Lafarge Africa Plc Job Recruitment

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Product Development Manager

Location: Ikoyi, Lagos
Employment Type: Full-Time

Job Summary

• The Product Development Manager contributes to Holcim’s Accelerating Green Growth objective by assisting the Head of Product, Innovation & New Solutions in managing the local products & services portfolio.
• The Product Development Manager is key in delivering superior value for our end-users / customers and to capture the highest possible value for the business.

What You’ll Be Doing
The Product Development Manager is responsible for Product Range Development & Management of the Holcim global brands (ECOPlanet, ECOPact & Dynamax) and other Value Added Products (VAPs) across Cement, Concrete and Mortar is primarily responsible for:

• Creating and maintaining product and service culture in the Organization;
• Tracking and identifying opportunities of launching new products and services;
• Defining the roadmap of new products and services for a 2 to 3 years horizon;
• Tracking of the commercial / technical performance of the product and service portfolio towards competitions and next best alternatives;
• Detecting the early signs (based on KPIs / external events) to renew / reposition existing products & services;
• Deploying and maintaining the 5-Step Procedures and all related processes to manage the product & service portfolio;
• Challenging constructively the sales, marketing and logistics/industrial teams on product and service topics;
• Proposing all initiatives or change management opportunities which could lead to better top line performance;
• Meeting Quality parameters/expectations of market/users and Research/ Development of construction solutions for Nigeria;
• Liaising with Government, Universities, technical institutions, associations, Standards Bureaus and other stakeholders on adoption, testing and development of Standards for Products & Applications, manuals and specifications to further cement/concrete applications
• Developing new applications of cement & cement based products to grow the market in Road (rigid pavements/ paving blocks/ soil stabilization), Building & Industrial Sectors; and other specialty cements – Low Heat, Sulphate Resistant, Oil Well etc.
• Setting the agenda and organizing the Product Development Committee, ensuring involvement of all local and group stakeholders;
• Supporting the Mortar team in developing housing products & 3D solutions;
• Working with the quality team to manage the Construction Development Laboratory to support our customers and lead the Research & Development in the industry;

Who You’ll Be Working With 

• List of direct reports:
  • Product Engineers
• Key interfaces, stakeholders and relationships:
  • Internal stakeholders: Colleagues in Marketing, Sales, Industrial, Concrete and other functions (finance, logistics, etc.)
  • Group Innovation Centre
  • External Stakeholders: Policy makers in Government (e.g. Ministries of Works, Housing, Energy, Finance, Industry, etc.) Regulatory bodies, Academic/ Research & other autonomous institutions.  Specifiers, Consultants, contractors and end users

What We Are Looking For 

• Post Graduate in technical discipline (Civil Engineering or Manufacturing process related)
• 5-8 years’ experience in production-quality and/or application of cement products.
• Experience in developing/ modifying product & service portfolios, interfacing with end-users and the industrial team.
• Sound knowledge of cement / concrete product composition, quality & performance parameters.
• Knowledge of local and international building standards/ specifications and construction practices.
• Knowledge of product development & evaluation processes.
• Good analytical skills to analyze product quality and performance data and apply them to modify/ adapt to customer needs.

Behavioral Competence:

• Interpersonal and communication skills
• Ability to work cross functionally and influence diverse stakeholders.

Leadership and Managerial Abilities:

• Ability to communicate effectively internally & externally.
• Positive attitude with appetite for change and innovation.
• Ability to manage cross functional teams.
• Results driven.

Application Closing Date
Not Specified.

Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online