Project Manager - Product Development and Packaging

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Project Manager - Product Development and PackagingProject Manager - Product Development and PackagingThe location of the role is London / remote (Ideally 1-2 days in the Paddington office per week).The pay rate on offer is up to £250 per day (Inside IR35 - via Umbrella ONLY)The duration of the role is 6 months. The client is an iconic, multinational high-street retailer, and the role sits within their Bank. Job Purpose:Project manage and support the trading cluster category teams to deliver a portfolio of New Product Development (NPD) and Existing Product Development (EPD) that includes Upgrades (UP), Representations (RP) and Re introductions (RI) from project initiation at Gate 0 through to implementation at Gate 6 and post launch review (PIR) at Gate 7. This activity will be based on the agreed category plans and the NPD customer plan. In addition, have an oversight and awareness to the twice-yearly corporate packaging changes that are directly implemented by the GSP'sWork closely with the Heads of Product Development and Trading cluster management teams to support all activity within the areas of responsibilityEnsure that all projects are visible, supported by critical paths that will allow on time delivery and work with the teams to deliver on time in full following the BIC process and ways of workingCommunicate effectively on the progress of all projectsEnsure teams identify risks at the start of a project and as part of the category team provide solutions to unblock issues, create contingency plans and communicate to the business where they occur. Escalate issues where necessary to other key stakeholders to seek a satisfactory resolution. (Category, Design, GSPs, Heads of Product Development, Heads of Trading, Technical executive)Build key stakeholder relationships to facilitate delivery of the activity plan (Ashbury, GSPs, Design, Packaging, Technical)Deliver an embedded role within the trading cluster that facilitates the smooth delivery of product activity; whilst operating as an independent function that continually looks for improvements to the stage gate process and project manager role Key Accountabilities:Portfolio managementEnsure that the critical path created allows for sufficient time for the design and artwork origination processRegularly report on the numbers of activity in progress to support the HOP with resource planningSupport the trading cluster teams by providing appropriate level of reporting, visibility and challenge for all activities on the plan working closely with GSPsManage the prioritisation of the trading cluster portfolio of activity through seeing the overall pictureSupport the Heads of Product Development with the management/oversight of the key strategic NPD platformsReporting and documentationEnsure agreed documentation and communication of all activity, status, key timings, issues and risks are accurately maintained as required.Ensure reporting is managed to the timescales defined for the KPI to ensure on time delivery of the projects.Ensure that project documentation is filed appropriately at the agreed stages within the project working with the Product Developers.Working as part of the project management team, create the regular reports that are shared with the wider business:Weekly NPD sales reportingPhase NPD list each phaseOngoing management of the NPD figures (New/UP/RP/RI) via the NPD PlanReporting for forumsKey platform areas of NPD focusProcessWork to agreed processes for the Stage Gate process and use all the available toolsAs part of the Project Management team, work with the BIC steering team and project manager "BIC champion/CI champion" to continually seek ways for further improvement to the ways that we work and feed into the ongoing BIC PIR process to prioritise and schedule future improvementsKey measures/KPIsManage and implement the Stage Gate Process ensuring compliance to the process for all RACI roles and supported by all appropriate documentation within the toolkitProvide visibility of all stage gate activity on a weekly basis working closely with the GSP's to support should blockages occur. (Note: visibility reporting currently under development)Appropriate escalation where necessary in a timely manner to allow for solutions to be achievedMonitor and communicate the annual rolling plan within the trading clusterReport on the KPIs for the trading cluster to include planned activity V actual activity and any trends that are emerging, make recommendations for future activityReporting for PIR: delivery against critical path and ensuring key lessons learnt (where issues have occurred) are applied to new projects.Support the Director of Product Development/Heads of Product Development with accurate/timely reporting of all activity on the annual rolling NPD customer plan Key ExperienceProject management with experience in managing large and complex projectsBusiness awareness in commercial environment and understanding of retailExperience in influencing at senior management levelFacilitation with ability to coach and motivate in a wider team environmentUnderstanding of the Stage gate process for NPDKnowledge of the design processKnowledge of the artwork, repro and print processAbility to monitor, measure, report on progressExcellent Excel skillsFINDPowerPoint