Product Development Manager

The Company.

Supplying to most of the UK leading prestigious Retailer, Restaurants and Hotel chains, this growing business produces a range of luxurious bespoke high end ambient products from their manufacturing premises based in Kent. 

The Role.

Due to continued business growth, an exciting and new opportunity has arisen for a Product Development Manager. With a food science/technology background and strong project management capabilities, the successful candidate will have a solid record of delivering NPD strategy from concept to launch. With an exceptional understanding of food trends, ingredients, seasonality, technology, and food safety, you will enjoy an extensive remit heading up all business product innovation and product development.

People Responsibilities.

• Create a culture of innovation.
• Exploit opportunities in products, ingredients, packaging and processes to the business’s advantage.
• Spotting consumer trends and future opportunities before they happen.
• Research and make recommendations for new products. Researching of ideas, market opportunities, equipment needed, processes, costs and investment.
• Secure and deliver new products and ingredients that the business can sell. 
• Lead and support the development of each innovation project with realistic timelines, to guarantee success and efficiency.
• Ensure all NPD is technically sound and achievable throughout the development process.
• Ensuring food safety legislation, timescales and budgets are met.
• Preparation of reports, presentations or test data - internally and externally.
• Follow up and develop good work relationships with current and future clients.

People Profile.

• Ideally have a strong food / drink background. 
• Development and project management experience essential.
• A good understanding of food ingredients, processes and techniques.
• Enthusiasm for industry trends and emerging technologies.
• Must be creative, innovative, enthusiastic and reliable.
• Willing to work alone as well as with the wider team, being able to multitask and to take responsibility to meet deadlines. 
• You’ll have a strong understanding of product launch procedures.
• Day to day maintenance of NPD recipes and NPD paperwork, including updating recipes and supplier ingredient specifications when required.

To apply, please e-mail in strict confidence, with your CV, including salary details, quoting the above reference and for the attention of James Constable to james.constable@thepeopleco.com

Due to a high volume of responses, we cannot reply to each application individually. If you have not had a response within one week, we are sorry to say your application has not been successful on this occasion.