IKEA Range & Supply has the responsibility to develop, design, produce and supply IKEA stores with home furnishing solutions available to the many people. Each year IKEA Range & Supply introduces 2,000 new products in the IKEA stores. The total range is almost 10,000 products.

Do you want to ensure the Product Development agenda in one of our Business Areas (BA)? If yes, this might be the perfect challenge for you! We are currently building the succession to our EQR Development Manager positions.

Do you want to lead IKEA into the future where we even stronger position ourselves as a leader in life at home? Are you a passionate leader with the ability and courage to lead from vision to action that develop Business and People together? Do you want to be part of one of IKEAs most exciting range areas? Then we are looking for you!

About the role

As EQR Development Manager in one of our Business Areas, you will be responsible for developing business and action plans for the Business Area/Home Furnishing Business based on IKEA strategies with focus on engineering, quality and requirements. You will be responsible for ensuring development and improvements of the product offer from an engineering perspective, with high focus on innovation.

As EQR Development Manager you are:

•    Responsible to ensuring development of world class products meeting all aspects of Democratic Design (form, function, quality, sustainability and low cost) and utilizing the opportunities offered by the IKEA value chain to significantly increase the customer experience;
•    Responsible for that all projects from engineering point of view within the Product Offer Portfolio are delivering with precision connected to scope, cost, quality and time via technical project leaders (Product Development Engineers);
•    Responsible for managing and leading technical project leaders (Product Development Engineers) and/or engineering specialists and ensuring competence;
•    Responsible to ensuring optimum usage of shared solution from relevant Product Development Platforms into projects in the Product Development Portfolio;
•    Responsible to ensuring usage of standard materials and to identifying development needs of new materials;
•    Contribute to identifying need of new and enhanced engineering capabilities.

As EQR Development Manager you will be a member of the BA Management Team and report directly to the Business Area Manager.

For a person to succeed in this role there is a need for great communication and networking skills together with the ability to easily create trustful relationships. You are driven by innovation with a problem solving approach built on curiosity and courage to try new solutions. Capacity to lead change and improvements in a complex global environment is required. Leading according to the IKEA values and a passion for home furnishing is a must.

To be successful in this role, you need to have:

•    Leadership experience from large scale product development and product improvements in a global environment, preferably in the consumer goods sector;
•    Experience from working with strategic development from an engineering and innovation perspective;
•    Deep knowledge in material and technical development as well as supply chain;
•    A strong will to influence and make a difference and you are passionate about leading and coaching people in a changing environment;
•    A simple and straightforward communication style which builds credibility and trust;
•    Knowledge of relevant trends and developments within the area of engineering, quality and requirements; 
•    University degree in Engineering or equivalent;
•    Fluency in English, both spoken and written.

The position is located in Älmhult, Sweden. Älmhult has excellent commuting possibilities with hourly trains to Malmö, Lund and Växjö and an IKEA shuttle bus back and forth to Helsingborg two times a day.

If you have any questions about the position and regarding the recruitment process, please contact Johanna Hansson +46 73 376 1744. 

We look forward to receiving your application in English, at the latest Wednesday 31st January 2018.