Research & Development Manager in Tredegar

Sigma Recruitment; Tredegar; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension scheme

Life assurance

Sick pay after probation

Flexible working hours

Job summary

Sigma Recruitment is recruiting for an R&D Manager in South Wales to lead formulation development from concept to commercial manufacture, guiding a team of scientists and coordinators.

You will oversee vitamin, mineral and supplement formulations, manage 5–6 projects simultaneously, and partner with suppliers and universities to stay ahead of market trends; flexible start/finish times and a mix of site-based work with occasional home working are available.

Qualifications

• Hands-on experience developing and commercialising supplement products, ideally gummies or softgels.
• Full line-management experience, including appraisals, 1:1s and resource planning.
• A degree, or equivalent, in food science, pharmaceutical science, chemistry, nutrition or a related discipline<br/>

Responsibilities

• Lead the development and scale-up of new vitamin, mineral and supplement formulations
• Run around five or six major customer projects at a time, alongside process-improvement work with engineering and manufacturing
• Act as the technical face to customers, sales and project managers during development
• Line manage a team of scientists, technicians and coordinators, including appraisals, 1:1s and resource planning
• Keep development compliant with GMP and food supplement regulations
• Partner with ingredient suppliers and universities, so you see new ingredients and delivery formats before the market does

Skills

Formulation development

Scale-up processes

Team leadership

GMP compliance

Client facing

Project management

Education

Food science / chemistry degree

Nutraceutical/pharma background

Job description

Research & Development Managers - Why You Should Apply

Push the science, not just repeat it: This South Wales site is becoming the group's centre of excellence for technical gummies. Simpler products run in their millions at sister sites, so the tougher work lands on your desk: high-activity formulations and delivery formats many manufacturers can't offer. You'll build firsts, not reformulations.

A say in how it's built: R&D is undergoing reshaping, and you'll set the structure rather than inherit it. How the team is organised, how projects run, where the priorities sit.

Global impact: You'll join a global group with 15 manufacturing sites and R&D teams across the UK, US, Poland, Germany, Austria, Italy and China. There is an opportunity to collaborate with the sister sites to swap ideas, and a formulation you create here could be commercialised on the other side of the world.

A package that fits the remit: Up to 65,000 for an established R&D Manager, plus a bonus scheme and flexible start and finish times, so you can do the school run or miss the worst of the traffic without booking a half day.

Your salary, benefits & hours of work

• 45,000 to 65,000 depending on experience (top of the range for an established R&D Manager)
• Annual bonus scheme (subject to company performance)
• 24 days holiday plus bank holidays, rising with length of service
• Company pension, 4x life assurance and company sick pay after probation
• Flexible start and finish between 7:30am and 5:30pm (8-hour day), core hours 9:30am to 3:30pm. Site based in South Wales, with home working for the occasional emergency

What you'll do as the R&D Manager

You'll lead formulation development and the R&D team, taking products from first concept through to commercial manufacture.

• Lead the development and scale-up of new vitamin, mineral and supplement formulations
• Run around five or six major customer projects at a time, alongside process-improvement work with engineering and manufacturing
• Act as the technical face to customers, sales and project managers during development
• Line manage a team of scientists, technicians and coordinators, including appraisals, 1:1s and resource planning
• Keep development compliant with GMP and food supplement regulations
• Partner with ingredient suppliers and universities, so you see new ingredients and delivery formats before the market does

What you'll need to apply for the R&D Manager

• Hands-on experience developing and commercialising supplement products, ideally gummies or softgels. A nutraceutical or pharma NPD background also works if you can move at supplement pace
• Full line-management experience, including appraisals, 1:1s and resource planning
• A degree, or equivalent, in food science, pharmaceutical science, chemistry, nutrition or a related discipline
  

Interested in the Research and Development Manager position?