Category Project Manager Early Life - BTS

About Hero UKI

You probably know us best through our beloved brands: Deliciously Ella for our range of plant-based food products and delicious recipes; Organix for our tasty toddler snacking range; and Goodies for fun pre-schooler snacks. We’re proud of our strong heritage of using business as a force for good in the UK food landscape – building brands that connect deeply with consumers; leading our categories in key retail partners; and offering nutritious, delicious snacking options to all age groups. You’ll find our offices in the heart of London and in sunny Bournemouth. We’ve been named a Great Place to Work, and we’re seriously proud of the positive culture and business we’ve built together. We’re part of the Hero Group, a global family of brands united by a shared mission ‘to delight consumers through honest goodness in every bite’.

About Hero Group

Hero is a global food company, founded in 1886 in Switzerland, specialising in branded nutritional products across the Growing Up and Adult categories. With a portfolio of trusted brands like Corny, Semper, Goodies, Beech-Nut, Organix, and Deliciously Ella, Hero delivers high-quality, great-tasting food rooted in natural goodness. With 4,000 team members worldwide, the company is driven by strong values, high performance, and a commitment to doing the right thing - always, without compromise.

Our Values

• Create Wow - We go beyond expectations and strive to make a meaningful impact.
• Everyone Hero – Every individual matters and every contribution counts.
• Nourish Others – We support, inspire, and help each other grow.
• Take Responsibility - We own our actions and outcomes, individually and as a team.

About role:

As a Category Project Manager, you will deliver flawless planning and implementation of portfolio related projects within the Baby and Toddler Snacks Category. You will drive all Category innovation and renovation snacking projects through the Global stage gate process from Consumer potential to Launch. In this role it is important to ensure that all stakeholders are engaged, and projects meet required targets and timings. You will partner with the category team, cross functional and local marketing teams across Hero, and externally, with third party suppliers and design agencies.

Key Responsibilities

• Own the programme view of all BTS Category snack food innovation/renovation projects.
• Work with the Category team to ensure the innovation pipeline is sufficient to deliver the business targets – helping to prioritise projects and required resource.
• Define the project teams - ensuring the PCM develops a Critical Time Path (CTP).
• Work closely day-to-day with cross functional teams- both internal and with external suppliers if required.
• Identify and elevate areas of project risk.
• Ensure flow of communication to key stakeholders.
• Support execution of group portfolio, supply chain optimisation, innovation pipeline and future fit pipeline.
• Support in innovation pipeline ideation and concept testing.
• Create project briefs and build cross market business cases.
• Lead projects through our established frameworks (Global stage gate process).
• Manage cross country harmonisation and rationalisation initiatives.
• Establish close working relationships with local markets- attend monthly meetings for market updates and innovation alignments.
• Collaborate closely with R&D, Procurement, Quality and Supply Chain to ensure all projects meet nutritional, regulatory, compliance and sustainability standards.
• Ensure all launch and business criteria/parameters are achieved on multiple projects simultaneously, including project scope, timing, cost, quality, multiple stakeholder expectations.
• Assess project requests from local Marketing teams and the Category team.
• Provide preliminary technical, logistical, cost, timeline, customer service, risk/benefit and other feasibility implications.
• Ensuring launch success criteria are clearly defined.
• Prioritise and resolve multiple, conflicting inputs or projects and manage project financial risk and contingency planning with functional leaders.
• Assess the impact of upstream business decisions or technical changes/delays on downstream execution deliverables and resolve, proactively, the gaps between functional hand-offs.
• Manage project communication to business teams, across the organisation and to senior management.
• Assess and facilitate critical project decisions with business teams and/or senior management to ensure project priorities are optimised.
• Align with local market contacts to ensure projects are managed through the Global Stage Gate process and resources allocated, risks raised/mitigated/communicated.
• Manage the divergence across different markets at Readiness stage and support the markets through to launch.
• Track process metrics and project success criteria.
• Report performance measures and ensure post launch reviews are conducted.
• Conduct or facilitate root cause investigations when project or process deviations occur and identify resolutions or corrective actions.
• Apply lessons learned throughout the life of the project.
• Actively identify, recommend, and implement process improvements leading to increased speed to market, reduced costs, improved quality, on-time delivery.

About you:

• Proven professional experience in complex marketing led project management (from product briefing to final SKU).
• Experience in an international matrix organisation.
• Versed in monitoring and analysing internal and external data sources.
• Resilient in complex, changing project environment.
• Dedication to detail, able to zoom in and out.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to interact effectively across functions and international teams.
• Problem solver: proactive and goal-oriented, fast, end-to-end thinking.
• Food/snacks affinity.

What We Offer

You will have the opportunity to be part of a mission driven business at a hugely exciting point in our growth trajectory, where your voice is heard and where you’re able to actively impact our business. Some great perks in working for Hero UKI include:

• 25 days holiday + bank holidays + your birthday off.
• Private Medical Insurance from day one (plus dental and optical fund).
• Life Assurance and Income Protection.
• Contributory pension scheme starting with 5% employer contribution, moving to 10% with service, and access to free pension advice.
• Enhanced maternity and paternity pay.
• Access to Grocery Aid employee assistance resources.
• Massages & Reflexology when you are in our Bournemouth office.
• Psycle Classes when you are in our London office.
• Salary sacrificed schemes: Childcare support, Home & Tech, Bike to Work and Electric Car Schemes.
• On-site parking at our Bournemouth Office.
• Hybrid Working and Flexible Bank Holidays.
• Summer hours in July and August.
• Office perks including team breakfasts and lunches and snacks from all our UK brands.
• Learning Opportunities and Study Leave.
• Free Deliciously Ella App Access for you and five friends and family.

Equal Opportunity Statement

Hero UKI is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, or any other protected category under applicable laws.