NPD - Project Manager

Job Purpose

The role holder will be responsible for enabling the OTIF delivery of a range of the groups brands NPD projects.

The responsibility of the NPD department begins from the initial brief, all the way through to the first production run.

The role does not focus on pure packaging development, but rather project management of the entire product development process.

It is important to note that our NPD (New Product Development) department, does not only focus on packaging development. They play the role of the overall project managers in the product launch process. Their responsibility begins from the day an NPD brief is created, to the first production run.

The group has separate R&D (formulation development), QC, Molding, Purchase departments but the NPD team is the overall owner of all product development, new or existing.

Principal Accountabilities & Responsibilities

• End to end project management, from product brief all the way through until first production run for a range of the groups perfume and personal care brands.
• Hold ultimate responsibility in delivering products, from NPD brief, through till first production run.
• Develop a detailed project plan to monitor and track progress
• Conceptualize brief to Product realization.
• Translating sales team requirements into formal NPD briefs.
• Develop new products and the cost re-engineering of existing products.
• Ensuring that our products are fully compliant to all the

  required specifications of major retailers/regions.

• Benchmarking against key competitors within major retailers.
• Responsible for coordinating with various external vendors, to ensure delivery of their part of projects on time. Maintaining project status sheets & doing whatever is needed to expedite various parts of the project.
• Hold internal departments responsible for adhering to timelines of the various gate stages of projects.
• Work to develop a rigorous system and process flow for the NPD process.
• Work with and develop processes for the design & artwork team, to integrate them better into the product development process.
• Carrying out competitor and market research.
• Helping to decide on USPs, hero ingredients & marketing claims for products. Oversee product development and monitor market trends that may indicate the need for new products and services.

Co-ordinating with external customers, to give updates on the technical aspects of the project.

• To work closely with the procurement team to identify new sources of supply of product needs and sources new raw materials and passes information on new ideas to NPD Department.
• Creation of samples for customers.
• Gather comments, suggestions and feedback that can become the ideas for new products.

Maintains component, fragrance and competitive libraries.

Skills & Competencies Required

• Must have very strong project management skills

• Must have worked on developing PERFUMES.

• Exposure in project coordination and schedules for NPD.
• Exposure in Packaging development.
• Exposure in Component development
• Good Communication Skill in English (written & verbal)