New Product Development Manager & Industrial Manager APAC

Job Purpose

Lead end-to-end New Product Development (NPD) projects from concept approval until commercialization and market launch. The role acts as the central project owner coordinating Marketing, R&D, Regulatory, Procurement, Supply Chain, Manufacturing, Quality, and external suppliers to ensure products are launched on time, within cost, and meeting quality standards.

Key Responsibilities

1. NPD Project Management

• Lead multiple NPD projects simultaneously across product categories.

• Develop and manage detailed project timelines, milestones, dependencies, and critical paths.

• Drive cross-functional project meetings and stakeholder alignment.

• Escalate project risks and implement mitigation plans.

• Ensure timely decision-making to maintain project schedules.

2. Product Development & Commercialization

• Coordinate product development activities with Marketing, R&D, Regulatory Affairs, and QA.

• Monitor formulation, packaging development, testing, validation, and approval processes.

• Ensure regulatory requirements are met for intended markets.

• Support business case evaluation and product launch readiness.

3. Packaging, Artwork & Material Readiness

• Coordinate development of packaging materials, artworks, labels, and claims.

• Ensure artwork approval process is completed according to launch timelines.

• Monitor material qualification and supplier readiness.

• Collaborate with Procurement to ensure sourcing and availability of components.

4. Manufacturing & Industrialization

• Assess manufacturing feasibility for new products.

• Coordinate technical transfer and scale-up activities.

• Manage pilot trials, validation batches, and production readiness.

• Work closely with factories and third-party manufacturers to establish robust manufacturing processes.

5. Cost Management

• Build and monitor product costing throughout project development.

• Identify cost optimization opportunities without compromising quality.

• Support profitability targets and business case requirements.

• Track project expenses and investment requirements.

6. Launch Execution

• Coordinate launch readiness reviews.

• Ensure all commercial, operational, regulatory, and supply chain requirements are fulfilled before launch.

• Support first production runs and market launch activities.

• Monitor initial launch performance and issue resolution.

7. Stakeholder Management

• Serve as the point of contact for NPD projects.

• Manage communication among internal and external stakeholders.

• Provide project status updates to management.

• Lead project governance and reporting.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Chemical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Food Technology, Pharmacy, Supply Chain, or related field.

• 7-10 years experience in FMCG, Consumer Healthcare, Personal Care, Food, or Pharmaceutical industry.

• Minimum 3 years in Project Management, NPD, Product Industrialization, or Supply Chain.

• Strong experience in cross-functional project management.

• Experience handling third-party manufacturers and suppliers.

• Strong leadership and influencing skills

• Excellent stakeholder management