Product Development Manager

Elevation Recruitment Group; Altofts; On-site; GBP 21,000 - 35,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

23 Days holiday + bank holidays

Pension

Private Health care

Life Cover

Income Protection

Onsite parking

Job summary

Elevation Recruitment Group - Marketing Division is seeking an experienced Product Development Manager to lead the own label range from concept to launch. You will work with the Category Manager to ensure products are innovative, on-brand, compliant and commercially successful.

You will build each own label portfolio and deliver a development plan focused on growing range breadth and sales, while coordinating with suppliers and internal teams across the Group.

Qualifications

• Experience leading own label product development from concept to launch.
• Strong supplier management and negotiation skills with OEMs/factories.
• Ability to analyse market trends and competitors in private label.

Responsibilities

• Manage end-to-end development of own label products from idea generation to launch.
• Define and implement the proposition for each Own Label to achieve YoY growth.
• Collaborate with Own Label Marketing Manager to agree brand identity.
• Coordinate development plans and supplier relationships for cost, timelines and quality.
• Ensure compliance with safety, legal and brand requirements.

Skills

Own label product development

Supplier management

Negotiation

Cross-functional collaboration

Creativity in product innovation

Brand and category strategy

Project coordination

Regulatory/compliance awareness

Travel (national/international)

Presentation skills

Driving license

Microsoft Office

Education

Experience in own label leadership

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

Role: Product Development Manager– Normanton

Salary: up to £35K per annum

Working Hours: Monday – Friday 9am-5pm

Benefits:

• 23 Days holiday + bank holidays
• Pension
• Private Health care
• 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.