Barista Bar – Product Development Manager
Attractive Salary & Benefits
36.5 Hour week (Hybrid)
Newtownabbey
Who are we?
At Henderson Group, we are proud to be Northern Ireland’s leading foodservice provider. We source and supply a range of thousands of products to customers including hotels, restaurants, and public sector organisations such as hospitals and offices.
Our group encompasses Henderson Wholesale, Henderson Retail, Henderson Foodservice and Henderson Group Property. We employ over 5,500 staff and have been placed 5th in Ulster Business Top 100 Companies 2024.
We achieved Platinum accreditation against the Investors in People standard framework in 2020 in recognition of people management excellence and our commitment to investment in people.
We're a family-owned team that cares about our people and the community in which we live. Our leaders care about employees and our employees succeed together and celebrate the success of others. We are interested in your aspirations, interests and skills and we strive to support and inspire you to do well.
A look into the role
Barista Bar is a brand owned by the Henderson Group with this role operating within Henderson Foodservice. Barista Bar is the No1 coffee-to-go brand in Northern Ireland and the third largest in the UK, with rapid expansion underway across Great Britain.
Since 2015, we’ve been delighting retail partners and their customers with exceptional coffee and hot beverages, proudly serving an impressive 13 million cups every year.
The purpose of the role:
The Barista Bar Development Manager will drive the growth and support of new business channels, while identifying, developing, and commercialising new revenue streams to advance Barista Bar’s ambition of evolving from a coffee-to-go business into a multi-channel coffee brand across Northern Ireland and the UK.
Working as Barista Bar Development Manager you will:
• Lead the product, concept development and launch of new Barista Bar channel, including retail coffee, RTD, hospitality, mobile units, and future cafés by defining propositions, formats, and routes to market, and collaborating with stakeholders from concept to launch
• Support commercial development by assessing new channels and propositions, developing pricing and margin assumptions, and assisting with partner discussions and onboarding
• Drive channel and proposition development by supporting new products and formats, collaborating with suppliers and internal teams, and shaping concepts through to pilot and launch while ensuring brand alignment
• Lead the progression of new concepts, products, and packaging by supporting development, tastings, trials, and feedback, collaborating with internal teams, and liaising with suppliers and manufacturing partners to ensure commercial and operational readiness.
• Support go-to-market planning and product launches, including the development of launch toolkits and operational guidelines, ensuring new channels and concepts are scalable, operationally viable and aligned with Barista Bar brand and quality standards.
• Collaborate with internal teams and external partners to ensure new propositions are scalable, operationally feasible, and supported through negotiations and onboarding
• Drive insight and optimisation by evaluating pilot and channel performance, gathering partner and customer feedback, monitoring market trends, and using data to refine propositions and guide future growth
• Represent Barista Bar at trade shows, industry events, and partner meetings, supporting engagement, and identifying innovation and partnership opportunities
• Undertake any other reasonable duties to support the role
Skills for Success
Joining us as Barista Bar Development Manager the minimum criteria you’ll need is:
• Relevant Marketing or Business Degree (or Equivalent).
• A minimum of three years’ experience in a commercial, development or business growth role.
• Experience working with or developing new products, channels or propositions, including process development and management.
• Understanding of route-to-market and distribution models.
• Experience supporting product launches or new business concepts.
• Experience working with suppliers or manufacturing partners within large or complex organisations.
• Experience working across retail, FMCG, foodservice and hospitality environments.
• Commercial awareness including an understanding of P&L performance.
• Ability to evaluate opportunities and support business case development.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and workstreams simultaneously.
• Excellent organisation and IT skills.
• A full, valid UK/EU driving licence.
The Attributes you’ll need include:
• Demonstrates leadership capability, with the ability to influence, guide and bring teams together to deliver new initiatives.
• Experience working cross-functionally to deliver new initiatives
• Strong commercial and analytical mindset
• A genuine interest in brand-led growth.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills
• Proactive, organised and solutions-focused approach
It is Desirable if you have:
• Experience within café, coffee, food-to-go or drinks categories.
• Experience working with RTD (Ready-To-Drink) or retail food/drink products
• Experience in analysing and interpreting market & consumer research
• Experience working with loyalty led or digitally enabled brands
Are we right for you?
As part of this role, it will be important that you feel aligned with the values that we live and work by.
Ambition – We always strive to be better. We seek new challenges and look for ways to do things better.
Customer First – We provide exceptional service. We put customers at the heart of everything and support our communities.
Teamwork – We succeed together. We help colleagues to succeed, and we share our knowledge and skills.
Integrity – We are fair, honest and ethical. We treat everyone with dignity and respect. We are inclusive and champion diversity.
The Reward
The impact you can make with Henderson Group goes far beyond your day to day. You will be part of a business supporting defibrillator installations and school sports days. In the last year Henderson group staff and retail stores raised over £1 million for charity partners.
You will have the balance necessary to enjoy your job and your life. We will help you to feel proud of what you do and achieve. And we will be here to celebrate your success.
Our business has been recognised externally for delivering excellence in employment. We value employee development and heavily invest in our people.
Benefits include market competitive salary, contributory pension scheme, healthcare, life assurance, employee assistance programme, social club, Reward Gateway Employee Recognition & Discount Scheme throughout UK/Ireland, staff discount (grocery/fuel) at SPAR/EUROSPAR Henderson Group company-owned stores and many more.
This is a full-time position working 36.5 hours per week. Working hours will be 8:45am-4:45pm Monday to Thursday and 8:45am-3:45pm Friday. Hybrid and flexible working arrangement available. Candidates must be flexible and willing to travel as business needs require. / Intermittent travel will be required within NI, ROI, GB and beyond. Additionally, work outside of regular hours may be required.
If you'd like to speak with us before making your application, our Talent Acquisition Specialist - Joanne McClelland would be happy to have a confidential chat with you about the role on offer - email joanne.mcclelland@henderson-group.com to get in touch.
*Applicants should note that we reserve the right to apply the desirable criteria if required at shortlisting stage
Completed applications must be submitted online by midnight on Tuesday 31st March 2026.
We are an equal opportunities employer.