a 12-month FTC to support end-to-end development of seasonal collections, working with designers, product managers and suppliers to hit critical path dates.

You should be proactive, organised and commercially aware, with a collaborative mindset. The role involves liaising with overseas suppliers and contributing to the delivery of high-standard streetwear products, with occasional travel.

Qualifications

• Minimum 2 years’ Product development experience in a fast-moving brand/retail environment
• Experience of working with Suppliers
• Excellent organisational & communication skills
• Passion for Streetwear and Lifestyle products
• Collaborative team player, with ability to react quickly to changing demands and priorities

Responsibilities

• Working to a critical path to ensure development process runs smoothly and ex-factory dates are met, with cost prices aligned to CP and issues flagged to Merchandising and Supply Chain.
• Control all seal samples stages and ensure timely completion within CP timeframe.
• Conduct in-house fit sessions; make commercial decisions with Brand Manager/Buying team on construction solutions.
• Measure and send comments on own brand samples across categories.
• Analyse technical issues and provide clear comments to suppliers.
• Send complete workbooks with accurate specs, grade rules, testing and risk assessment.
• Ensure compliance with regulations, product safety and legislations.
• Test and analyse product performance, fabric and garment testing and QC.
• Be a key contact during development, recording and reporting actionable results.
• Confidently manage and support Design Handovers.
• Work with overseas suppliers and travel for production/development trips (occasional evenings/weekends).
• Liaise with Design and Buying to offer technical guidance on new product development.
• Support Design/Development teams to achieve innovative, performance-based products.
• Support graphics team with reporting development/production issues.
• Assist with bulk QC checks when required.

Job description

The Role:

Our Product Creation team is looking for a Product developer - 12mths FTC

This is an exciting opportunity for someone who is passionate about product and wants to contribute to the continued growth of one of the world's leading streetwear brands.

As Product developer you will support the end to end development process of seasonal collections working across North Manchester offices. Working closely with Product developers, designers and Product manager, you will play an important role in ensuring the successful delivery of departmental and business objectives.

We are looking for someone who is proactive, organised, and commercially aware, with a strong attention to detail and a collaborative approach. You will thrive in a fast-paced environment, embrace new challenges, and contribute positively to both your team and the wider business.

Responsibilities:

• Working to a critical path to ensure that the development process is smooth and that the ex-factory dates are maintained and ensure all cost prices applied to CP to work back from and highlighting any potential issues to Merchandising and Supply Chain team.

• Controlling all seal samples stages and ensuring they are done in adequate timeframe to the CP.

• Conducting fit sessions in-house; making confident commercial decisions along with Brand Manager/Buying team using your ability to understand, recommend and execute commercial construction solutions.

• Responsible for measuring & sending comments on own brand samples across all categories.

• Analysing technical issues accurately and sending clear, concise and accurate comments to suppliers.

• Sending complete workbooks with accurate specs, correct grade rules, testing and risk assessment according to the category in question.

• Ensuring compliance with regulations, product safety and legislations.

• Testing and analysing product performance, fabric and garment testing and quality control.

• Being a key point of contact throughout the development of the product, recording and reporting any actionable results.

• Confidently manage and support Design Handovers.

• Work directly with overseas suppliers and travel for production and development trips. (May include evenings and weekends)

• Liaising with Design and Buying team to offer technical guidance on new product development.

• Supporting Design/Development teams in order to achieve innovative and performance-based products to the highest standard.

• Support the graphics team with reporting any development/production issues.

• Assisting with bulk QC checks when required.

About You:

• Minimum 2 years’ Product development experience in a fast-moving brand/retail environment
• Experience of working with Suppliers
• Excellent organisational & communication skills
• Passion for Streetwear and Lifestyle products
• Collaborative team player, with ability to react quickly to changing demands and priorities.

Personal Attributes

• Passionate about fashion, and streetwear culture.
• Positive, proactive, and adaptable.
• Strong work ethic and accountability.
• Collaborative team player with a "can-do" attitude.
• Keen to learn, develop, and grow within the business.

The Team:

From Design, Production, Merchandising, Ecommerce, Marketing, Operations, Finance, and People teams, collaborative working environment provides opportunities to build strong relationships across the business.

You will work closely with colleagues who are passionate about the brand and committed to delivering exceptional products and experiences for our global community.

Diversity:

We recognise and value the importance of diversity to help make sure we have lots of different perspectives . Diversity for us is about building happy teams full of people that want to learn and be inspired by each other and our different experiences and backgrounds.

Recruitment Process:

We review applications on an individual basis, and if we feel you would be a good fit we’ll invite you for a call or Teams video for an informal chat about the role, and to see if we’re a good fit for you.

We value open and honest conversations and collaboration, giving you a chance to learn about what we are doing in an informal and friendly environment. We want to know about you and why you feel that this is the opportunity for you. Please note, this is not a remote role, and our expectation is that you will be able to attend Head Office in a hybrid way, in Greater Manchester.