NPD Manager

The Company 

This renowned global business are leaders in their field and strive for growth and excellence in all they produce. With an impressive and ever expanding product portfolio, this company supply major retailers, food service and OOH customers alike. To ensure they keep the customer at the heart of all they do, they are now seeking a proactive and commercially savvy Channel Development Manager to join the team. 

This is a hybrid role with 3 days at the office in the East Midlands.  There will, on occasion, be some travel required to other sites within the group so a driving licence is necessary. 

The Role

Reporting into the UK Head of Innovation this role will see you manage and implement the foodservice strategy by identifying opportunities of growth through marketing campaigns, project management and new product development. You will cultivate strong and thriving customer relationships, ensuring all product development needs are met in full and to the highest degree. You will build and lead the strategy of key accounts, agreeing key targets and KPIs and ensure projects are communicated effectively to the NPD, production, procurement and commercial teams in order to deliver best-in-class innovation. 

You will collaborate cross-functionally to lead and drive all NPD from concept through to launch. With your development expertise you will lead by example, seeking new ways to champion excellence. You will also become an “expert” in the foodservice market and develop a strong understanding of its market dynamics in terms of size, areas of growth and sector opportunities. You will collaborate with Category Managers and National Account Managers to find innovative solutions in order to maximise profitability, reaching overall sales targets and aligning budgets. 

This role is very customer focused with regular communications to keep your key customers updated on any product and NPD/EPD projects. You will manage all NPD visits to site which you will see an opportunity to nurture your collaborative relationships and drive business growth, as well as successful partnerships.

The Person 

This role would suit a customer focused NPD Manager who really understands all the facets of managing critical paths for new and existing products. Experience of working across multiple manufacturing sites would be beneficial but not essential. Ideally you will be educated to a degree level in Food science or related subject and will have good experience of New Product Development. Being fluent in French is desired but not essential. 

You will thrive in a customer centric role where you are at ease communicating with a wide variety of people and have the NPD knowledge and passion to influence change.  You will be motivated by finding innovative solutions in order to aid your customers and the wider business. Being quality focused, commercially astute and a natural at building relationships is a must for this role. 

If you are a tenacious & passionate foodie who thrives in a customer focused role then please apply or reach out to Dhrutee on 0345 2600 737 for a confidential chat. 

Ref: Y6606

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Although we do our utmost to respond to all applicants, there are times when this is just not possible due to sheer volume so if you have not heard from us within 5 working days then we are sorry to say your application for this role has not been successful. If you would like to discuss any accessibility requirements for the recruitment process or the role, please feel free to contact us. 

Also, please note that we are only able to accept and respond to applications from candidates with eligibility to work in the UK and those who hold valid work visas.