Location: Salford

Type: Permanent

Industry: Homeware

Job Ref: TGN4682

The Company:

A leading supplier of home furnishings is currently seeking a Senior Product Technologist to join their growing team. The company supply retailers including John Lewis, Waitrose, Dunelm & Lakeland. Your role is to ensure a product moves from its design and development stage into the hands of the retailer or end user.  You will work closely with internal stake holders, or Product Tech team, overseas manufacturers and the customer to fully meet or exceed expectations for product compliance, quality, packaging, sustainability, on time delivery and end user performance. The working hours are Monday to Friday 8.30am – 5pm.

Benefits:

• Hybrid working (1-2 days per week)
• Free Parking
• 20 days holiday (increasing by 1 per year) plus bank holidays
• Pension plan with employer contribution
• Life assurance policy
• Employee discounts on product
• Employee Assistance Program 

The Role:

• Attend and contribute to pre-production handover meetings via close liaison with Design, Development and Customer Account stake holders to ensure selected products are suitable and compliant for bulk manufacture, performance, presentation and customer expectation.
• Ensure timely completion and issue of detailed product, imagery and packaging specifications to both our overseas manufacturers and internal e-commerce stakeholders via a PIM based system.
• As a senior stakeholder, you will populate, maintain and manage key sections of a detailed critical path to ensure timely customer product launches.
• Analysis of the critical path will then prompt proactive actions to be taken with chasing suppliers for fabric and product sampling, also packaging proofs in a timely manner to ensure on time shipment.
• Oversee a sample sealing process involving checking of strike/bulk fabrics, packaging proofs, test/inspection reports and gold seal samples to ensure compliance to internal and customer requirements. Communicate appropriate approvals and rejections back to the supplier.
• Provide regular updates with internal and external stake holders on sample activity and progress.
• Hold suppliers accountable and maintain KPI’s for performance on sampling, testing and inspection dates including ‘right first time’ sample submission within agreed deadlines.
• Deal quickly and effectively with daily email communications to and from suppliers, customers and internal stake holders.
• Control, evaluate and approve pre-shipment inspection reports in partnership with our overseas teams via strong communication.
• Support the Product and Quality Manager with technical analysis, data harvesting and compliance reporting for all sustainable and recycled product offering.
• Other duties as required.

Skills Required:

• MUST have experience in a similar role within Home Textiles.
• Ability to work effectively in a high volume, fast paced environment.
• Enthusiastic team player, with a proactive approach and a collaborative attitude.
• Organised, and capable of prioritising multiple tasks.
• Exceptional attention to detail.
• Confident to make decisions and take responsibilities, yet unafraid to seek advice.
• A desire for continuous product excellence, and improvements.
• A 360 thinker, able to see the bigger picture when problem solving.
• A strong communicator with ability to present confidently to stakeholders, suppliers and customers.