New Product Development (NPD) Core Cookware (CC) Manager (m/w/d)

at  Le Creuset GmbH

Kirchheim unter Teck
Who We Are
Our French heart pulses through our international brand. With 100 years of heritage, we are future focused as we push ourselves and each other to connect every cook with personal stories and our rich legacy of food lovers to a lifestyle that inspires. Building beautiful products of the best quality that bring joy to people’s lives for generations. We want to ensure that the heart of every home beats from the kitchen. Through our values of PASSION, INTEGRITY, INNOVATION & EXCELLENCE, TEAMWORK we make Le Creuset a great place to work, celebrating our rich diversity.
Main Purpose of the Role
Since 1925, product has been at the heart of Le Creuset. As the Group New Product Development (NPD) Manager of the Core Cookware category, you are responsible for ensuring the successful delivery of NPDs in line with our manufacturing capabilities/partnerships and commercial requirements. You will influence and achieve success through extensive collaboration with internal and external partners, and rigorous adherence to the process milestones and KPIs that achieve results. The ideal candidate is an adaptive and forward-thinking individual focused on the achievement of shared goals.

KNOWLEDGE REQUIRED

• Degree or higher degree in engineering or related field
• 5+ years’ experience in a brand led consumer product business with specific experience in new product development processes
• Demonstrated knowledge in a direct or related product field with respect to material properties and manufacturing processes
• Ability to gauge technology and product trends in the cookware space, proactively recommending solutions for incorporation into the development pipeline
• Competency in collaborating with design and engineering agencies/individuals
• Consumer centric mindset with an ability to leverage insight into decision making
• Ability to work autonomously, and multi-task in an agile environment
• Excellent project management and communication skills
• Strategic and tactical planning experience supported with analysis
• Strong cross-cultural, interpersonal, written and verbal communication skills
• Fluency in English
• Experience in circular design/green design
• Proficient in MS Office, working knowledge of MS Project will be a plus
• Sourcing and procurement experience
• Global collaboration experience

General management and communication of all new product development initiatives.

• Partner with the Regional/Subsidiary lead Category Managers to identify the initiatives that need to be incorporated into the development and manufacturing pipeline
• Ensure that all programs are accurately reflected and tracked against manufacturing capabilities and constraints with respect for customer/ and/or consumer launch dates
• Coordinate with internal teams to deliver the necessary validation requirements for commercialization: e.g. packaging, health & safety, quality assurance certification, logistics specifications, legal, etc.
• Collaborate with the necessary manufacturing and sourcing partners to initiate, track, and manage on-time project delivery.
• Deliver category specific colour development in line with lead brand colour standards that are catalogued and consistently achieved throughout the production life cycle.
• Ensure that all programs and market expectations align with LC Group financial requirements.
• Identify inter-category manufacturing/sourcing opportunities to deliver programs in line with Le Creuset’s sustainability mission.
• Continuously research and identify the product innovation opportunities in manufacturing and vendor partners that will lead to superior product developments in line with our brand position.

Optimization of the development process to achieve commercial objectives.



• Support portfolio optimization initiatives by coordinating with the regional/subsidiary leads to identify SKU delisting decisions
• Partner with the Group Head of NPD to ensure that all process milestones are tracked and visible to corporate leadership as necessary
• Lead the global monthly category meetings to identify development priorities and reduce duplicative requests, escalating where necessary for resolution
• Communicate LC Group requirements that will shape future NPD requests, e.g. manufacturing efficiency targets, investment explorations, innovation capabilities, etc.
• Rigorously manage the process improvements that will deliver program delivery improvements against expectations
• Manage and report on the NPD KPIs to support expectations for program delivery against available resource requirements and support where necessary
• Coordinate with the commercial leaders on the program performance analytics needed to support successful program evaluation and optimization