NPI Manager

About the Role:

Kinisla is seeking an experienced NPI Manager to lead, develop and empower the NPI team in delivering new product introductions, product transfers, process developments ,packaging ,artwork and commercialisation activities across our dairy consumer foods portfolio. This is an opportunity to work at the heart of a science-led food business, setting direction, building team capability and creating the conditions for others to translate product concepts into scalable manufacturing solutions and commercial outcomes.

The role is accountable for the team’s successful delivery of New Product Introduction projects from development through factory implementation and launch. The NPI Manager will allocate ownership, coach delivery and remove barriers, while retaining direct management oversight of governance, strategic priorities, critical risks, compliance, approvals and people performance. You will lead the team in bringing together customers, brand teams, senior leaders and cross-functional specialists, ensuring clear project ownership, effective collaboration and timely delivery from mobilisation through launch and post-launch review.

You will enable the NPI team to act as the integrator across wider R&D, Technical, Regulatory, Quality, Operations, Supply Chain, Procurement and Commercial teams, stepping in directly where senior alignment or management decisions are required.

• Lead, coach and empower the NPI team to deliver multiple commercialisation and process implementation projects, while personally executing key project tasks when required, from product handover through scale-up, validation, factory implementation and launch.
• Set clear priorities, delegate project ownership and ensure team members establish robust scope, plans, milestones, resources, dependencies and launch-readiness criteria.
• Build team capability to coordinate multidisciplinary internal and external stakeholders, resolving barriers and intervening directly when senior alignment or escalation is required.
• Enable and support the team to plan and execute pilot plant work, factory trials and commercial start-ups, ensuring learning is converted into validated process parameters, manufacturing instructions and operational standards.
• Ensure the team delivers robust audit ready handovers to Operations and Technical teams, supported by evidence of process capability, repeatability, quality performance and completed validation documentation.
• Guide the team in evaluating raw material and packaging specifications and delivering packaging implementation or change programmes that meet manufacturing and customer requirements.
• Retain management oversight ensuring products, packaging and process changes meet food legislation, customer codes of practice, food safety policies and internal quality systems, with all required approvals completed before implementation.
• Manage the cross functional master schedule and oversee the identification and mitigation of technical, quality, operational and regulatory risks, making or escalating decisions where the level of risk requires management intervention.
• Provide management oversight of stage-gate and governance reviews, assuring the quality of updates on progress, risks, resources and launch readiness and supporting timely decisions.
• Hold the team accountable for accurate and timely launch approvals and post-launch reviews, ensuring learning is embedded in future delivery.
• Support team members in building effective relationships with suppliers, packaging partners, contract manufacturers and customer technical teams, leading strategic or sensitive discussions when required.
• Lead and develop the NPI team through clear objectives, coaching, feedback, succession planning,…