Job Description
This role plays a key part in shaping and delivering innovative, engaging and market-leading products and supports the end-to-end new product development lifecycle. From concept ideation through design, prototyping, testing and commercialisation ensuring projects are delivered efficiently on time and aligned with brand and business goals.
As a senior role it balances creativity with operational rigour, helping to maximise team capacity, improve ways of working and support the continued growth of our product development function.
Main responsibilities
Strategic & Leadership Support
- Defining and executing the innovation and new product development strategy aligned with company growth goals and brand vision.
- Help manage and maintain the product innovation pipeline, ensuring clear prioritisation and visibility across teams.
- Act as a senior point of support for cross-functional teams across innovation, design, product management and development.
- Contribute insights on consumer behaviour, trends and market opportunities to inform future innovation.
Product Lifecycle Management
- Support oversight of the new product development process from concept through production, ensuring projects remain on track, on time and on budget.
- Work closely with Directors to help deliver against company objectives and ensure alignment on product planning and resource allocation.
- Collaborate with marketing, sales and operations to support cohesive go-to-market planning.
- Assist in developing and maintaining timelines, budgets and resource plans across multiple projects.
Innovation & Creative Leadership
- Champion creativity and innovation within the team, supporting and contributing to ideation sessions and concept development.
- Review and provide input on product concepts, designs, prototypes and packaging, ensuring strong consumer appeal, usability and safety.
- Help ensure innovation outputs are commercially viable and aligned with brand standards.
Team, Workflow & Resource Management
- Facilitate clear communication across disciplines including editorial, design, production, sales and operations.
- Support the balancing of team capacity across multiple fast-moving projects, escalating and re-prioritising where needed with senior stakeholders.
- Helping troubleshoot day-to-day product or supplier issues
- Contributing to continuous improvement of team processes
Required skills
- Proven experience in product development, innovation or within consumer products, Toys, Arts and Crafts, Gifts or similar categories
- Experience supporting or leading cross-functional teams in a fast-moving environment
- Strong understanding of the end-to-end product development lifecycle
- Commercially minded, with experience balancing creativity, cost, timelines and resource constraints
- Confident stakeholder manager with excellent communication skills
- Highly organised with strong planning and prioritisation abilities
- A collaborative leader who enjoys developing people and ways of working
Benefits
- Bereavement leave
- Casual dress
- Company events
- Company pension
- Cycle to work scheme
- Discounted or free food
- Employee discount
- Free fitness classes
- Life insurance
- Paid volunteer time
- Referral programme
- Sick pay
- Work from home