New Product Development Manager

*** ONLY OPEN TO CANDIDATES WITH FOOD & BEVERAGE EXPERIENCE ***

Business Overview:

A market-leading FMCG business based in South Wales, specializing in ambient products. The business has enjoyed significant growth in recent years which has been facilitated by increased customer demand, continued diversification of the product range and ongoing investment from the parent company.

Role Overview:

• Project champion for ensuring customer NPD plans are implemented from concept to store launch
• Support, guide and manage the day-to-day activities of the NPD team, being the main point of contact for onsite NPD issues.
• Using customer briefs to develop critical paths covering development, trialing and launching of new products.
• Liaise with technical, supply chain, procurement, operations and engineering to ensure good working relationships allowing easy progression of products throughout the NPD Process.
• Ensure all products follow the NPD process and products files are ‘audit ready’ with relevant completed documentation.

Key areas:

• Project management of multiple customer projects
• Recipe development
• Customer specifications
• Artwork process
• BOM process
• Scale up from bench to factory, ensuring recipes are FFP in factory and within capabilities
• Development of team, setting team objectives and PDP’s and arranging training where required.

Key Responsibilities:

• Deliver all product development requirements for our customers, ensuring that the department meets all customer codes of practice and BRC regulations.
• Coach, develop and review performance of team to increase the overall quality of NPD within the business.
• Keep up-to-date with the latest food trends throughout the UK, Europe and beyond.
• Work alongside Technical to deliver artwork process and ensure it meets customers’
• requirements and is legal.
• Working with procurement, source new raw materials to deliver customer product
• development. Ensuring new raw materials/suppliers are approved prior to launch.
• Keep up-to-date on FSA guidelines and redevelop products when required.
• Manage required process development work through NPD team
• Responsible for all new products throughout the BOM Process, chairing the BOM committee
• weekly to ensure actions are completed in a timely manner.
• Chair weekly NPD meeting to effectively communicate with the business up and coming
• launches, new customers, recipe and artwork changes.
• Customer specifications.
• Routine customer benchmarking versus competition and brand leaders.
• Liaise with Technical, Supply Chain & Operations to introduce new case artwork into the
• business.

Essential Qualifications:

• Degree educated or relevant equivalent experience

Desirable Qualifications:

• Thermal processing training
• Sensory training
• Food legislation training

Experience:

• Experience of running a busy NPD department with multiple customers and projects
• Management experience of an NPD team
• Experience of developing products for retail customers (concept to launch NPD)
• Competency in Microsoft applications

Attributes:

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Excellent creative skills.
• Ability to multi-task with strong organisation skills.
• Ability to engage customers and present products with passion.
• Ongoing understanding of food trends and markets.
• Understand shopper profiles.