Hybrid working - travel and accommodation will be expensed
The Product Line Manager will own the end-to-end process that turns product strategy into a briefed, commercially-sound product line — managing line architecture, product lifecycle management and NPD/EPD planning, and translating market and commercial requirements into clear, well-evidenced briefs for the Design team.
This is a process and programme-management role at its core: the Product Line Manager will build and maintain the line architecture, run stage-gate forecasting and commercial analysis, and manage the flow of work through each stage — from strategy articulation, through brief generation, into design, and back again for sign-off against brief — before handing finished output into Product Marketing.
Working closely with the Product/Catgory lead (who brings category and product knowledge, and a strong sense of what a winning line looks like), the Product Line Manager will bring the commercial rigour, sales analysis and cross-market connectivity needed to underpin product decisions with solid numbers, and the administrative discipline to keep multiple lines moving through the process on time and to a consistently high standard.
Key Responsibilities
Line Architecture & Lifecycle Management
- Build and maintain the product line architecture across the portfolio, ensuring a coherent structure that reflects brand and commercial strategy.
- Own product lifecycle management end-to-end — tracking products through introduction, growth, maturity and phase-out, and flagging where action is needed.
- Manage the NPD (New Product Development) and EPD (Existing Product Development) pipelines, ensuring each initiative is properly scoped, resourced and sequenced.
Commercial Analysis & Forecasting
- Conduct Stage 1 forecasting for new and existing lines, working with commercial and sales teams to ensure numbers are robust and defensible.
- Analyse sales performance, market data and commercial trends to inform line decisions and prioritisation.
- Bring a strong evidence base to every stage-gate, ensuring strategy and briefs are underpinned by solid commercial rationale rather than opinion.
Market & Stakeholder Input
- Work with sales, commercial and market teams to understand what each market requires from the product line, and translate this into clear input for strategy and briefs.
- Act as the connective link between commercial/market teams and the wider product function
Brief Generation & Design Liaison
- Translate strategy and market/commercial input into clear, well-structured briefs for the Design team.
- Manage the process of briefing into Design, tracking progress through each stage gate.
- Review Design output against brief, assess whether it meets requirements, and manage the sign-off process before handing over into Product Marketing.
Process & Programme Management
- Own and manage the stage-gate process for each product line, ensuring a coherent, disciplined path from strategy through to sign-off.
- Provide the administrative and programme management backbone across multiple concurrent lines — tracking timelines, dependencies and decisions.
- Present strategy, forecasts and progress clearly to internal stakeholders at each stage gate.
The Product Line Manager will own the end-to-end process that turns product strategy into a briefed, commercially-sound product line — managing line architecture, product lifecycle management and NPD/EPD planning, and translating market and commercial requirements into clear, well-evidenced briefs for the Design team.
This is a process and programme-management role at its core: the Product Line Manager will build and maintain the line architecture, run stage-gate forecasting and commercial analysis, and manage the flow of work through each stage — from strategy articulation, through brief generation, into design, and back again for sign-off against brief — before handing finished output into Product Marketing.
Working closely with the Product/Catgory lead (who brings category and product knowledge, and a strong sense of what a winning line looks like), the Product Line Manager will bring the commercial rigour, sales analysis and cross-market connectivity needed to underpin product decisions with solid numbers, and the administrative discipline to keep multiple lines moving through the process on time and to a consistently high standard.
Key Responsibilities
Line Architecture & Lifecycle Management
- Build and maintain the product line architecture across the portfolio, ensuring a coherent structure that reflects brand and commercial strategy.
- Own product lifecycle management end-to-end — tracking products through introduction, growth, maturity and phase-out, and flagging where action is needed.
- Manage the NPD (New Product Development) and EPD (Existing Product Development) pipelines, ensuring each initiative is properly scoped, resourced and sequenced.
Commercial Analysis & Forecasting
- Conduct Stage 1 forecasting for new and existing lines, working with commercial and sales teams to ensure numbers are robust and defensible.
- Analyse sales performance, market data and commercial trends to inform line decisions and prioritisation.
- Bring a strong evidence base to every stage-gate, ensuring strategy and briefs are underpinned by solid commercial rationale rather than opinion.
Market & Stakeholder Input
- Work with sales, commercial and market teams to understand what each market requires from the product line, and translate this into clear input for strategy and briefs.
- Act as the connective link between commercial/market teams and the wider product function
Brief Generation & Design Liaison
- Translate strategy and market/commercial input into clear, well-structured briefs for the Design team.
- Manage the process of briefing into Design, tracking progress through each stage gate.
- Review Design output against brief, assess whether it meets requirements, and manage the sign-off process before handing over into Product Marketing.
Process & Programme Management
- Own and manage the stage-gate process for each product line, ensuring a coherent, disciplined path from strategy through to sign-off.
- Provide the administrative and programme management backbone across multiple concurrent lines — tracking timelines, dependencies and decisions.
- Present strategy, forecasts and progress clearly to internal stakeholders at each stage gate.
