Product Development Manager

Role Title
Product Development Manager
Greater Manchester
£26-30k + bonus + benefits

Role Profile
Our client, a leading and long-standing supplier of a wide range of products including Giftware, Seasonal and Home Accessories, is looking to appoint a Product Development Manager to a newly created role in their business as it expands. The business supplies into major retailers from discount to high-end as well as independents across to country as well as worldwide. Your new role will be varied; from supporting the Product Development Director in putting new ranges together, to taking on a variety of administrative tasks to management of suppliers, licenses and all internal and external creative resources. With new ranges accounting for a massive 40% of business sales each year, no day will be the same in terms of the products you will be working with! This is a fantastic opportunity for a bright, creative and confident individual to join an established supplier with an excellent reputation in the industry with the chance to drive forward their own progression as the business grows. The ideal candidate will come from a buying or product development background with experience of liaising with Far East suppliers and a genuine interest in these product areas.

Responsibilities

• Managing the liaison and sample management process across all 180+ suppliers to ensure samples are accurate and arrive on-time for approval
• Independent analysis and research of the market to be aware of and brief trends from nationals, independents, export and high street retailers to the entire business and integrating this research into the sample selection and product approval process to support the Product Development Director
• Administration of all sample approvals and modifications utilising and briefing designers to implement changes and expedite sample revisions
• Liaising with factories to prepare schedules for all Far East trips (preparing agendas, briefing each factory for meetings and ensuring all post-trip administration from project numbers to chasing quotations is complete)
• Managing and administering all the licenses and distributorships to ensure they are fully and regularly briefed on results, future direction and that all reporting and administration they require is submitted in an accurate and timely fashion and all payments and contractual obligations are managed as necessary
• Supporting the National and Key Accounts team by being the liaison between them and the product team for the management of all their design projects with factories and the briefing and presentation of new brands and product information for them to use for their customers
• Liaising with foreign buying agents to ensure they are fully integrated into the business processes and that their office and work is as efficient as possible in delivering product and presentation requirements e.g. showrooms and customer meetings in their office, photography of samples
• Supporting the Stock Controller and Product Director with reports and analysis of brand expenditure, SKU counts, product development time and costs in line with the development and management of open to buy budgets for each brand
• Supporting the Visual Merchandiser and Showroom Manager in the planning, preparation and supplier liaison for major business events such as the Sales Meeting, Spring and Autumn Fairs

Skills, Experience & Personal Attributes

• Buying/ Product Development Experience, ideally in a relevant product area such as Home Accessories, Gifting, Seasonal, Cards etc.
• Experience of liaising with Far East suppliers
• Creative with a passion for NPD and a genuine interest in product
• Strong communicator/ relationship builder
• Commercially aware and customer focused
• Go-getter and bright with a positive attitude
• Innovative, ideas-focused
• Into the detail with strong administrative skills
• Happy to muck-in and work cross-functionally

Client information
Our client is a leading and long-standing supplier of Giftware, Home Accessories and Seasonal products

Remuneration
£26-30k + bonus + benefits

About Cast UK
Cast UK is a leading executive consultancy, providing national recruitment solutions to both clients and candidates. Specialising in HR, Procurement, Buying, Supply Chain, and Logistics, each member of our specialist team has a professional background specific to their recruiting sector. With this unique insight and knowledge, our consultants are able to place individuals from trainee through to main board. For more information on Cast UK and a complete list of all of our current vacancies, please visit www.castuk.com

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