Senior Product Developer

Lily's Kitchen; England; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading pet food company in England is seeking a Senior Product Developer to lead new product development projects. The role involves managing supplier relationships, ensuring product quality, and driving timely launches for compelling products. Strong communication and relationship management skills are essential. This hybrid position allows for flexibility between in-office and remote work, supporting a culture of inclusiveness and sustainability.

Benefits

Dogs at work

Flexible Working

Pension plan

Private medical

Volunteering allowance

Qualifications

• Proven track record as a product developer within the FMCG industry.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and suppliers simultaneously.
• Strong relationship management and interpersonal skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead New Product Development (NPD) and Existing Product Development (EPD) projects.
• Manage relationships with suppliers for quality and cost efficiency.
• Ensure compliance with brand and regulatory standards for packaging.

Skills

Product development

Attention to detail

Relationship management

Planning and organization

Job description

What we’re after : - Senior Product Developer

Reporting Line : - Senior Product Manager

Lily’s Headquarters : - Goodge Street, Fitzrovia (with hybrid working between the office and working from home)

Equality and Inclusiveness at Lily’s Kitchen : -

At Lily’s Kitchen, we want to build and maintain a values-driven culture of trust and inclusion, one that empowers people safely and comfortably to express every characteristic of their personal identity and experience. We’re committed to supporting and encouraging a diverse and inclusive workforce. That means that whatever your ethnic origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age or status as an individual with a disability, you’ll get all the opportunities, respect and support you’d expect from a passionate business that cares about its people (as well as its pets).

We strongly encourage people of colour, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and non-binary people, veterans, parents, individuals with disabilities and / or other people from underrepresented groups to apply. Lily’s Kitchen is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes everyone to our team. If you need reasonable accommodation at any point in the application or interview process, please let us know.

In your application, please feel free to note which pronouns you use.

Location : -

This is a hybrid role, with a mix between working approximately 1-2 days a week (or more if you prefer) in our beautiful central London office (Goodge Street), with occasional visits to suppliers and working from home.

Your Lily’s Kitchen Promise – Pets, People & Planet : -

Every single member of the Lily’s Kitchen team pledges to uphold our B Corp and broader sustainability strategy personally, within their respective departments, and across the entire company. This commitment is demonstrated through actively advancing areas of responsibility within their teams, adhering to sustainability targets set by the company and departments, actively participating in sustainability discussions and decision-making processes, and fostering a team culture that is deeply passionate about the overall wellbeing of people, the planet and of course, pets.

Aligned with our commitment to being a force for good and championing ESG initiatives, financial compensation and reward is driven by annual objectives and performance, including the successful achievement of a social and environmental objective.

Your place at the Lily’s Kitchen Table : -

How will I make a difference?

You will : -

• Lead NPD / EPD Pipeline Projects for your suppliers, taking full accountability for the Product responsibilities of our Stage Gate process.
• Manage the critical path for your projects to ensure timely delivery and to budget, collaborating with internal and external stakeholders. Manage this with minimal input from senior members of the team.
• Partner closely with Marketing, Supply Chain, Regulatory, Quality, Sustainability and Finance to ensure timely, compliant, compelling launches that achieve our commercial ambitions.
• Manage and support supplier relationships for quality, cost efficiency and delivery.
• Ensure packaging development, artwork approvals, and testing meet brand and regulatory standards.
• Develop specialist knowledge in the product development areas you run.
• Visit factories under your management as projects require. Set up and manage weekly calls, collating into action points and communicating back to your line manager only when necessary.
• Keep abreast of the market and trends, bringing new product launches to the attention of the team to spark innovation and challenge our thinking.

How will I be successful?

• A proven track record as a product developer within the FMCG industry.
• High attention to detail, with excellent planning and organisation skills to support the work schedule.
• The ability to use your initiative – being a self-starter with a positive ‘can do’ attitude and the desire to learn and grow, with a will to push for completion.
• Confident in a fast-paced environment, managing multiple projects & suppliers at the same time.
• Strong Relationship Management skills, and excellent interpersonal skills.
• Highly self-aware with the ability to communicate clearly, effectively and appropriately with other Lily’s Kitchen employees, external suppliers and others at all levels.
• Being able to demonstrate awareness of the bigger picture and how it relates to your projects & suppliers.
• Passion for Lily’s Kitchen brand, product and philosophy, including championing B-Corp and embracing it in your decision making.
• Lily’s Kitchen values will shine through in everything you do
• It goes without saying that you need to have a PFP (passion for pets)

Our Perks

At Lily’s Kitchen we believe that everyone should enjoy their time at work.We reward the care our people put into their job, by caring for them in return. Our benefits are designed to make our people smile, save for the future, stay healthy and give back where they can and include :

• Dogs at work; what better way to put a smile on your face!
• Flexible Working : flexitime, working from home, part-time working, flexible support, faith based public holidays
• Save for the Future and Protect Loved ones : a pension plan that goes beyond, the option for salary exchange and an option of an ethical pension fund reflecting our team’s attitudes and needs.Plus, a life assurance scheme to look after those that depend on you.
• Staying healthy and well : Our team’s health and wellbeing is very important to us and we offer private medical, private dental, employee assistance programme, mental first aiders and a cycle to work scheme (and an electric car salary sacrifice scheme).
• Supporting our community : with a volunteering allowance we can give back to causes we are passionate about.Plus supporting and having fun together as a team.
• And more …

Lily’s Kitchen Story

At Lily’s Kitchen we are pet food pioneers. We are changing the game with our mission to provide proper food for cats and dogs all over the world.

Lily’s Kitchen was founded in London in 2009, by Henrietta Morrison who set out to feed her beloved dog, Lily, food she could trust. Lily’s Kitchen is now the No1 Brand in premium natural pet food, still focusing on the mission to inspire pet parents to feed their four-legged friends natural, proper food for pets.

Lily’s Kitchen was a founding member of the UK B Corp movement and the first pet food brand in the world to achieve B Corp status. Determined to use business as a force for good, Lily’s Kitchen has recently partnered with Dogs Trust to support dogs in need and are proud to lend a paw to charitable causes.

We sell our nutritious natural recipes for cats and dogs in over 1,000 stockists, like Waitrose, Tesco, Ocado, organic food shops, vets, independent pet shops and garden centres all over the UK. We also sell internationally and are now sold in more than 30 countries worldwide.

Our Vision.

We’re all about warming hearts, feeding souls and enriching lives, for both our customers and employees.

Our Values.

We recruit to our values at Lily’s Kitchen : Respectful. Dedicated. Audacious. Passionate. Responsible.

Our People.

We seek out and develop talented people who love to succeed and make a positive difference in everything they do.