Project Manager NPD (12month FTC, Part Time)

About McCain
At McCain, we’re feeding the world: from French fries to Smiles, we contribute to the important role food plays in people’s lives. That’s why we’re dedicated to ensuring our core values—Family, Authentic, Trusted, and Quality—shine through every day. As a privately owned family company with over 60 years of experience, a presence in more than 160 countries, and a global team of 22,000 people, our values and culture are at the heart of everything we do. We believe that we can work together, along with our business and community partners, to bring sustainable growth and positive change today, tomorrow, and for generations to come.

Why join the McCain family
Your Life – we’re here to help you fulfil your potential, flourish, and thrive in work and life.
Your Success – work alongside passionate individuals who are committed to supporting your career ambitions, drive, and success.
Your Impact – we want you to make a meaningful, lasting impact for you, for your colleagues, and for the business.

About The Role
Product innovation is a core part of our business. You only have to look in the freezer section of your local supermarket to see our wide variety of frozen potato products, and that’s not even mentioning our foodservice products. We’re looking for a logical individual who has planning down to a t! Our NPD Project Manager is responsible for ensuring all new products and product changes are launched on time, and to regulatory requirements. This role involves the spinning of many plates, and being a project manager means you’re the facilitator for many cross‑functional teams to deliver NPD launches, packaging updates and business need change projects. Reporting into the Senior Project Manager for Innovation, you will also…

• Define objectives and project scope, identifying risks to successful delivery
• Identify and recruit project team members, agreeing roles and responsibilities
• Create and maintain project and timing plans
• Manage projects, keeping on track to meet launch dates
• Engagement with senior management where necessary
• Clear, relentless communication of project status within team and stakeholders
• Co‑ordinate and manage all business systems, processes and project documentation
• Manage packaging changes from initial brief to launch including managing artwork through the Dragonfly artwork approval system
• Work closely with legal department to ensure consistency in labelling, correct grammar and spelling across all artwork
• Ensure latest updated pack labelling information available to facilitate update of consumer‑facing touch points including customer relations department and website

Leadership Principles
Our principles, each with related practices, guide our actions across the organisation. Together, they address how McCain interacts with our customers and employees, and how we work as individuals and collectively to find success. While each role adheres to the Leadership Principles, individual roles may focus more on a specific principle or principles.

• We are customer obsessed. Customers are our starting point. By understanding their needs and leveraging data and consumer insights, we drive mutual success.
• We think big and plan ahead. Through ambition, curiosity, and smart risks, we can accomplish goals, refine processes, and innovate to scale success.
• We bring out the best in our people. We create safe spaces for our people so that trust and empowerment come naturally. Inclusion is about listening first, showing humility, and working together.
• We act like owners. Together, we clear obstacles and do the work that makes us all successful and proud to be part of McCain.

What We’re Looking For
We’re looking for a go‑getter. Someone who’s methodical and has a track record of managing successful projects. But as well as being super organised, you must also…

• Currently be a Project Manager ideally working in an FMCG environment.
• Experience of management of cross‑functional stakeholders
• Experience of launching new products with project management from start to finish
• Be proficient with Microsoft Office
• Strong commercial and business awareness
• Be an excellent communicator and influencer, able to build strong relationships
• Be a problem solver with a focus on delivery
• And of course a love of potatoes!

Location
Being in the office every single day is a thing of the past. Here at McCain, we champion hybrid working. This means we don’t have a set expectation of exactly when you need to be in the office – however we do encourage our full‑time, office‑based people to connect in person with others for around half of their working time as that’s the best way for us to build and maintain our connections. Our head office (Customer Experience Centre) is on the outskirts of Scarborough – 1.5 hours away from Leeds City Centre, and about an hour from York. We have lots of colleagues who travel to and from our Experience Centre (even if it is just for a good coffee!) and because hybrid really does mean hybrid at McCain, they get the opportunity to collaborate with their colleagues when they’re in the office, and balance that with working from home to ensure they get a good life‑work balance.

Benefits Of Working For McCain
Although we do encourage you to taste the goods you’ll be pleased to know we don’t pay you in ‘chips’. For working hard, you’ll also get a great salary and some pretty good benefits including:

• An excellent pension where we will pay double what you do, up to a maximum of 12% of your pay
• Flexible holidays – where you can buy & sell up to 5 days holiday per year
• Optional health cash plan
• Cycle to work scheme
• ‘Chips In’ Volunteering Day Off - to make a positive impact to the competitiveness, resilience, and long‑term development of McCain communities across the globe

And of course, being part of a Global business there are great opportunities to shine/thrive should you wish to relocate in the future. We have an ambitious 5‑year growth plan that presents development & progression opportunities for those who seek it out.

The McCain Experience
We are McCain: this statement is about our power collectively and our importance individually—your impact is a significant part of the business. Our winning culture focuses on authenticity and trust so we can always bring out the best in our people. Here, you have the opportunity to learn, grow, and thrive while being yourself. Join our team to see why we’re better together.

McCain Foods is an equal opportunity employer. As a global family‑owned company, we strive to be the employer of choice in the diverse communities around the world in which we live and work. We recognize that inclusion drives our creativity, resilience, and success and makes our business stronger. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, age, veteran status, disability, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law. McCain is an accessible employer. If you require an accommodation throughout the recruitment process (including alternate formats of materials or accessible meeting rooms), please let us know and we will work with you to find appropriate solutions.