New Product & Services Development Manager

EEF have an exciting opportunity to join us in the new position of New Product & Services Development Manager, ideally based in the Midlands and reporting to our Chief Operating Officer.

As New Services Development Manager you will conceive and develop new products, taking into consideration the design, commerciality and process for successful delivery of business / professional services.

You will have full responsibility for the end-to-end introduction of new services within the company, working closely with key stakeholders and ensuring new products and services are made available to customers within agreed timeframes.

Where current services are already established you will work with key stakeholders in order to further develop and modernise our services.

Background:  

Established in 1896, EEF is a major employer’s organization, focused on the UK Manufacturing sector and providing a range of professional services to its members and clients, alongside our key policy and representation role.

Employing around 400 staff, our services are provided through regional offices around the UK, with key practices focused on Employment Law, HR, Health, Safety & Environment as well as a venues/conference business, Apprentices & Skills Training and Occupational Health capabilities.

Our services are provided to over 4,000 member organisations and hundreds of non-member clients through a variety of contracting methods including a predominant annual membership subscription model. We work with a broad range of businesses, including world-renowned, blue-chip organisations.

Key Role Objectives:

EEF has high ambitions for its customers and we plan to continuously improve our existing product offering and where necessary refocus / redefine and grow our strategy for this vital portfolio. Objectives need to be designed and implemented to address a number of key areas including:

• Help shape the vision for our future offering, with products that are based on in-depth market awareness and systematic engagement with customer’s future strategies
• Developing new opportunities based on known strategies and programmes; taking into account the pulse of the market, the views of our customers and the business services team to enhance our offerings and increase product value
• Create the economic models to substantiate investment proposals and inform our product pricing strategy.

Key Responsibilities & Duties:

• Assist in the development of new products and services, aimed at a wide range of customer accounts
• Responsibility for leading product/service offering with a go-to-market approach and associated business case formulation
• Explore innovation in other industries with an eye toward applying those innovations to EEF’s range of business services products
• Provide ideas and insights into how the company can work to create amazing product experiences for its customers
• Enhance Client and EEF market awareness and tracking to inform account engagement planning and execution
• Link member/customer strategic plans and programmes with development and adaptation of appropriate EEF product offerings as required
• Working closely with EEF Business Unit Heads/Product Owners and Marketing through establishment of feedback mechanisms
• Act as EEF’s champion for the company's formal New Product Development system

Skills & Experience:

• Proven experience of working in new product development; in particular having led a NPD project from scratch ready for launch and ideally with experience of working in professional services organisations
• Demonstrate that you have owned and directed the product management process (competitive analysis, requirements etc.)
• To drive the creation of new intellectual property to support sales, marketing and internal knowledge development efforts
• Experience of building an entrepreneurial, creative, innovative approach to your own consumer facing product or service offering
• Experience of tracking success measures throughout a products lifecycle
• Ability to present recommendations in senior management forums - up to executive board level
• A strong proactive customer service philosophy & stakeholder empathy, with experience of working in a customer-centric environment
• Strong negotiation skills.
• Ability to interact and collaborate with stakeholders at various levels across delivery teams and the customer base. A collaborative attitude will be essential to the role.

Due to the nature of the position and the structure of the business, travel we be an aspect of the role, as you will spend time visiting our clients and internal stakeholders within EEF’s regional offices.

EEF ask that all job applicants share our company-wide commitment to putting the Customer First.

If you are invited to an interview, you will need to demonstrate a good understanding of customer service and to provide examples of having delivered customer service to a high standard.