Purpose
To manage customer accounts and expectations by leading communication with customers and delivering new products that are innovative, of the highest quality, and market-leading.
To support the NPD controller in striving to improve the service provided by the Company continuously.
To help ensure projects are delivered to the highest standards within agreed critical path timelines and commercial parameters set by both internal departments and external customers.
Qualifications/Experience
* Industry recognised food technical qualification - HND/Degree or equivalent
* Project management and product development experience (minimum 4 years)
* Product development of sauces, minimum 2 years (must have) and JapaneseSauces (strong preference)
* Experience in managing a team or coaching junior colleagues (preference)
Responsibilities
The NPD Technologist will be responsible for driving consumer-led product development projects to meet customer expectations. You will be responsible for managing the development projects, working with products from concept through to launch.
* Driving forward factory and technical standards.
* Maintaining company quality standards, ensuring compliance with standards as well as local standards, policies, safety requirements, and applicable country laws.
* Be able to lead projects and communicate clearly and effectively across cross-functional teams.
* Leading in customer-related groups, e.g., product teams, factory meetings, sales, marketing, and application-related group meetings.
* Manage critical paths efficiently to successfully launch the product.
* Gain knowledge of opportunities for NPD and EPD by keeping up to date with new ingredients and packaging formats.
* Monitor new ingredients and materials requested to ensure NPD and technical procedures are followed correctly.
* Experience in a kitchen development environment and knowledge of ingredients, functions, and compounds.
* Product benchmarking and sensory analysis.
* Be able to research and brainstorm new product concepts and ideas professionally with customers.
* Awareness of product costings to develop and launch successful products.
Competencies, Skills and Behaviours
* Influencing
o Undertakes routine formal and informal interviews within an established framework, involving others as required.
o Applies appropriate techniques to seek consensus through internal/external consultation to establish a 'win-win' scenario when feasible; has an awareness of implications of concessions in dealing with mainly senior levels of business relationships.
o Develops a wide range of well-established relationships, both internal and external (including specialist contacts), utilising these relationships to achieve positive business outcomes.
* Problem solving
o Demonstrates a sensitive awareness of potential problems, especially the likely strategic impact, and understands the implications for business performance and direction.
o Challenges the status quo and applies a variety of creative techniques to generate and build on a range of possible options using internal and external sources to resolve problems.
o Demonstrates enthusiasm for inviting others' views from all areas of the business and a preparedness to contribute and modify opinions for the optimum business solution.
o Obtain relevant information to undertake a thorough review to establish a balanced view of the impact of options on departmental performance areas for business change.
o Use modern techniques to identify a range of options and the most favorable approach to problem resolution, consider contingencies, and plan ways to avoid negative business impact.
o Ensures completion of the project/task within the specified targets, evaluating successes against functional strategy/plans and recommending change.
* People
o Establishes clear and demanding objectives focusing on the achievement of departmental goals, measured by the improvement of department and individual performance.
o Regularly monitors the performance of individuals and the team to agree and establish effective development requirements embracing current role and future potential.
o Demonstrates enthusiasm in developing staff encouraging the use of alternative approaches to training and development. Ensures staff acquire skills and knowledge for current and future application.
o Promotes co-operation and the opportunity for teams to assume increased responsibility and authority. Establishes an innovative and responsive culture to create team contribution to business improvement.
o Promotes effective business relationships using a limited range of influence styles, diplomacy, and reasoned argument to establish a network of internal contacts at the senior management level and customers.
o Encourages co-operation and openness amongst staff, ensuring feedback and recognition for team and individual contribution.
o Uses factual and objective evidence to identify both positive and negative performance and behaviours. Adopts appropriate motivational approaches and undertakes constructive discussions with individuals to maintain or improve performance.
o Ensures the business/functional financial plans have been met, evaluating overall performance to establish improved task management processes.
* Change
o Ensures that staff have an awareness of the strategic direction of the business and the contribution that the function/department can make to the improvement of overall business performance.
o Regularly reviews methods and processes both independently and with staff to establish incremental improvement in current practices within the function/department.
o Assesses quickly the likely impact of business/external demands for change on people, processes, and methods.
o Recognises the necessary stages in the change process and the education and communication aspects for self, other managers, staff, suppliers, and customers.
Key Relationships / Stakeholders
* Commercial
* Head of Technical
* NPD Controllers
* Site Quality Managers
* Site Managers
* Procurement
* Technical Services Team
* Suppliers
* Customers
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