New Product Development Manager

About The Beauty Crop

We are a young and dynamic beauty company operating primarily in the E-commerce space. Our company is inspired by healthy living and we create products that are enhanced with nutrition derived from natural ingredients; Our philosophy is that nutrition is as equally essential for your skin as it is for your body; We are a global team operating in the UK and North America and are passionate about creating colourful, fun and cruelty-free cosmetics;

About the role

This role is career defining; allowing the right candidate to make their mark, learn while doing and work to propel THE BEAUTY CROP into a trail-blazing, aspirational global beauty brand;

Reporting to our Founder and CEO, you will be a highly motivated and experienced new product development manager with a passion for beauty. You will be able to work independently and as part of a team, and you will be able to think creatively and solve problems.

We are looking for a talented New Product Development Manager to join our Product team. You will have a big impact by coordinating the product development processes from concept generation to launch i.e. the Exploration, Development and Execution phases. You’ll not need to formulate products, but you’ll coordinate, and project manage all the tasks associated with the launch across the organisation. As a result, you’ll ensure that The Beauty Crop offers its customers with new, innovative products on time, within gross margin targets and at the desired quality level, at the quickest speed to market within the industry.

Roles and responsibilities...

Exploration - Using your own initiative and market research, combined with data and insights from our Category Manager and retailer partners, to help us achieve our sales objectives. It will be the responsibility of the Product team to design, cost and propose products that meet that brief. You’ll be at the heart of establishing innovative ingredients and products that have the best product market fit.

Development - Provide clear briefs and direction to 3rd party manufacturers and our in-house Chemist. Work closely with our Head of Brand to conceptualise product design - ingredients, components, look and feel.

Execution - Responsible for making product ideas a reality. Execute the end to end journey from design to manufacturing, arranging supply chain right through to handing the finished product over to the Fulfilment Team.

• Responsible for the overall project management of new product development projects of a category by planning and tracking all steps from concept generation to launch, ensuring timing, quantity and KPIs targets are achieved;Work in collaboration and define the roles and responsibilities of project team members involved in product launches from Brand, Product, Regulatory, Finance, and Marketing;
• Help in building the our 24-month launch calendar in conjunction with the brand leaders and be the owner of category product launches;
• Provide the product team with launch feasibility and scenarios as and when requested using standard time plan templates that vary in duration and need to be adapted according to product specification and complexity;
• Build a critical path for each launch with key development milestones and proactively track and manage the adherence to the timelines;
• Regularly update the timelines based on project evolution, suppliers feedback and launch calendar changes;
• Lead weekly project meetings to closely follow the evolution of each project with the relevant teams, ensuring successful completion of all tasks, and provide agendas and recaps for those;
• Consistently challenge and reduce the development lead-times by ensuring appropriate balanced risks are factored into the original time plans, whilst ensuring all service requirements are achieved/exceeded;
• Work closely with suppliers and contract manufacturers all through the development, ensuring our projects are on track and orders are delivered on time and up to our quality standards;
• Be able to anticipate potential risks and issues linked to development, production, shipment and proactively look for solutions when they occur;
• Develop contingency plans where required in collaboration with the wider product / demand creation functions;
• Ensure key information is defined in a timely manner and made more accurate all along the development process e.g. Specifications, BOM’s, Gross Margin, Quantities, Shipping plans according to company’s standards;
• Provide timely and effective communication of the risks and corrective actions required to ensure perfect execution and encourage an environment of full transparency via the use of project status updates, “red flag” alerts to senior management and other similar tools;
• Manage the forecasting process ensuring launch forecasts are submitted for each launch by collaborating with the Marketing team and place orders of all components and finished goods for launch;
• Find ways to improve the launch management process and overall NPD performance.

Success in 6 months:

• THE BEAUTY CROP is on track to deliver annual D2C revenues of £20mn (FY ‘23) with £4mn EBITDA;
• On track to deliver and develop key NPD projects for 2024
• Successfully ensured all NPD launched as planned

Success in 24 months:

• THE BEAUTY CROP is track to deliver >£35m annual revenues with £7mn EBITDA;
• Develop product pipeline that resonates with target audience and become best selling SKUs
• Able to react and capture key trends and ingredients by innovating with key suppliers and manufacturers
• Create and introduce new product categories that will open new markets

About you

To succeed at The Beauty Crop, you must have an entrepreneurial mindset and a growth-oriented attitude. The ideal candidate must be comfortable with ambiguity and able to navigate the fast-paced and constantly evolving nature of our direct to consumer, e-commerce and wholesale/retail cosmetics business. You must be willing to take calculated risks and have a bias for action, with a willingness to roll up your sleeves and get involved in all aspects of the business. You must be a strategic thinker, with the ability to balance short-term tactics and objectives with long-term vision and goals.

Additionally, you must be customer-focused and have a deep understanding of our target audience. You must be passionate about cosmetics and have your finger on the pulse of cosmetic chemistry techniques, process and cosmetics / beauty trends and styles. You must be creative and innovative, with the ability to anticipate and respond to changing consumer / customer needs and preferences, before they happen.

• 2-3 years of experience ideally in launch management or project management within the beauty or FMCG industry with a solid grasp on product development & supply chain processes.
• Strong planning and organisational skills, with a great ability to multitask while staying rigorous.
• Strong understanding of product development and formulation
• Excellent problem-solving and analytical skills
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team
• Excellent communication and presentation skills
• Scientific degree (cosmetic chemistry, chemistry) a plus

We would love to respond to every application however due to the volume of applications we receive this isn't always possible. If you have not heard within 2 weeks of applying, please assume on this occasion that your application has not been shortlisted. We may retain your CV to contact you about future employment opportunities that are being managed by The Growth Foundation Talent.

The Growth Foundation Talent is deeply committed to building a diverse & inclusive workplace and welcomes applications from all sections of the community.