NPD Category Lead in Manchester

Location: Manchester. We are recruiting an experienced and commercially driven NPD Category Lead to join a leading food manufacturing business based in Manchester. This role is responsible for leading and delivering the category innovation pipeline, ensuring the successful development and launch of high-quality, commercially viable food products that align with customer expectations and business growth objectives.

The successful candidate will take ownership of category strategy and pipeline delivery, working cross functionally with Technical, Operations, Commercial, Procurement, and Process teams to deliver products from concept through to launch. This is a highly customer facing role requiring strong leadership, commercial awareness and a passion for food excellence, innovation and continuous improvement.

This is an exciting opportunity for an ambitious NPD professional who thrives in a fast-paced food manufacturing environment and enjoys leading teams, influencing stakeholders and driving innovation at pace.

• Strong experience delivering end to end product development within a food manufacturing environment.
• Previous experience managing retailer or customer-facing development projects and customer expectations.
• Commercially aware with strong understanding of costings, margins, category performance and business growth objectives.
• Proven ability to lead multiple projects and priorities within a fast paced environment.
• Strong understanding of factory processes, scalability, operational constraints and factory ready product development.
• Passionate about food quality, innovation and delivering products that exceed customer expectations.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills with the ability to influence customers and internal stakeholders.
• Strong understanding of market trends, competitor activity and customer requirements within the food sector.

• Owning and managing the category innovation pipeline aligned to customer and business strategy.
• Driving delivery of commercially viable products from concept through to launch, ensuring alignment to customer expectations and commercial targets.
• Prioritising development activity and resources to focus on the most commercially valuable opportunities.
• Monitoring pipeline progress, launch performance, project risks and delivery timelines to ensure successful execution.
• Acting as the key NPD and Innovation contact for customers within the category.
• Leading customer presentations, innovation sessions and development meetings to strengthen customer relationships and position the business as a trusted development partner.
• Championing food quality, taste, and product excellence across the category, ensuring products are benchmarked against market-leading standards.
• Driving creativity and innovation while balancing commercial delivery, operational feasibility and customer requirements.

An opportunity to join a forward-thinking and growing food manufacturing business where innovation, food quality, collaboration and continuous improvement are at the heart of everything they do. You’ll become part of a dynamic and supportive team with the opportunity to lead category innovation, influence customer strategy and develop commercially successful products within a fast-paced environment. This role offers the chance to make a significant impact by driving product excellence, developing high-performing teams and contributing to business growth through innovation and customer partnership.

We are keen to speak with experienced NPD Category Leads, Senior NPD Managers, Innovation Managers, Product Development Managers, Senior Development Technologists, Category Development Managers or Senior NPD professionals from the food manufacturing sector who live within Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Warrington, Wigan, Preston, Leeds, Liverpool or surrounding areas.

If you have the desired qualifications and experience, please send your CV quoting re JO/TNT/2716 or call 0161 399 1575 / 07830 944145 for a confidential discussion.