NPD Manager (Maternity Cover)

Deli-Lites-Ireland-Limited; Newry; On-site; GBP 52,000 - 66,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

30 days annual leave

Cycle to Work Scheme

Discounted company products

Free on-site parking

EAP and Well-Being

Job summary

DELI LITES IRELAND is seeking an NPD Manager (Maternity Cover) to drive the "Food on the Move" innovation strategy. You will manage multiple NPD/EPD projects from concept through launch, coordinating with Head of NPD and key stakeholders to ensure on-time delivery while upholding quality, legality and authenticity across products.

You will lead a team of NPD Technologists, manage budgets and KPIs, and integrate new products into Operations with thorough handovers and post-launch reviews.

Qualifications

• Significant experience in food product development and NPD/EPD projects from concept to launch.
• Experience managing development budgets and projects with measurable commercial outcomes.
• Strong project and portfolio management with timely delivery and quality standards.

Responsibilities

• Proactively driving NPD/EPD projects aligned with strategic plan and ensuring timely delivery.
• Create project plans, allocate teams and responsibilities, manage critical paths.
• Lead on implementing NPD systems, processes and software for improved NPD outcomes.
• Oversee product handover to Operations and post-launch follow-ups.
• Coordinate sample submissions to customers and work with chefs for product info.
• Stay in touch with market trends and new concepts to inform development.
• Lead benchmarking, produce reports, and provide stakeholder feedback.
• Maintain comprehensive NPD/EPD documentation, including legal compliance.

Skills

Project management

NPD

Food product development

Leadership

Stakeholder management

Budget management

ERP systems

MS Office

PowerPoint

Communication

Education

Degree in Food Science

Tools

Intact ERP

Job description

NPD Manager (Maternity Cover), Unit 1 Milltown Industrial Estate, Greenan Rd, Warrenpoint

Employment Type

Fixed Term

Application Start Date

01-10-2026

Application End Date

31-10-2026

Location

Unit 1 Milltown Industrial Estate, Greenan Rd, Warrenpoint

State/County

Down

BT34 3FN

Country

United Kingdom

Work Style

On-site

Experience

Education

Description

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 within 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, foodservice or manufacturing customers and presenting concepts to senior stakeholders.
• Experience producing concise portfolio reports, recommendations and business cases for senior leadership.
• Knowledge of structured problem-solving, facilitation and continuous-improvement techniques.
• Experience using Intact or similar ERP and product-development systems

What We Offer

• 30 days annual leave, including public and statutory holidays
• Additional annual leave entitlement:
• 1 extra day after 5 years' service
• A further 1 additional day for each subsequent year of service
• Capped at 33 days total annual leave
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Discounted, award-winning company products including sandwiches, salads, wraps, and traybakes
• Free on-site parking
• EAP and Well-Being

AtDELI LITES IRELAND, we are committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion in everything we do and welcome applications from all sections of the community. DELI LITES IRELAND is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, or age.

Equal Opportunity Monitoring Form

Deli Lites is an Equal Opportunities Employer. We do not discriminate against our job applicants or employees, and we aim to select the best person for the job. We monitor the community background and ask all job applicants to complete this form in order to demonstrate our commitment to promoting equality of opportunity in employment and to comply with our duties under the Fair Employment & Treatment (NI) Order 1998.
We are not obliged to answer the questions on this form, and you will not suffer any penalty if you choose not to do so. Nevertheless, we encourage you to answer these questions. Your answers will be used by us to prepare and submit a monitoring return to the Equality Commission; your identity will be kept anonymous. In all other regards, your answers will be treated with the strictest confidence. We assure you that your answers will not be used by us to make any decisions affecting you, whether in a recruitment exercise or during any employment with us.