Head – Innovation & Strategy (New Product Development) (PSS07870)

About the Company

A fast-growing consumer brand in the beauty & personal care space, the company focuses on solving unsolved problems in skincare through innovative, natural ingredient-based products. It operates in a dynamic D2C environment with a mission to deliver meaningful innovation and category leadership.

Position Overview

The Head – Innovation & Strategy (New Product Development) will lead the vision, strategy, and execution of New Product Development (NPD) within the core skincare category. Reporting to the Co‑Founder and managing a team of approximately 4, this high-impact leadership role will shape the future product roadmap and drive innovation for a fast-scaling D2C brand.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the overall category and innovation strategy aligned with brand vision, consumer needs, and emerging trends.
• Build and manage an insight-led innovation pipeline from opportunity identification through to launch.
• Translate consumer insights, market signals, and competitive analysis into differentiated product concepts.
• Drive end-to-end NPD including concepting, formulation direction, claims, packaging inputs, testing, and commercialization.
• Champion agility by rapidly moving ideas from insight to prototype to market.
• Partner cross-functionally with Founders, Marketing, R&D, Supply Chain, and external labs or agencies to deliver timely, high-quality launches.
• Identify white spaces, future platforms, and partnership opportunities to expand the brand portfolio.
• Set category metrics, track launch performance, capture learnings, and refine the innovation strategy.
• Foster a culture of experimentation, quick testing, and continuous improvement.

Required Experience & Qualifications

• Experience: 7–14 years in NPD/Innovation within skincare, beauty, personal care, or adjacent consumer categories.
• Leadership: Proven ability to manage cross-functional teams and the full lifecycle of product development; reports directly to the Co‑Founder.
• Technical Expertise: Strong understanding of D2C and digital-first consumer behavior; ability to translate insights into breakthrough product ideas.
• Soft Skills: Strategic thinker with creativity, agility, and a bias for action.

Why Consider this Opportunity?

• Lead innovation strategy for a high-growth D2C beauty & personal care brand.
• Shape the future product roadmap in a fast-evolving skincare category.
• Collaborate directly with Founders and senior leadership to drive brand expansion.
• Access the backing and resources of a USD 100M Consumer & Healthcare Fund.
• Build and mentor a focused innovation team with end-to-end ownership of NPD.

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