Head of Product Development (Heritage, Gift & Licensed Products) job at South West England Full Time

Head of Product Development (Heritage, Gift & Licensed Products)

Location: Hybrid – Melksham, Wiltshire

Salary: Negotiable

Job Type: Permanent, Full Time

REED Marketing & Creative are pleased to be partnering with a well-established business with over 30 years’ experience in the giftware sector who are evolving into a culturally curated lifestyle brand, rooted in storytelling, heritage and design. Supplying bookstores, museum stores, heritage retailers and gift shops across the UK, US and internationally, the business combines proprietary brands with licensing partnerships.

As part of its next phase of growth, the company is seeking an experienced Head of Product Development to lead product strategy, deliver profitable growth and build a high-performing product function.

The Role

Reporting to the Sales & Marketing Director and sitting on the Senior Leadership Team, this role is accountable for the commercial success of the product portfolio. You will drive sales growth, improve gross margin and optimise return on product investment through strong strategic leadership and disciplined execution.

Leading the Product Development team, you will balance creativity with commercial focus to deliver fewer, stronger and more profitable product launches. This is a commercial leadership role rather than a design-led position.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and execute product strategy aligned to business objectives and brand direction
• Own product portfolio performance, including sales, gross profit and margin delivery
• Create annual product roadmaps focused on revenue growth and ROI
• Drive SKU rationalisation, reducing underperforming lines and complexity
• Lead end-to-end product development from concept to launch, embedding commercial discipline
• Identify market opportunities through customer insight, trends and competitor analysis
• Manage product architecture across proprietary and licensed ranges
• Maximise value from licensing partnerships while strengthening owned brands
• Oversee product briefs, packaging and merchandising to optimise retail performance
• Lead value engineering and cost optimisation with overseas manufacturing partners
• Ensure compliance and risk management throughout development
• Build and develop a high-performing, commercially focused product team
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Sales and Marketing to align product with demand
• Champion the use of AI tools to improve development speed and effectiveness

Experience & Skills

• Senior product leadership experience within giftware, consumer goods, homewares, licensing or related sectors
• Proven track record of delivering profitable product portfolios
• Strong financial and commercial acumen, including margin and ROI management
• Experience working with overseas manufacturers and cost optimisation
• Background in both proprietary and licensed product development
• Strong leadership and team development capability
• Data-driven decision making, using customer and market insight

The successful candidate will be commercially driven and strategic, with strong decision-making ability. A confident leader who can balance creativity with commercial outcomes, influence stakeholders and maintain a clear focus on delivering products customers love and retailers want to buy.

Interested? Apply online or contact Jo Aldred at Reed.