Role: Senior Product Compliance Manager
Location: Bournemouth
Reference: HOB1121468
Closing Date: 23rd July 2025
Creativity is Hobbycraft’s reason for being, so when you join our fantastic team, you will be surrounded by like-minded imaginative people. We believe that working together and embracing new and innovative ideas are the best way to make our colleagues feel part of something.
Senior Product Compliance Manager - Hobbycraft Head Office, BH23 6HG
Salary £42,000 - £45,000 dependent on experience - Pension with a 4% contribution, 25 days holiday increasing every year, 25% discount in our stores
This is a full-time role, working 37.5 hours. Our core business hours are Monday to Friday – 9am - 5pm with a flexible approach to start and finish times
Our hybrid working model is 3 days in the office, 2 days working from home.
The Senior Product Compliance Manager is accountable for product quality, monitoring of our suppliers’ SEDEX compliance, product legal compliance and risk mitigation. They will work with our suppliers and other external functions, with responsibility for managing the relationship with testing labs and UK Government authorities to ensure product compliance.
They will be accountable for leading the business through all product quality issues ensuring that processes are followed, and risks are mitigated. A large part of this role will also be ensuring these processes are kept up to date and adapted to ensure continued compliance with any with UK legislative changes.
Key Accountabilities
1. Vendor management
2. Ensure suppliers’ comply with SEDEX, and compliance issues flagged during the audit process are rectified in a timely manner.
3. Help ensure we source high quality vendors.
4. Work with agents and direct suppliers to deliver best practice documentation and compliance.
5. Negotiation and management of Vendor contracts and rebates with key partners including: Test labs Audit houses 3rd party compliance partners Agent and factories
6. Product Quality
7. Ensure Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Control (QC) policies and procedures are in place and adhered to, as well as keeping them up to date.
8. Lead product quality issues and recalls/removal from sale, ensuring all processes are adhered to and with Trading Director’s approval.
9. Improve controls of returned and quarantined products with relevant stakeholders and monitor returns KPIs.
10. Develop Hobbycraft brand specification sheets of key lines to ensure we are clear on product quality.
11. Risk management Maintain product compliance to updated standards and prepare the business for incoming regulatory changes. Ensure Hobbycraft has suitable due diligence processes and appropriate ethical and environmental audits by: Review and scrutiny of self-audit questionnaires. Managing audit schedule of Hobbycraft Own Brand suppliers. Escalate non-conformances to senior leaders as appropriate. Working with factories to encourage the implementation of more environmentally friendly processes. Work with Dorset Trading Standards to maximise our ‘Primary Authority Scheme’ membership. Ensure all necessary test certificates are loaded onto the portal and manage relationship with our test certificate hosting partner. Ensure where relevant Product safety data sheets are available via our website.
12. Report monthly and quarterly on the following: Sedex reporting (ethical and environmental due diligence and compliance) New regulatory compliances Product issues Specific projects & Audits
Skills and experience
13. Excellent communication skills at all levels with internal and external colleagues and partners
14. Able to work cross functionally to engage colleagues in positive manner.
15. An organised Individual who will prioritise effectively to deliver results.
16. Open and honest communicator with the skills to get buy in and influence others.
17. Experience in identifying, proposing, and implementing improvements to processes.
18. In-depth understanding of UK and EU testing requirements especially UKCA
19. Experience of managing product compliance
20. Understanding of SEDEX ways of working and system
21. Detail orientated.
22. Excellent project management skills with the ability to be methodical and diligent.
23. Effective problem solver with the ability to lead the team through product recalls/withdrawals.
24. Experience within the retail sector would be preferred.