Product Development Controller M&S Food for Later

Greencore; Leeds; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Holidays

Pension contributions

Life insurance

Share save scheme

Greencore Qualifications

Employee discount platform

Wellbeing Centre access

Enhanced parental leave

Job summary

Greencore is seeking a Product Development Controller to lead the PD team across Meals and Desserts, with regular travel across the Greencore network and to support customer priorities. The role requires strong leadership and a deep understanding of M&S product strategies.

You will drive product concepts, costing, and customer partnerships, ensuring high quality and innovation across fast‑paced categories within a multi-site environment.

Qualifications

• Experience leading Product Development teams across multiple sites.
• Experience working with M&S is essential.
• Strong understanding of product development in chilled food manufacturing.

Responsibilities

• Lead Product Development teams across multiple sites, aligned with customer and category priorities.
• Review customer briefs to ensure strategic alignment and challenge where needed.
• Drive development of market-leading products and packaging concepts.

Skills

Leadership

Stakeholder mgmt

Project management

Travel flexibility

Driving licence

Job description

Job: Product Development Controller (M&S)

Location: Multi-site

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.

Job Description

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 exciting opportunity for a Product Development Controller to join our M&S business, leading Product Development activity across both our Meals and Desserts categories.

This is a multi-site role, requiring regular travel across the Greencore network to support customer and operational priorities. The successful candidate will need to be highly flexible and comfortable with frequent weekly travel as part of the role.

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

• Lead and inspire Product Development teams across multiple sites, ensuring alignment with customer, category and business priorities.
• Review all customer product development briefs to ensure they align with strategic objectives, challenging where appropriate
• Drive the development of market-leading product and packaging concepts that deliver against quality, commercial and sustainability goals.
• Build strong partnerships with key M&S stakeholders and internal senior leaders across both Meals and Desserts categories.
• Champion our 'Great Food' agenda, ensuring food quality, innovation and consumer insight remain at the heart of everything we do.
• Utilise food trends, consumer insights and market intelligence to shape future product concepts and category direction.
• Maintain high standards of food quality, customer engagement and operational excellence across the Product Development function.
• Take accountability for margin delivery by ensuring robust product costing from concept through to launch.
• Lead, coach and develop your team, creating a safe, engaged and high-performing culture.
• Ensure all Product Development processes, procedures and governance requirements are fully adhered to.

What We're Looking For

• Previous experience working with M&S is essential.
• Proven success leading Product Development teams within a chilled food manufacturing environment.
• Experience developing innovative chilled food products, ideally across complex and fast-paced categories.
• Strong understanding of customer strategy, category management and commercial product development.
• Exceptional stakeholder management skills with the ability to influence and build credibility at all levels.
• Passion for food, innovation and emerging consumer trends.
• Strong leadership and people management capability, with experience managing teams across multiple locations.
• Excellent organisational and project management skills.
• Full UK Driving Licence
• Flexibility to travel regularly on a weekly basis across multiple Greencore sites.

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
• Holidays
• Competitive matched pension contributions
• Life insurance up to 4x salary
• Company share save scheme
• Greencore Qualifications
• 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.