Product Manager - Fine Jewellery, Fragrance And Eyewear

Kennedy – At a Glance

Kennedy was founded in 1976 and has continued to redefine its carefully edited collection of Fine Jewellery and luxury men’s and women’s watches over four decades, to reflect a considered balance of heritage, elegance, and modern innovation. The business has grown from its original Sydney, Australia store to 9 stores nationally, with a commitment to providing a personalised in-store and after sales experience for its clients, offering impeccable service that is paired with exceptional product knowledge. Our vision is to be Australia’s finest destination for watches, jewellery, and accessories and leading purveyor of the world’s finest luxury.

Position Summary

The Product Manager is responsible for facilitating the execution of a Fine Jewellery, Fragrance and Eyewear products through the development process. This includes managing range assortments, costings and prototypes. This role is a key liaison between stakeholders and works closely with the Design Team and suppliers to bring products to market. With an entrepreneurial mindset and a holistic understanding of the business, this role contributes to the overall strategic growth of the business. The Product Manager is a Kennedy ambassador and has a dynamic understanding of the luxury market and building strong relationships within it.

Key Responsibilities include but not limited to:

• Facilitating approved product designs through the product development process; this includes supplier briefing, managing protypes, feedback, and costings.
• Facilitating the CAD and render process of each SKU for internal and external use.
• Creating and managing all paperwork relating to products, including specifications, range planners and WIP’s.
• Setting and managing critical paths for all products, spanning multiple categories, ensuring projects stay on-track and mitigating any risks.
• Monitoring production and manging suppliers to stay on-track and maintain cost control.
• Reviewing production orders against Kennedy Quality standards and taking action accordingly.
• Leading WIP meetings with internal and external stakeholders, thus coordinating all departments.
• Post-launch working cross functionally to maximise opportunities for new products that arise from trade.
• Creating presentation decks, information packs and other documents relating to ranges for retail training and internal meetings during key go-to-market touch points.
• Maintain an up-to-date awareness of the Kennedy Customer, the broader market and competitors.
• Work with Marketing and PR to provide press and loan samples where required.

Qualifications, Skills & Experience

• Tertiary qualifications in Design, Merchandising or Business.
• At least 3 years’ experience in Design, Buying or Product Development, in Accessories, Fine Jewellery, Fashion or Lifestyle retail.
• Strong computer literacy skills within a Microsoft Office environment.
• Proficiency in Adobe Illustrator, InDesign and Photoshop desirable.

Key Attributes

• Strong project management skills, with the ability to balance multiple projects simultaneously.
• Strong relationship building and communication skills across various channels, with a collaborative mindset.
• Excellent verbal and written interpersonal skills.
• Highest standards of professionalism and presentation.
• Adaptable, resilient, and champion of change in a continually evolving business.
• Highly organised, with proven ability to work autonomously in a high volume, deadline driven environment and show strong initiative.
• Possess an entrepreneurial spirit and continuously innovates to achieve.
• Ability to manage and communicate ambiguity.