Head Of Product Development

Head of Product Development | Consumer Products | Greater Manchester | Competitive Salary + Benefits

A fantastic opportunity has arisen for a Head of Product Development to join a highly successful and growing consumer products business in Greater Manchester.

This is a newly created leadership role for a big product person who combines genuine creativity with strong commercial instinct. You’ll play a key role in shaping exciting new ranges, bringing fresh ideas to market and developing a high-performing Product Development team.

We’re looking for someone who lives and breathes product - someone naturally curious about trends, understands what will excite the customer and can turn creative ideas into commercially successful products.

The Role

You’ll lead the Product Development function, working across a broad and varied product portfolio and taking ownership from initial idea and trend inspiration through to final product and production.

Working closely with Design, Sales, Merchandising, QA and an established international supplier base, you’ll combine creative thinking with commercial awareness to develop products that are innovative, relevant and commercially strong.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead, inspire and develop a talented Product Development team, bringing energy, creativity and a strong team culture.
• Own the product development strategy across a large and varied product portfolio.
• Generate new product ideas by identifying consumer trends, market opportunities and emerging product directions.
• Challenge the team to think creatively and continually bring fresh, exciting product to market.
• Work closely with international factories and suppliers, including experience travelling to China/Far East.
• Manage the development of high-volume product ranges, ideally across 1,000+ SKUs.
• Work closely with Design, Sales, Merchandising and QA to take products from concept through to production.
• Balance creativity with strong commercial thinking across costing, pricing, margins and range architecture.
• Stay close to the market through competitor analysis, retail benchmarking, trend research and customer insight.
• Identify opportunities to improve the product offer, processes and ways of working.
• Build strong relationships across the business and with key suppliers.
• Play a key role within the wider leadership team as the business continues to grow.

Who We're Looking For

• Proven experience leading Product Development within a consumer products environment.
• Strong experience across relevant categories such as toys, gifting, homeware, seasonal, accessories or similar.
• A genuine passion for product - someone who is constantly thinking about what's next.
• Naturally creative, with the ability to turn trends and consumer insight into exciting product ideas.
• Strong commercial understanding, with experience managing costs, pricing, margins and large product ranges.
• Experience managing a sizeable SKU portfolio, ideally 1,000+ SKUs.
• International sourcing experience and ideally experience travelling to China/the Far East.
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced, high-energy environment where things move quickly.
• An inspiring people leader who knows how to get the best out of a team.
• Someone who brings energy, enthusiasm and passion and can create a positive team culture.
• Confident enough to challenge, influence and make decisions while remaining collaborative and approachable.
• Commercially minded, creative and genuinely excited by the opportunity to shape product and make an impact.

BH37248

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