Product Development Controller

Greencore Group plc; Greater London; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Life insurance

Company share save scheme

Exclusive employee discount platform

Wellbeing Centre platform

Enhanced parental leave and menopause

Job summary

Greencore, a UK leader in convenience food, is seeking a Product Development Controller to lead the innovation team for Tesco and related channels. You will drive customer-focused product development, manage cross-functional collaboration, and ensure profitable growth across deli, side of plate, quiche and dips.

Based in London Park Royal, you will mentor the team, liaise with senior stakeholders, and champion sustainable, high-quality concepts while upholding Greencore’s Great Food philosophy.

Qualifications

• Proven track record of delivering high-quality, sustainable commercial products.
• Strong leadership and people management skills, with the ability to plan workloads effectively and focus teams to meet objectives.
• In-depth knowledge of food and customer needs, along with the ability to engage and build strong relationships with clients.
• Passion for great food, with a deep understanding of current and emerging trends in the food industry.
• Excellent organisational skills to ensure smooth project execution and team alignment.

Responsibilities

• Review all customer product development briefs to ensure they align with our food strategy, addressing any discrepancies as needed.
• Lead your team in developing market-relevant, commercially viable product and packaging concepts, ensuring high quality and sustainability.
• Engage with senior management stakeholders at each site to ensure strategic alignment across customer, category, and Greencore objectives.
• Be a champion of our ‘Great Food’ principle, ensuring that food quality and innovation remain central to everything we do.
• Utilise food trends and insights to shape product concepts, working in collaboration with the marketing and portfolio teams.
• Set high standards for the Product Development team, ensuring excellence in food quality, customer communication, and operational processes.
• Take responsibility for margin delivery by overseeing accurate product costing from concept to implementation, ensuring target costs are met or exceeded.
• Provide strong leadership, ensuring your team is safe, engaged, and fully equipped to deliver outstanding results, with the right training and resources.
• Ensure full compliance with Product Development procedures and policies, guaranteeing that products are developed correctly from the outset.

Skills

Leadership

Client relationship building

Industry knowledge: food

Trend analysis

Costing and profitability

Job description

Why Greencore?

Following the combination with Bakkavor in January 2026, we’re one of the UK’s leading creators of convenience food, driven by a simple purpose: to make everyday taste better.

As a vibrant and fast-moving business, we’re proud to employ over 28,000 talented colleagues across 36 manufacturing sites and 21 distribution depots in the UK and the US. Together, we bring delicious food to life. Our products cover every meal occasion from breakfast through to dinner and dessert, with lunch and snacking in between.

In FY25, our shared passion helped us achieve combined revenues of approximately £4bn. Our extensive direct to store (DTS) network, with 17 depots across the UK, allows us to deliver fresh and frozen food both our own and from trusted partners to thousands of stores every day, ensuring consumers enjoy the very best, whenever and wherever they shop.

We have an excellent opportunity for a Product Development Controller to join our innovation team based out of either London Park Royal. This role will lead the team across deli, side of plate, quiche and dips for our Tesco business.

Role Purpose:

You will lead the product development team, driving the customer category food strategy to ensure profitable growth for both Greencore and our clients. You will also play a pivotal role in fostering strong customer partnerships.

Key Responsibilities:

• Review all customer product development briefs to ensure they align with our food strategy, addressing any discrepancies as needed.
• Lead your team in developing market-relevant, commercially viable product and packaging concepts, ensuring high quality and sustainability.
• Engage with senior management stakeholders at each site to ensure strategic alignment across customer, category, and Greencore objectives.
• Be a champion of our ‘Great Food’ principle, ensuring that food quality and innovation remain central to everything we do.
• Utilise food trends and insights to shape product concepts, working in collaboration with the marketing and portfolio teams.
• Set high standards for the Product Development team, ensuring excellence in food quality, customer communication, and operational processes.
• Take responsibility for margin delivery by overseeing accurate product costing from concept to implementation, ensuring target costs are met or exceeded.
• Provide strong leadership, ensuring your team is safe, engaged, and fully equipped to deliver outstanding results, with the right training and resources.
• Ensure full compliance with Product Development procedures and policies, guaranteeing that products are developed correctly from the outset.

What We're Looking For:

• Proven track record of delivering high-quality, sustainable commercial products.
• Strong leadership and people management skills, with the ability to plan workloads effectively and focus teams to meet objectives.
• In-depth knowledge of food and customer needs, along with the ability to engage and build strong relationships with clients.
• Passion for great food, with a deep understanding of current and emerging trends in the food industry.
• Excellent organisational skills to ensure smooth project execution and team alignment.

We’re proud to be recognised in the Gender Equity Measure Top 100 for our commitment to gender equality.

What you'll get in return:

• Competitive salary and job-related benefits
• Life insurance up to 4x salary
• Company share save scheme
• Exclusive Greencore employee discount platform
• Access to a full Wellbeing Centre platform
• Enhanced parental leave and menopause policy

We reserve the right to close the advert ahead of the specified closing date.

Recruitment Fraud Warning:

Greencore and its recruitment partners never charge candidates any fees at any stage of the hiring process. Any request for payment relating to a job opportunity should be considered fraudulent.