Product Development Manager

Elevation Recruitment Group; Altofts; On-site; GBP 32,000 - 39,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension

Life Cover

Income Protection

Onsite parking

23 Days holiday + bank holidays

Job summary

Elevation Recruitment Group - Marketing Division are partnering with a national distributor with a sustainability ethos to recruit an experienced Own Label Product Development Manager. You will lead the development of the own label range from concept to launch, working with the Category Manager to ensure products are innovative, on-brand, compliant and commercially successful.

You will build the own label portfolios, drive development plans to grow range breadth and sales, and act as the link

Qualifications

• Experience in buying or product management leadership for own label/private label.
• Strong supplier management and negotiation skills.
• Knowledge of manufacturing, sourcing and compliance standards.
• Excellent organisational skills with the ability to manage multiple projects.
• Commercially astute with a creative eye for product innovation.
• Ability to travel nationally and internationally (approx. 5%).
• Full clean driving license essential.

Responsibilities

• Define and implement the proposition for each Own Label with objective of YoY growth in own label sales.
• Manage end-to-end development of own label products from idea generation to launch.
• Collaborate with Own Label Marketing Manager to agree brand identity.
• Analyse market trends and competitor activity to identify opportunities in B2B own label landscape.
• Proposal of developments in current and new categories for own label.
• Coordinate the Own Label Development Plan and liaise with suppliers on costs, timelines and quality.
• Track product performance and recommend range improvements.
• Ensure compliance with safety, legal and brand requirements.
• Support Responsible Procurement Policy and drive year-on-year improvements.
• Approve samples, packaging and production sign-offs.
• Work with Product Management and other teams on supplier relationship management and agreements.

Skills

Supplier management

Negotiation

Product development

Category management

Cross-functional collaboration

Project management

Regulatory knowledge

Data analysis

Presentations

Driving licence

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

Salary: up to £35K per annum

Working Hours: Monday – Friday 9am-5pm

• 23 Days holiday + bank holidays
• Pension
• Life Cover
• Income Protection
• Onsite parking

Elevation Recruitment Group - Marketing Division are excited to be working with a national distributor with a sustainability ethos and a great employee culture.

We’re looking for an experienced and commercially minded Own Label Product Development Manager to lead the creation and delivery of our own label range. You’ll work in conjunction with the Category Manager to own the process from concept to launch, ensuring products are innovative, on-brand, compliant, and commercially successful.

You will be responsible for building each of the own label portfolios, proposition, and delivering a development plan focused on growing the breadth of range and sales.

General overview:

The product manager will be responsible for ensuring the company has a well-constructed, competitive range of products for the different sales channels. Commercial success is critical to the role. The role will be in constant contact with the supplier base. The role will be responsible for the product within the organisation and ensure the product is managed successfully across several different disciplines. Finally, the product manager will provide a link between different departments and their relationship with suppliers. They will need to manage that relationship to the benefit whilst ensuring the supplier is engaged in the opportunities within the Group.

Responsibilities:

• Help define and implement the proposition for each Own Label with the objective of material YoY growth in own label sales
• Manage end-to-end development of own label products, from idea generation to launch.
• Work with the Own Label Marketing Manager to agree the brand identity
• Analyse market trends and competitor activity to identify opportunities to understand the B2B own label competitive landscape
• Initiate and propose development in current categories and new categories for both own label.
• Input and coordination of the Own Label Development Plan
• Work with suppliers to negotiate costs, timelines, and quality standards.
• Track product performance and recommend range improvements.
• Ensure compliance with safety, legal, and brand requirements.
• Adhere to the company policies, especially the Responsible Procurement Policy and delivering year on year improvements.
• Approve samples, packaging, and production sign-offs.
• Work very closely with Product Management to agree and implement the development plan within existing category structures. This is a key area of collaboration.
• Work in conjunction with the Product Management, Procurement, Purchasing and Product Marketing teams on supplier relationship management and commercial agreements to ensure the best overall results

Core Competencies

• Proven experience in product development or buying, ideally in own label/private label.
• Strong supplier management and negotiation skills.
• Knowledge of manufacturing, sourcing, and compliance standards.
• Excellent organisational skills with the ability to manage multiple projects.
• Commercially astute with a creative eye for product innovation.
• A strong ability to work cross functionally.
• Appreciation of and understanding of the legal implications through legislative and regulatory knowledge combined with the ability to control and monitor the group actions and approach.
• The ability to travel nationally and internationally, with approx. 5% of time spent away from home.

Qualifications or Experience:

• Buying or Product Management own label leadership role.
• Highly developed category and product range development skills
• Highly developed negotiation skills including experience buying Goods for Resale from major OEMs and factories.
• High level of creativity to develop category and brand strategies.
• Strong skills and ability to influence internal and external stakeholders.
• Developed presentation skills including being able to build effective presentations and make commercial decisions accessible and easy to understand/sign off by Board members.
• Ability to master product and market knowledge, someone who can understand the business and the supply chain and challenges (from manufacturer to end user).
• Good understanding of the end-to-end sales process including promotions, pricing, demand planning, inventory management, finance and operations and how they relate to and impact profitability.
• Strong organisational skills and a ‘completer-finisher’ who is resourceful with a creative approach to problem solving.
• Numerate, analytical and the ability to handle data sets and draw conclusions from findings.
• Ability to project-manage tasks to completion.
• Full clean driving license essential.
• PC literate on main software packages (Microsoft)
• Relevant professional standards and ethics that apply to the role must be taken into account when performing duties.