Product Development Coordinator

The Product Development Coordinator role is a part of the Merchandise Team that produces souvenir products sold at Disney Theatrical Groups’ Stage Productions such as The Lion King, Aladdin and other titles in the US and UK. This role will be responsible for coordinating the product development lifecycle from design hand off to production release. They will be responsible for overseeing all critical development dates and following development/in store calendar. They will report into the Product Development Manager to understand the creative vision of each product and translate concepts into products by working with suppliers and collaborating with the internal merchandise corporate team, along with overseas vendors to ensure on-time release. This role will also support our licensing team through product development of their wholesale assortments.

This role requires attention to detail, strong organizational skills, and the ability to manage multiple timelines across both product development and production stages. They will collaborate with multiple stakeholders so their ability to be a team player brining their flexibility and results orientated approach to the work will lead to success in both the role and culture of our team.

Responsibilities:

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams (Product Developer/ Freelance Designers / Planning / Licensing/Compliance/Logistics) to ensure that all products meet design and quality standards
• Coordinate with the production team to ensure that product development schedules adhere to production deliveries and all products are approved on time.
• Once orders are placed, attend regular Production Meetings to review all new product approvals (PPO, testing, labeling, ship dates and final TOP).
• Maintain and manage Product development calendar to ensure all deadlines are met and communicated internally and externally.
• Assist with Product Development in their communications with the suppliers to ensure all products are developed accurately and efficiently so we meet our in-store timelines.
• Review sample requests and identify any sampling/production concerns and provide possible solutions with Product Development Manager. Communicate necessary information to respective teams and suppliers.
• Ensure product comments are tracked and followed through with suppliers on projects as needed for self-produced and licensing as needed.
• Reviews all samples received from vendors for design, quality, color and construction and ensure they meet standards.  
• Product Samples: assist in TOP tracking and storage for all self-produced and licensed product.
• Freelancer Payroll Management: weekly tracking and processing of 8-10 product development creative freelancers’ hours

Shipping:

• Assist the corporate team in shipping requests for internal and third-party needs.
• Code UPS invoices then update freight tracker; accordingly, pass to A/P for payment.
• GXO freight invoicing: ensure all monthly invoices for freight and warehousing are correct and escalate to GXO if there are any questions or corrections.
• Zen desk: Assist in oversight of guest service inquiries. Ensure timely replies for all and see to any replacement merchandise for damaged goods is executed. Escalate to management as needed.
• Reporting: Assist in uploading DTG licensee sales files into ERPLY on a weekly basis for historical reporting and analysis.

ILS Compliance and Product Integrity: Assist Product Production Team with the submissions of our product testing system and ILS Compliance tools.

• Request PRR testing in PIMS systems
• Logging of PRR/Test reports in Surefront and Teams logs
• Submit FAMA forms for DTG internal department orders

Qualifications:

• 1+ years’ experience in product development or production background
• Experience in Product categories include Apparel: Predominantly Tops and Outerwear, cut and sew for tees/ fashion tops and sweatshirts and all basic apparel, Drinkware, Totes, Souvenirs and Accessories, Jewelry
• Must understand fabric/product costs to ensure that products remain within budget constraints through sampling process.
• Knowledge of different fabrication techniques and materials in product categories
• Experience in Office Suite with focus on Excel and Power Point
• Proactive in problem solving and thinking outside the box
• Strong communication skills / time management
• Proven project management in a fast-paced environment
• Must be available to work onsite 4 day per week (Monday-Thursday). Fridays are remote with flexibility to work onsite as needed.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Proficiency in the Adobe Suite
• Ability to technically give directions to the vendors on how to correct color, components, and samples. Consults Product Manager for functional guidance as necessary
• Experience in a retail or merchandising environment a plus
• Bilingual or multilingual proficiency a plus