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We are working with a well-established food business to appoint a Head of New Product Development. This is a senior, hands-on role offering the opportunity to lead food innovation from concept through to launch within a fast-paced, customer-led environment. The Opportunity: You will take ownership of the full new product development lifecycle, working closely with Commercial, Operations, Technical, Quality, Procurement and Supply Chain teams to deliver products that are innovative, scalable and commercially viable. This role is ideal for someone who enjoys balancing strategic leadership with hands-on delivery and wants to make a real impact on product performance, team capability, and customer relationships.
Job Responsibility:
Lead and deliver the NPD strategy and roadmap aligned to business objectives
own end-to-end product development from ideation and business case through to launch and continuous improvement
lead, mentor and develop the NPD team, setting standards and driving high performance
translate culinary concepts into scalable manufacturing recipes and support factory trials and scale-ups
maintain commercial control, balancing creativity with cost, margin and ingredient availability
attend and support customer meetings, tastings, presentations and tenders
Requirements:
Strong experience in a hands-on food NPD role, ideally within manufacturing or customer-led food businesses
commercial mindset with a clear understanding of cost, margin and scalability
enjoy leading and developing teams while remaining closely involved in hands-on product work
confident working cross-functionally with Technical, Operations, Quality and Commercial teams
solid understanding of UK food safety, quality, labelling, allergen and nutritional standards