Senior Product & Innovation Manager (12-Month FTC)

Consumer Hub; Leeds; Hybrid; GBP 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading FMCG company based in Leeds is seeking a Senior Product Innovation Manager for a 12-month FTC. The role involves shaping the future of a cake portfolio, managing cross-functional projects, and driving consumer-led innovation. The ideal candidate will have significant experience in product portfolio management and a strong ability to utilize data for meaningful insights. This is a hybrid role requiring two office days per week, and offers a supportive culture with opportunities for professional growth.

Benefits

Flexible hybrid working

Creative work environment

Catering with cake and pizza

Qualifications

• Experience managing a product portfolio from end to end.
• Strong ability to uncover meaningful consumer insights.
• Capacity to create data-driven business cases.

Responsibilities

• Shape the future of a cake portfolio through innovation.
• Lead cross-functional projects via the stage gate process.
• Influence stakeholders by crafting compelling sell-in stories.

Skills

Product portfolio management

Consumer insight analysis

Data analysis

Creative thinking

Cross-functional team leadership

Job description

Go on, treat yourself…

We’re on the lookout for a Senior Product Innovation Manager (12-Month FTC) to join one of the UK’s most iconic FMCG businesses - the kind that’s been quietly shaping tea breaks, birthdays and Friday nights for decades.

You’ll be responsible for shaping the future of a much-loved cake portfolio, building a pipeline of insight-led innovation that keeps consumers excited and the category moving forward. That means managing an existing portfolio with a sharp commercial eye, spotting white space opportunities, and turning consumer, market and category insight into ideas that actually make it to shelf.

You’ll lead cross-functional projects through the full stage gate process, balancing creativity with rigour, and making sure every idea stacks up from a brand, consumer and profitability point of view.

You’ll bring solid experience managing a product portfolio end to end, a strong grasp of how to uncover meaningful consumer insight, and the ability to use data and research to build robust business cases and persuasive sell-in stories.

A positive, proactive mindset is key, along with the confidence to problem-solve, influence and bring out the best in others. If innovation is your thing and you like seeing your ideas come to life in the real world, this one’s well worth a look.

You won’t be doing it alone either. Utlise your strong people skills to nurture a talented team into something really special. You’ll be working closely with colleagues across R&D, sales, operations and finance, influencing stakeholders at all levels and crafting compelling stories that land brilliantly with retail partners. It’s a role for someone who’s as comfortable in the data as they are in a creative brainstorm, and who enjoys joining the dots between insight, strategy and execution.

The culture is a real standout too. This is a global, family-run business (run out of a lovely Leeds head office) where people are trusted, supported and encouraged to enjoy what they do. This is a flexible hybrid role, with two days a week in the office required.

You’ll gain proper experience working on brands found in over half of UK households and have a genuine input into shaping the future product portfolio… and yes, there’s a steady flow of cake and pizza along the way!

So what do you say?