NPD Manager

Gregory Walker Associates; Gravesend; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Gregory Walker Associates is supporting a high-growth fresh food manufacturer to recruit an NPD Manager into an established innovation and product development function.

You will lead retailer-facing NPD projects from brief to launch, challenge briefs, mentor a growing team and coordinate cross-functional launches with Commercial, Procurement, Packaging, Finance and Operations to deliver margin‑enhancing products.

Qualifications

• Several years' NPD / product development experience within food manufacturing.
• Experience working with major UK grocery retailers.
• Strong track record of taking products from brief through trial and launch.
• Strong customer-facing skills.
• Experience managing multiple projects and critical paths.
• Good commercial understanding around cost, margin and viability.
• Experience leading or developing others.
• The confidence to challenge both internal stakeholders and customers.
• A combination of creativity and strong project discipline.
• A food-related degree would be advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Managing multiple retailer NPD projects from brief to launch.
• Acting as a key NPD contact for major grocery customers.
• Building relationships directly with retailer NPD teams.
• Receiving, interpreting and challenging customer briefs.
• Leading retailer brainstorming and innovation sessions.
• Coordinating Technical, Commercial, Procurement, Packaging, Finance and Operations to deliver launches.
• Supporting customer tenders and new business opportunities.
• Leading factory trials and ensuring products transition successfully into manufacturing.
• Managing product launches against agreed time, quality and commercial targets.
• Reviewing launches after implementation and identifying opportunities to improve performance.
• Benchmarking your products against competitors and identifying where they can be better.
• Ensuring NPD delivers commercially viable products and improved margins.
• Leading and developing NPD team members.

Skills

NPD experience

Retailer relationships

Project management

Leadership

Education

Food degree advantageous

Job description

We're partnering with a high-growth fresh food manufacturer to recruit an NPD Manager into a well-established innovation and product development function.

The business specialises in fresh, convenient produce products, manufacturing at significant scale for many of the UK’s leading grocery retailers. It has grown substantially over recent years, with annual revenues comfortably above £100m, and continues to invest in its manufacturing capability, innovation function and future growth.

This is a particularly good time to join. The business has ambitious plans to grow both in the UK and internationally, while continuing to develop its relationships with major retail customers.

For someone who loves NPD, there is a lot to get their teeth into.

About the Role

This is a customer-facing NPD leadership role with responsibility for taking a portfolio of projects from the initial retailer brief all the way through to factory launch and post‑launch review.

You won't simply be handed a brief and asked to deliver it. The business wants its NPD team to challenge customers, bring ideas to the table and influence what the next generation of products looks like.

You'll also lead the project‑management side of the NPD function, with responsibility for developing members of the team beneath you.

Key responsibilities will include:

• Managing multiple retailer NPD projects from brief to launch
• Acting as a key NPD contact for major grocery customers
• Building relationships directly with retailer NPD teams
• Receiving, interpreting and challenging customer briefs
• Leading retailer brainstorming and innovation sessions
• Working with Category and Innovation to identify emerging consumer and market opportunities
• Coordinating Technical, Commercial, Procurement, Packaging, Finance and Operations to deliver launches
• Supporting customer tenders and new business opportunities
• Leading factory trials and ensuring products transition successfully into manufacturing
• Managing product launches against agreed time, quality and commercial targets
• Reviewing launches after implementation and identifying opportunities to improve performance
• Benchmarking your products against competitors and identifying where they can be better
• Ensuring NPD delivers commercially viable products and improved margins
• Leading and developing NPD team members

The remit goes beyond traditional project management. Success is measured against things that actually matter commercially — including revenue generated through NPD, improved product margins, successful launches and growth with key customers.

Why Join?

There are plenty of NPD roles where you’re effectively managing critical paths and chasing people for samples.

This isn’t one of them.

You’ll be joining a sizeable, profitable and ambitious food manufacturer operating in a category with plenty of room for innovation. The business supplies major UK retailers, has significant manufacturing capability and is continuing to invest behind its growth.

There is also a genuine opportunity to influence the customer, rather than simply respond to them. You’ll work on everything from new product concepts and formats through to packaging, ingredients, manufacturing methods and improvements to existing ranges.

You’ll have visibility across the business, regular exposure to senior leadership and the opportunity to make a measurable contribution to its growth. The existing brief specifically includes providing senior leadership with updates on the NPD pipeline and using innovation to maximise growth opportunities.

About You

We’re looking for someone who knows food manufacturing NPD and understands what it takes to turn a good concept into a commercially successful product at scale.

You’ll ideally bring:

• Several years' NPD / product development experience within food manufacturing
• Experience working with major UK grocery retailers
• A strong track record of taking products from brief through trial and launch
• Strong customer-facing skills
• Experience managing multiple projects and critical paths
• Good commercial understanding - particularly around cost, margin and viability
• Experience leading or developing others
• The confidence to challenge both internal stakeholders and customers
• A combination of creativity and strong project discipline

A food-related degree would be advantageous, but the real priority is a strong track record of retailer launches within food manufacturing.

If you're an NPD Manager or a high-performing Senior NPD professional looking for a bigger platform - this is an opportunity to join a £100m+ manufacturer with major retail customers, genuine growth ambitions and an NPD function that sits right at the heart of that growth