As a Product Development Manager, you will be responsible for developing commercially viable, customer-focused and trend-led Footwear & Accessories products that meet both customer and market demands. Acting as the gatekeeper of quality, brand integrity, safety and legal compliance, you will be a key part of the George Quality team.

In this role, you will drive and execute the company-wide quality strategy across Footwear & Accessories, ensuring alignment across Buying, Design, Sourcing, Sustainability and Compliance teams. You will ensure products are developed and manufactured in the most appropriate factories, delivering quality, value and innovation from the outset.

This position requires close collaboration with Product, Sourcing, Compliance, Sustainability and extended teams to deliver innovative, safe, compliant and commercially successful products that exceed customer expectations.

Role Duties & Tasks

Product Quality, Development & Technical Leadership

• Ensure all Footwear & Accessories products sold by George/Asda are safe, legal and meet all relevant market standards.
• Stay informed on current and emerging legal, technical, sustainability and safety requirements affecting footwear and accessory categories.
• Drive product innovation, material development and technical enhancements
• Add value and reduce costs through strategic product engineering, material optimisation and supplier efficiencies.
• Review and improve processes and standard operating procedures
• Identify product risks early within the development process and support design, sourcing and costing decisions.
• Oversee the product development lifecycle from concept through to production approval
• Develop products with a strong focus on functionality, durability, comfort, performance and customer value.
• Lead supplier technical reviews to ensure products are fit for purpose and meet George quality expectations.
• Uphold a "Right Product, Right Factory, Right First Time" approach in line with George Technical and Product Integrity standards.
• Monitor quality performance, customer complaints, non-conformities and supplier corrective action plans.
• Manage product withdrawals, safety incidents and recalls where required.

Supplier & Relationship Management

• Develop and manage a strategic global supply base
• Build strong supplier partnerships
• Review supplier performance regularly
• Work cross-functionally with Ethical, Buying, Design, Sourcing and Merchandise teams
• Support supplier capability building through technical training, factory visits and development programmes.
• Lead quality action plans arising from audits, due diligence reviews, returns analysis and customer complaints.

Compliance & Quality Ownership

• Act as the category expert and gatekeeper of product quality, safety, sustainability and legal compliance.
• Ensure all products meet relevant UK, EU and international product safety regulations.
• Own product testing strategies across Footwear & Accessories categories.

Strong understanding of testing requirements including:

Footwear:

• Slip resistance
• Sole bond adhesion
• Flex resistance
• Heel attachment
• Abrasion resistance
• Water resistance
• Performance durability testing
• Wear trials

Accessories:

• Strap and handle strength
• Zip performance
• Coating adhesion
• Jewellery safety requirements
• Corrosion testing
• Packaging compliance
• Durability and performance testing

Chemical Compliance:

• REACH regulations
• Restricted Substance Lists (RSL)
• Nickel release
• Heavy metals
• Phthalates
• Formaldehyde
• PFAS and emerging legislation
• Lead implementation of quality improvement plans based on customer feedback, returns analysis and compliance data.
• Monitor testing performance, claims and factory quality metrics.
• Handle crisis management processes including recalls, withdrawals and product safety issues.

Market & Competitor Awareness & Sustainability & Ethical Trading

• Continually monitor competitor activity, customer trends, innovation and market developments
• Use competitor benchmarking to drive product improvements
• Lead category quality strategies to support business growth and competitive advantage.
• Drive sustainability initiatives and responsible sourcing strategies
• Support the use of preferred and lower-impact materials, including recycled fibres, recycled synthetics, responsibly sourced cotton, recycled metals and alternative material innovations.
• Partner with suppliers to reduce environmental impact
• Ensure adherence to George ethical sourcing standards, human rights requirements and responsible manufacturing practices.

Team Leadership & Development

• Lead, mentor and develop Junior and Assistant Product Developers to build technical excellence and future capability.
• Foster a high-performance culture through collaboration, coaching and continuous learning.
• Conduct regular performance reviews and development planning.
• Support succession planning, recruitment and talent development within the team.
• Drive engagement and strong cross-functional relationships across the wider business.
• Build technical capability and product expertise across the department.
• Support speed to market through efficient technical decision-making and supplier collaboration.
• Maintain strong factory performance through robust testing, quality reviews and continuous improvement initiatives.

Skills & Experience

Essential

• Extensive experience within Footwear and/or Accessories Product Development, Product Integrity, Technical or Quality functions.
• Strong understanding of footwear construction, accessories manufacturing and product engineering principles.
• Proven experience managing testing programmes and interpreting technical reports.
• In-depth knowledge of product safety legislation, REACH requirements and Restricted Substance Programmes.
• Strong knowledge of factory manufacturing processes, product risk assessment and supplier quality management.
• Understanding of sustainability principles, ethical sourcing and responsible manufacturing practices.
• Experience leading supplier performance improvements and corrective action plans.
• Strong commercial awareness, problem-solving capability and decision-making skills.
• Proven leadership experience with a track record of coaching and developing teams.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills.

Desirable

• Experience within large-scale retail or international sourcing environments.
• Experience working across Footwear, Bags, Belts, Jewellery and Fashion Accessories.
• Understanding of Digital Product Passports, Lifecycle Assessment (LCA) and emerging sustainability legislation.
• Experience using customer insight, product reviews and returns data to drive quality improvements

Everything you'll love

To ensure we balance moments where we know we need to collaborate together and the need for flexibility, Asda has a hybrid way of working with a minimum 3 days a week in one of our Home Offices. Over and above this, each area of Asda may have additional requirements which may require spending more days in the office, visiting suppliers, stores or depots.

You will also get an excellent benefits package including:

• Discretionary company bonus

• Company pension up to 7% matched

• Company Car allowance of £5,700

• 15% colleague discount in store and online

• Free access to wellbeing services such as Stream, 24/7 virtual GP, counselling, health and dental cash plans and a 24/7 employee assistance helpline, alongside discounts across a range of services and activities, from airport parking, enhanced to theme parks and cinemas.

• Asda Allies Inclusion Networks – helping colleagues to make sure everybody is included and that our differences are recognised and celebrated

• Excellent parental leave policies, including maternity & adoption leave, paternity leave, shared parental leave, neonatal care leave, and support for those doing fertility treatments.

We want all colleagues to be able to bring their best and true selves to work, every day. Simply put, we want our colleagues to be Proud to be Asda and proud to be themselves