Process Development Manager

New England Seafood - Grimsby, Genesis Way, Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, United Kingdom

Posted Tuesday 23 December 2025 at 00:00

New England Seafood International (NESI) was established in 1991 and is an importer and processor of premium fresh and frozen sustainable fish and seafood. NESI employs circa 850 people across three sites in the UK and imports a wide range of wild and farmed fish and shellfish from all around the world. We are part of the Sealaska Corporation, an Alaska Native corporation formed in 1971 and which is owned by 26,000 Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian shareholders, who are all bloodline descendants of the first settlers to the Americas.

Our vision is to “show people how to enjoy fish every day” and we pride ourselves on our supply chain integrity, sustainable sourcing and high-quality product. Our values run through our business and are Respect, Customer Care, By Learning We Grow, Team Spirit and Integrity.

Working with Lead NPD Manager and other cross functional teams you will be responsible for the following:

• Manage process development and scale-up of new and existing products from kitchen to factory launch via the Stage & Gate process, ensuring robust trials, smooth handovers to operations, and compliance with business and retailer requirements.
• Build strong relationships with operations, technical, and engineering teams to drive efficient factory implementation, while collaborating with technical and commercial teams to ensure product integrity and consistency.
• Set and coordinate factory trial standards and documentation to ensure accurate data capture, clear communication, and continuous improvement in process capability and efficiency.
• Track and manage trial costs, materials usage, and yield performance within budget, as directed by the Lead Product Development Manager.
• Support in managing and optimising internal processes, driving best practice in manufacturing readiness, product scalability, and process innovation across all development activities.
• Focus on building relationships with internal stakeholders to work cross‑functionally to drive continuous improvement in product performance, reduce costs, and identify and evaluate gap‑fill opportunities.
• Collaborating closely with suppliers to strengthen relationships, drive forward NPD thinking and concept development, while ensuring procurement teams are kept fully informed.
• Gather market and competitor insights through online and in‑store reviews to identify gaps and inspire new products or innovations.
• Manage critical paths for specific products, coordinating resources to deliver concepts to agreed quality and timelines. Ensure all tasks are completed, documented, and signed off. As required, guide auditors through the stage‑gate process for site‑manufactured products.
• Represent the department at regular site‑based meetings and share relevant feedback with Development Team.
• Act as a deputy for the Lead NPD manager when required.
• Attend trade shows, NPD events and suppliers.

• Proven experience working cross‑functionally in a fast‑paced food manufacturing environment, with successful delivery of process development and scale‑up projects from kitchen to factory launch.
• Experience working on customer own‑label agendas, ideally with multiple major UK retailers.
• Strong experience on the full product development process and critical path & project management from concept through to launch.
• Skilled communication who is able to effectively communicate both written and verbal to a range of internal and external stakeholders.
• Team player, who is comfortable to work alone, be part of a team or lead a team when required.
• Understanding of factory environments and Food Industry Technical standards and compliance - HACCP, BRC, etc.
• Up‑to‑date knowledge on customer codes of practice, government labelling legislation and food trends.
• Ideally a Food Science Degree or equivalent with a minimum of 5 years’ experience in a chilled manufacturing environment, some knowledge of fish an advantage.

• Requires flexibility of hours to ensure adequate cover for all new product launches.
• This requires presence on weekends occasionally.
• Travel and overnight stays for customer and supplier meetings.