NPD Manager

A Park Royal based food manufacturer requires an experienced Senior Development Technologist / Manager with good hands on skills to join their committed team.

You will be responsible for managing the NPD workload for the team and ensuring all projects are completed within agreed timescales.  The NPD Manager will have regular interface with senior management and customers.

Key Activities of the Post:

• To effectively manage the NPD function, by improving existing working methods, whilst ensuring that consistent approaches are adopted.
• To manage and motivate the NPD team and to ensure that they are trained to meet business needs.
• To keep up to date with flavour trends and market information for future development.
• To keep up to date with customers development processes and strategy for future development.
• To present new ideas to the customer with strong rationale for launch.
• To seek EPD opportunities.
• To develop recipe formulations and make samples (with costings).
• To manage factory trials/ lead first productions.
• Create launch documentation and communicate this with factory team.
• To manage shelf life testing of all development/ first production products.
• Check NPD artwork.
• Organise and attend shows/ exhibitions.

Key Result Areas:

Operational Efficiencies

• Ensure there is a strong NPD process which delivers profitable, successful products.
• Ensure that commercials are managed throughout the NPD process and the sales team has accurate information to negotiate with.
• Manage trials efficiently.

Quality Standards

• Ensure the quality of products developed suits the brand and production facilities.
• Ensure new artwork and amends are accurate.

Managing Information 

• Ensure NPD meetings are run efficiently and a good record kept of actions.
• Keep up to date with product critical paths.
• Maintain gap analysis, benchmarking and trend information.
• Maintain recipe/ process documentation and input new information on system.

Health & Safety

• Ensure that the NPD function works in accordance with Health & Safety procedures and that due diligence is applied.

Communication

• Provide and maintain relations with external and internal customers through use of effective meetings and verbal and written communication.
• To improve the current reputation of development across all customers.
• To improve the communication of NPD through the process. Gain greater buying from internal customers and work as one factory team.

Relationship Management

• To manage and motivate the NPD team and to ensure that they are trained to meet business needs.
• Create and maintain effective working relationships with all the company employees to foster and promote a cooperative working climate that will be conducive to maximising employee morale, their productivity and their contribution.
• To develop strong relationships with customer contacts, understand their development processes and aspirations and provide products to suit.

A food science or food technology degree would be attractive, but there is no substitute for practical experience in a similar capacity.

We are looking for previous chilled or frozen experience with this role.  A good understanding of the commercial realities within the industry is essential.

Indicative salary range: £45,000

Looking forward to hear from you!

KPI Recruitment Ltd is acting as an Employment Agency in relation to this vacancy.

All candidates registering with KPI Recruitment Ltd. will need to provide proof of identity, and evidence of any experience, training and qualifications our client considers necessary for their position.