Junior Product Manager

Henderson Brown Recruitment; Lenham; On-site; GBP 35,000 - 38,000; Full time

Job summary

Henderson Brown Recruitment is assisting with the recruitment of a Junior Product Manager to join the technical team in Kent. This exciting role offers a clear path to develop specialist knowledge within the fresh produce sector and advance from a Quality/Technical background.

You will collaborate with retail, growers and suppliers across the supply chain, owning product information, monitoring quality, and supporting supplier assurance.

Qualifications

• 2+ years' experience in a Technical, Quality, Product or Compliance role, ideally within fresh produce, food manufacturing or a related FMCG environment.
• Working knowledge of legal labelling, weights & measures, technical compliance and auditing; internal auditing qualification/experience highly desirable.
• Strong experience in root cause analysis, corrective action and problem-solving with the ability to investigate issues and propose practical solutions.
• Excellent MS Office, communication, organisational and analytical skills with strong attention to detail and ability to meet deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Own product and technical information across key customer and source systems, ensuring specifications, labelling, packaging verification and TPIS requirements are accurate, compliant and kept up to date
• Monitor product quality and performance, analysing QSL data, weekly KPIs, shelf-life results and technical reports to identify trends, risks and opportunities for improvement
• Support product quality and benchmarking, including sample assessments, taste panels, product evaluations and customer visits to ensure product meets agreed specifications and customer expectations
• Investigate quality issues and customer refunds, completing root cause analysis, managing non-conformances and implementing practical corrective actions to prevent recurrence
• Work closely with growers and packing sites, conducting audits and supporting supplier assurance activity to maintain technical, quality, food safety and legal standards throughout the supply chain
• Support customer relationships and technical compliance, working alongside the customer and internal stakeholders to resolve issues, provide technical updates and ensure requirements are consistently delivered
• Contribute to continuous improvement, using quality data, audit findings and product performance insights to drive improvements across sourcing, packing and product quality
• Travel to growers and packing sites when required, gaining valuable hands-on exposure to the product supply chain while building strong relationships across the category

Skills

Root cause analysis

Attention to detail

MS Office

Communication

Data analysis

Job description

We're delighted to be working with our client on an exciting opportunity for a Junior Product Manager to join their Technical team. This is a fantastic opportunity for an experienced Quality or Technical professional looking to take the next step in their career and develop specialist knowledge within the fresh produce.

Working closely with retail, growers, suppliers, packing sites, procurement and agronomy, you'll play an important role in ensuring products are consistently high-quality, compliant, customer-ready and aligned with technical and commercial expectations.

Junior Product Manager

• Kent (travel to multiple Kent sites required)
• Permanent
• £35,000 - £38,000

What You'll Be Doing:

• Own product and technical information across key customer and source systems, ensuring specifications, labelling, packaging verification and TPIS requirements are accurate, compliant and kept up to date
• Monitor product quality and performance, analysing QSL data, weekly KPIs, shelf-life results and technical reports to identify trends, risks and opportunities for improvement
• Support product quality and benchmarking, including sample assessments, taste panels, product evaluations and customer visits to ensure product meets agreed specifications and customer expectations
• Investigate quality issues and customer refunds, completing root cause analysis, managing non-conformances and implementing practical corrective actions to prevent recurrence
• Work closely with growers and packing sites, conducting audits and supporting supplier assurance activity to maintain technical, quality, food safety and legal standards throughout the supply chain
• Support customer relationships and technical compliance, working alongside the customer and internal stakeholders to resolve issues, provide technical updates and ensure requirements are consistently delivered
• Contribute to continuous improvement, using quality data, audit findings and product performance insights to drive improvements across sourcing, packing and product quality
• Travel to growers and packing sites when required, gaining valuable hands-on exposure to the product supply chain while building strong relationships across the category

What We're Looking For:

• 2+ years' experience in a Technical, Quality, Product or Compliance role, ideally within fresh produce, food manufacturing or a related FMCG environment
• Working knowledge of legal labelling, weights & measures, technical compliance and auditing, with an internal auditing qualification/experience highly desirable
• Strong experience in root cause analysis, corrective action and problem-solving, with the confidence to investigate issues and recommend practical solutions
• Excellent MS Office, communication, organisational and analytical skills, with strong attention to detail and the ability to manage deadlines in a fast-paced environment
• A proactive and collaborative approach, with the confidence to work with customers, growers, suppliers and internal stakeholders and support customer or source-level visits

Why This Opportunity?

This is an excellent opportunity to move beyond traditional QA or Technical responsibilities and gain genuine product ownership within a major fresh produce category. With full training provided on, you'll develop your category expertise while gaining exposure to major retail customers, growers, packing operations and the wider fresh produce supply chain.

If you're ready to take the next step and build a career at the intersection of Technical, Quality, Product and Fresh Produce, this could be the perfect opportunity