NPD Manager; Maternity Cover

Fixed Term

01-10-2026

31-10-2026

Unit 1 Milltown Industrial Estate, Greenan Rd, Warrenpoint

Down

BT34 3FN

United Kingdom

On-site

The Role:

In your role you will report to the Head of NPD. You will be tasked with driving our "Food on the Move" Innovation development in line with DELI LITES strategy. You will play a key role in managing all NPD and EPD projects from concept to launch, working closely with all key stakeholders, ensuring these projects are delivered on time.

As NPD Manager, you will echo the quality, legality, and authenticity of all our values at DELI LITES and give customers the opportunity to achieve their extraordinary results through the passion we have for our people and food.

Your Duties:

• Proactively driving key actions on NPD and EPD projects, aligned with the strategic business plan.
• Creation of project plans and critical paths, allocation of project teams, tasks and responsibilities.
• Following a best practice NPD process and assisting with implementing relevant NPD systems, processes and software to ensure the business deliver more effective NPD.
• Overseeing the integration of new products into Operations to include a comprehensive, documented handover and necessary follow ups post launch.
• Lead on ensuring best practise sample submission to customers. Work closely with chefs to ensure all the relevant product information is submitted in a timely manner.
• Proactively stay in touch with the market including interpreting and monitoring consumer trends, new relevant concepts and product innovations.
• Lead the company’s benchmarking schedule, producing reports and providing feedback to key stakeholders.
• Creation and maintenance of comprehensive NPD/EPD project documentation including all required legal compliance paperwork.
• Management of the NPD Technologists, including setting and monitoring of KPIs.
• Coordinating, facilitating and reporting on trade events, supplier visits and onsite innovation days that help to identify new and innovative ingredients and suppliers, that ensures we remain innovative and deliver better on customer briefs.
• Build and maintain relationships with business representatives and stakeholders at head office and sites and act as the primary point of contact for the project or portfolio.
• Assist in the development of consumer friendly and market leading packaging and labelling across all product categories – Chilled, Frozen and Bakery. Present new concepts, that are aligned to our sustainability programme, to the NPD, Commercial and Operations team.
• Support research projects identified by the company that feed into the strategic business plan.
• Significant experience in food product development, including responsibility for multiple NPD and EPD projects from concept through to launch in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.
• Proven people-management experience, with the ability to lead, coach and performance-manage a product development team.
• Strong project and portfolio management capability, with evidence of delivering projects to agreed timescales, quality standards and commercial outcomes.
• Strong understanding of food manufacturing, factory trials, product handover, launch processes and post-launch review.
• Working knowledge of food safety, legality, labelling, customer standards and technical documentation relevant to product development.
• Excellent organisational, prioritisation, communication, presentation, and stakeholder-management skills.
• Commercially aware and data-driven, with the ability to balance innovation, customer expectations, operational feasibility, cost and margin.
• Strong problem-solving and decision-making skills with a proactive, accountable and solutions-focused approach.
• Strong computer literacy, including Microsoft Office and PowerPoint, with confidence using project and business systems.
• Degree or equivalent professional qualification in Food Science, Food Technology, Nutrition or a related discipline.
• Experience with in chilled, frozen, bakery or "Food on the Move" categories.
• Experience managing development budgets, product cost targets and projects with measurable commercial outcomes.
• Experience working directly with major retail, food service or manufacturing customers and presenting concepts to senior stakeholders.
• Experience producing concise portfolio reports,…