Associate Director
Job Description
Associate Director, Product Testing & Regulatory Compliance — Children's Products (Softlines & Hardlines)
About the Role
A well-established consumer products company is hiring an Associate Director to lead its product testing, safety, and regulatory compliance function across a broad portfolio of children's goods spanning both hardlines (toys, home products) and softlines (home textiles). The position is the organization's internal authority on global product-safety regulation, testing strategy, certification, and retailer compliance, and works hand in hand with Product Development, Design, Quality Assurance, Sourcing, Legal, and Retail Compliance from concept through commercialization.
We're looking for a strategic leader with deep command of U.S. and international children's product regulations, laboratory testing programs, risk assessment, and supplier compliance.
What You'll Own
Regulatory Leadership
- Build and maintain end-to-end compliance programs across children's softline and hardline categories.
- Ensure conformance with applicable regulations including CPSIA, CPSC requirements, ASTM standards, FHSA, COPPA (where relevant), California Proposition 65, REACH, and evolving state-level chemical rules.
- Track emerging regulatory shifts and translate their business impact for internal stakeholders.
- Lead regulatory risk assessments for new categories, materials, and technologies.
Testing & Certification
- Direct global testing strategy and execution across both product types.
- Set testing protocols calibrated to product risk, category, and customer expectations.
- Review and approve testing plans, reports, and certification records.
- Oversee Children's Product Certificates, General Certificates of Conformity, and related documentation.
- Manage age-grading assessments and safety evaluations, ensuring testing is complete ahead of commercialization and shipment.
Laboratory & Vendor Management
- Own relationships and service-level agreements with accredited third-party testing laboratories.
- Evaluate lab performance, methodologies, and turnaround times, driving consistency across regions and categories.
Customer Compliance
- Ensure products meet the specific testing and documentation requirements of major retail and licensing partners.
Collaboration & Team Leadership
- Partner with Product Development and Design early to head off safety and compliance risks.
- Advise Sourcing on the regulatory implications of materials and components.
- Educate internal teams on product safety and regulatory expectations.
- Foster a culture of safety, accountability, and continuous improvement, and manage the department's testing and certification budget.
What You Bring
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Textile Science, Product Safety, Chemistry, Material Science, Regulatory Affairs, Quality Management, or a related field; advanced degree a plus.
- 10+ years of progressive product-safety, compliance, and testing experience, including 5+ years leading teams and cross-functional work.
- Hands-on background across both children's softline and hardline categories.
- Experience supporting products sold through major U.S. retailers and working with global manufacturing and sourcing networks.
- Expert knowledge across CPSIA, CPSC, ASTM toy and children's standards, textile regulations, flammability, chemical compliance and Restricted Substances Lists, labeling, and certification processes.
- Strong grasp of risk-assessment methodology and product-safety engineering principles.
Nice to Have
- RAC, ASQ, CQE, CQA, or equivalent certification.
- Experience with licensed consumer products, and with recalls, regulatory investigations, or corrective-action programs.
- Working knowledge of toy, juvenile, and home textile markets.
How Success Is Measured
- Testing pass rates and reduction in failures and corrective actions.
- Recall and incident rates.
- Achievement of retailer compliance metrics.
- Budget management and testing-cost efficiency.
Details
- Reports into senior sourcing leadership.
- Hybrid schedule, four days in office.
- Limited travel.
Meet Your Recruiter
Doug Berkowitz
I’m Doug Berkowitz and I joined the field of Executive Search nearly 30 years ago, specializing in these industries: Consumer Packaged Goods, Pharma, Cosmetics, Fashion, e-Commerce, Health and Beauty. I handle middle and senior management roles. I pride myself on building relationships and never giving up on even the most challenging talent search. I believe that when you do the right thing for clients and candidates - they always come back. It’s all about the relationship. I have built a great reputation in multiple industries and I continue to develop strong relationships with professionals across a broad array of disciplines.
My team has expanded our reach to cover the entire U.S. and we have continued to grow since our merger with Lloyd Staffing. (We were formerly APR Executive Search.) The future is very bright. If the pandemic taught me anything, it’s don’t sweat the small stuff. — Just work hard, play harder and enjoy life.
In my free time I love fitness, cooking, eating excellent food, drinking great tequila and traveling. I’m an avid sports fan and love just hanging with my friends and family.