Junior Product Developer

Overview

Responsible for developing commercially viable and fashion-forward products that meet both customer and market demands, manage an entire department within a division. Support the George Product Development Manager in achieving departmental objectives and executing strategies across the full product lifecycle from initial concept through to pre-production and delivery. Ensure products are developed with the right supplier, delivered right the first time, and meet the brand\’s standards for fit, quality, and value. Consistently uphold safety, legal, and quality requirements to enhance the customer experience.

Responsibilities

• Ensure all products sold by Asda/George are safe, legal, and meet market standards.
• Coordinate with the UK warehouse to manage CFS rejections before the product is delivered to stores, managing identified risks outside of the standard process.
• Assist the Product Development Manager in reviewing and streamlining processes and standard operating procedures, ensuring consistent cross-functional collaboration.
• Take responsibility for driving fabric innovations and development blocks with both internal and external teams, including brand ambassadors, trusted partners, adding value to products and reducing costs through product engineering where feasible.
• Oversee the product development cycle from concept to delivery, ensuring alignment with departmental critical path targets.
• Manage the fit process and sizing standards, with a strong understanding of grade rules.
• Identify potential risks early in the process to ensure smooth critical path execution, offering support during the design and costing phases. Innovate products at the paper stage with key technical inputs.
• Support the Product Development Manager in managing functional performance (SEP, CFS), UK DC rejections, testing data, due diligence and customer returns, ensure action plans are in place to maintain compliance and quality.
• Monitor and manage claims, charges, metal contamination, and non-conformities across the supply base with due diligence.
• Benchmark against competitors to ensure George leads the market in value for money, fit, and innovation, staying updated on competitor trends, fit blocks, and quality movements.
• Developing an understanding of crisis management to enable at pace solutions of product issues, withdrawals and recalls and follow up actions.
• Drive overall cost reduction through product engineering and supply base efficiencies.
• Take responsibility within your department for action planning based on customer reviews, quality ratings, returns, and overall product quality, identifying customer wants and needs for future improvements.
• Conduct in-store product audits regularly and create clear action plans for improvements.

Supplier & Relationship Management

• Build and maintain strong relationships with key suppliers, ensuring effective communication and collaboration.
• Work closely with buying and merch teams to ensure that all products are delivered on time, right product, right factory and right quality.
• Work closely with a global supplier inclusive of in-country offices.

Compliance & Quality Ownership

• Act as gatekeeper of quality, brand integrity, and legal compliance.
• Ensure all products meet safety and legal standards.
• Support with quality action plans based on customer feedback, returns, and compliance data.

Market & Competitor Awareness

• Monitor competitor activity, and customer reviews to drive departmental strategy.
• Support department\\\’s quality strategy, using competitor analysis to maintain competitive advantage and increase George\\\’s quality perception and market share.

Sustainability & Ethical Trading

• Support sustainability initiatives and ethical trading within the department.
• Support team ensuring all products comply with George\\\’s sustainability standards, legal requirements, and best practices for environmental and social responsibility.

Professional Development & Communication

• Ongoing Learning: Take responsibility for personal and professional development, seeking additional training and development opportunities.
• Effective Communication: Build relationships across functions and communicate product strategy and results effectively to internal and external stakeholders.

What You Will Get Involved In

• Attending and contributing to departmental meetings
• Visiting suppliers, factories, and stores (both online and physical) to gather insights and drive continuous improvement.
• Collaborating across functions trading, merch and design teams including the In-Country Offices.
• Developing and implementing initiatives to improve customer conversion and drive sales growth.
• Actively engaging in cross-departmental networking and sharing best practices.

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.

• Discretionary company bonus
• Company pension up to 7% matched
• 15% colleague discount in store and online
• Free access to wellbeing services such as Wagestream, 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