Product Developer, Children´s IKEA – Ikea of Sweden, Älmhult

IKEA loves children and in Children´s IKEA our goal is to develop products that children and their parents will love and that they trust because they are safe and healthy. We also want to reach as many children as possible with our products so it is important that they are affordable.
Our objective is to have a world leading knowledge about life at home for children and therefore we work with some of the world´s leading experts in children´s development and constant drive for development.

Safety is a precondition and our mindset is that we only offer products that we would give to our own children.

As a Product Developer you are key of making this happen and develop Children’s products. You will work in the heart of IKEA with the basis of our whole existence, our products. The Product Developer is responsible for initiating and following through projects to their completion as well as working with the running range to constantly improve and develop our existing products. Together with a team of experts you will work with the whole chain from creating a design brief, managing the project and following up on the product´s success once it’s released into the range.

A few of your main responsibilities will be to:
• Develop products with democratic design which has great form, function and quality to a low price with built in sustainability.
• Generate growth by developing new products as well as maintaining and improving the ones already in the range.
• Develop new home furnishing solutions and products for children. Bring innovation and creativity height in to the range for Children’s products.
• Start up and lead the product development together with your team and make sure that sale start times are kept, according to plan.


Is this the challenge for you?
Children´s IKEA have product developers that truly love children, to play and constant develop and who really want to make a better everyday life for families. Do you have a genuine interest in developing solutions for children´s and families need with a strong drive in playfulness and a wanting to perform? Do you have the ability to see things from a child´s perspective as well as the curiosity to understand what parents expect from the products? You might be the person we are looking for!

Being a part of Children´s IKEA is as much fun as it is challenging. We want you to continuously push the boundaries in terms of innovation, value and simplicity in our product development process. Delivery is a big focus in this role, and we will require you to deliver projects on time and within budget.

In order for you to be successful in the job, you need to have:

- You will be the one to drive, motivate and organize your team, so a leadership background and experience in project management is an absolute must.
- A degree in product development, design, interior design or similar.
- Experience of working with, leading and managing product development in some form including building, maintaining and/or merchandise a range.
- The knowledge, experience and motivation to create a profitable range.
- A true passion for play!

You will interact and work together with people from all around IKEA and the world. To succeed in this role you need to be business focused, a talented communicator and great at building strong working relationships. Apart from being a mature leader this role also touches upon new materials, production techniques, sustainability etc. within a global scope and you are capable of generating new ideas to our products from that knowledge. You thrive on change and for acting in a dynamic workplace. Our corporate language is English, so fluency both verbally and in writing is required.

IKEA of Sweden, IoS, is responsible for developing the IKEA range and making it available to stores and customers all over the world. IoS is based in Älmhult – the heart of IKEA and the centre of IKEA range development.