Food & Drink Innovation Coordinator

Company Description

About Us

McDonald’s has run its business in the UK since 1974 and currently operates over 1500 restaurants across the UK and Ireland, serving almost four million customers each day. McDonald’s is one of the UK’s largest private sector employers, employing over 170,000 people.

Job Description

Internally, the job title for this role will be known as Coordinator, Menu. McDonald’s is one of the most recognisable brands in the world. In the UK & Ireland alone, we serve over 4 million customers every single day across nearly 1,600 restaurants. Behind every great customer experience is a huge operational engine, and the equipment and services that keep our restaurants running smoothly are absolutely critical.

We’re looking for an Assistant Food Developer to join our Food & Drink Development team, with a dedicated focus on beverages, desserts and breakfast. This is an exciting opportunity to help shape the future of some of our most loved menu categories, working at the intersection of food innovation, customer insight and brand strategy.

You’ll join a passionate team of food lovers who create and develop new menu items that are delicious, exciting and easy for our restaurants to deliver. If you’re energised by creativity, hands on development and bringing new ideas to life, this is a brilliant opportunity to make a real impact on what millions of people enjoy.

What You’ll Be Doing:

• You’ll support the end‑to‑end development of new food and drink products - from initial concept through to launch - ensuring they meet consumer expectations, operational needs and brand standards.
• You’ll take ownership of:

• Creating product and supplier briefs based on marketing promotional plans
• Developing products that meet consumer, operational, financial and nutritional requirements
• Supporting ideation, creation and optimisation sessions for research and testing
• Attending UK Chef Councils as part of the development process
• Partnering with Consumer Insight to design and execute research projects
• Analysing research results and optimising products accordingly
• Ensuring cross‑functional alignment across Supply Chain, Food Safety, Operations, Marketing and more
• Preparing product recommendations for Food Development Manager approval
• Managing projects through the Stage & Gate process to ensure timely delivery
• Building product pipelines for your categories
• Reviewing supplier capabilities and supporting first production runs
• Coordinating food showings and engagement sessions
• Supporting Operations Testing for new products
• Representing McDonald’s at media events as a brand ambassador when required

Qualifications

What You’ll Bring:

You’ll thrive in this role if you’re energised by creativity, collaboration and the fast pace of food innovation. We’re looking for someone with:

• A passion for food, flavour and quality
• 2-3 years’ experience in food development
• Experience in QSR, retail, FMCG or grocery is ideal
• A relevant degree or qualification in Food Science, Food Technology, Food Innovation, Nutrition or a related field
• Strong project management and organisational skills (Stage & Gate experience is a bonus)
• A curious, confident and logical approach to problem‑solving
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• The ability to work independently and collaboratively in a fast‑moving environment
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook)

Additional Information

Company Vision and Culture… Our Global vision is to build a better McDonald’s and in the UK and Ireland we are working hard to be the UK & Irelands best-loved restaurant company. McDonald’s is defined by its culture. Our culture shapes and informs everything we think and everything we do. Our culture influences the way we interact with each other, and how we interact with customers, franchisees and suppliers. Our culture motivates and inspires us to attract and retain great talent, creating positive, energising, exceptional working environment for us all.

Our values drive our culture and shape our beliefs, our priorities and our actions. They influence the decisions we make, how we treat one another and how we show up as a brand to the world.

• Serve: We put our customers and our people first
• Inclusion: We open our doors to everyone
• Integrity: We do the right thing
• Community: We are good neighbours
• Family: We get better together

At McDonald’s we are People from all Walks of Life... People are at the heart of everything we do, and they make the McDonald’s experience. We embrace diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive culture that means people can be their best authentic self in our restaurants and offices, which helps us to better serve our customers. We have a strong heritage of diversity and representation within our communities, which we are proud of. The diversity of our people, customers, Franchisees and suppliers gives us strength.

We do not tolerate inequality, injustice or discrimination of any kind. These are hugely important issues and a brand with our reach and relevance means we have a very meaningful role to play. We also recognise our responsibility as a large employer to continue being active in our communities, helping to develop skills and drive aspirations that will help people to be more aware of the world of work and more successful within it, whether with McDonald’s or elsewhere.