At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead product innovation and development for tailored dog food, ensuring quality and customer satisfaction.
- Company: Join Tails.com, a fast-growing pet food subscription service backed by Purina.
- Benefits: Enjoy competitive salary, flexible hours, hybrid work, and generous holiday allowance.
- Other info: Embrace a culture of learning, growth, and inclusivity in a dynamic environment.
- Why this job: Make a real impact in the pet food industry while working with a passionate team.
- Qualifications: Strong leadership skills, commercial awareness, and experience in product development.
The predicted salary is between 40000 - 50000 £ per year.
We’re Tails.com, a dog food subscription company with a big difference. We create truly tailored food for each dog we serve, using information from a brief questionnaire to develop a unique recipe that delivers the nutrition and taste dogs love, delivered monthly. Founded as a new category in pet food and backed by Purina, we are scaling fast. We value testing, learning quickly, and celebrating successes while learning from failures.
The Role
Seeking a product and innovation leader to own the development, optimisation and commercial performance of the Tails.com range. You will shape, drive and deliver New Product Development (NPD) and Existing Product Development (EPD) projects from insight to post-launch review, ensuring products meet customer needs, strengthen the brand and drive growth. The role requires clear judgement, pace, accountability and leadership across cross‑functional teams and supplier partners.
You Will Be Responsible For
- Product Development and Ownership
- Own end‑to‑end delivery of NPD and EPD projects, ensuring clarity of scope, timelines and commercial outcomes.
- Lead the cross‑functional project team, setting direction and driving progress through each stage gate.
- Build strong briefs grounded in customer insight, behavioural data and commercial sizing.
- Make informed trade‑offs to balance customer value, cost, claims and operational feasibility.
- Track performance post launch and use learnings to refine the pipeline.
- Supplier Leadership
- Lead development with suppliers, setting clear expectations and holding them to agreed timelines, costs and quality standards.
- Identify the right partners for each project and build productive, high‑trust relationships.
- Drive accountability with suppliers through clear communication, structured feedback and proactive issue management.
- Claims, Customer Benefit and Messaging
- Build a strong understanding of the claims landscape and category language.
- Shape the claims and customer benefit strategy for products in development, ensuring they are meaningful, differentiated and legally sound.
- Work closely with the Regulatory and Compliance Manager to test, challenge and refine claims in line with the IRAQ process.
- Food Philosophy and Range Values
- Ensure all development aligns with the Tails.com Food Philosophy and product range values.
- Work with the Animal Nutritionist to identify emerging ingredients, technologies or processes that can advance product quality or differentiation.
- Maintain and evolve the range values with the Head of Range Innovation and Brand Director.
- Issue Resolution and Rapid Response
- Lead fast, practical solutions when product issues arise, including shortages and quality concerns.
- Make clear recommendations on remediation, balancing customer needs, cost and operational complexity.
- Capture lessons and ensure they feed into future briefs.
The Skills You’ll Bring
- Strong ownership mindset with a bias for action.
- Clear judgement in ambiguous situations, able to simplify and decide.
- Commercial awareness and experience building business cases.
- Confident communicator able to influence senior, technical and non‑technical colleagues.
- Able to challenge constructively and push for better solutions.
- Builds trusted relationships with suppliers and internal teams.
- Comfortable leading work at pace and managing competing priorities.
Measures of success: on‑time delivery of NPD and EPD projects; commercial impact of new and improved products; customer benefit demonstrated through claims, quality and experience; strength and clarity of the product pipeline; supplier performance and reliability; positive cross‑functional feedback on leadership and ownership.
What's in it for you
- Competitive salary, reviewed annually.
- Flexible core hours, giving you true work‑life balance.
- Hybrid role: employees should have a conducive remote working environment (including an appropriate desk and adjustable chair) at their start date.
- 25 days of holiday (excluding bank holidays) which increases over time to a maximum of 27 days.
- 9‑10 day working week to enhance your wellbeing without a reduction in pay and leave allowance.
- Optional 5 days unpaid leave and 1 paid volunteer day each year.
- Work from abroad 2 weeks every 6 months.
- Health insurance for you, paid by Tails.com.
- Extended maternity, paternity, shared parental and adoption pay: 6 months at 70% pay.
- Flexible paid care leave to support immediate dependants, people close to you and pets.
- In‑house L&D team, with access to year‑round courses to help drive your development.
- 50% discount on all Tails.com products.
- Discounted gym membership.
Our Commitment
We’re proud to be an active equal‑opportunity employer. We conduct a structured recruitment process for all candidates and actively promote our roles to communities that are under‑represented at Tails.com. During your interview process you’ll meet team members with varying levels of responsibility and experience. If you need any reasonable adjustments, please let us know.
Range Innovation Manager - 12 Month FTC in London employer: Nestlé
At Tails.com, we pride ourselves on being an innovative and inclusive employer, offering a dynamic work environment that fosters creativity and collaboration. Our commitment to employee growth is evident through our in-house learning and development team, flexible working arrangements, and generous benefits, including extended parental leave and health insurance. Join us in shaping the future of pet food while enjoying a supportive culture that values your contributions and well-being.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Range Innovation Manager - 12 Month FTC in London
✨Connect with Product Management Communities
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✨Attend Industry Meetups and Workshops
Check out local meetups or workshops specifically targeted at product management. These gatherings are prime spots to meet hiring managers and fellow practitioners. Plus, they often lead to connections that can help you land temporary roles.
✨Showcase Your Work with a Portfolio
Even if you're after a temporary gig, having a solid portfolio is key! Include case studies of past projects, highlighting your role and how you drove product success. Use platforms like Behance to display your work visually.
✨Apply Directly on Company Websites
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We think you need these skills to ace Range Innovation Manager - 12 Month FTC in London
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show Off Your Product Sense:In product management, we want to see your understanding of user needs and business value. When you're crafting your CV and cover letter, highlight specific products you've worked on, the methodologies you used, and how those experiences shaped your product sense. If you have insights into user journey mapping, competitive analysis, or product lifecycle, make sure to feature them!
Highlight Relevant Experience:For a temporary role, employers often look for candidates who can hit the ground running. Make sure your written application showcases not just your past roles, but also specific outcomes you've driven. Don't shy away from using metrics—how did your contributions impact the product or team? We love when you quantify your achievements!
Be Ready to Adapt:Temporary positions can often lead to quick changes in direction. In your cover letter, convey your adaptability and eagerness to learn. Mention any experiences where you’ve had to pivot or adjust your approach to meet project goals. Talk about how you thrive in dynamic environments—it'll really resonate with us at Nestlé!
Link to Your Portfolio:If you've worked on product roadmaps, user stories, or any visualisations, link to your portfolio in your application. Even a personal project that demonstrates your skills as a product manager can show your proactive approach. It's a great way for us to see your work in action and understand your style. And remember, apply through our website to make it easier for us to find you!
How to prepare for a job interview at Nestlé
✨Show Off Your Product Knowledge
Make sure we can discuss the product lifecycle with confidence! Be ready to showcase your understanding of key concepts in product management, such as roadmap planning and user research. We want to hear about any tools you're familiar with, like JIRA or Trello, as they’re popular in this space!
✨Agile Mindset is Key
As a temporary role, they'll want us to hit the ground running. Brush up on Agile methodologies and be prepared for scenario-based questions where you might need to demonstrate how you'd handle shifting priorities or tight deadlines. Show that you can think on your feet and adapt quickly!
✨Bring Your Portfolio of Projects
If you've got any product projects up your sleeve—be it case studies or live examples—bring them along! For a temporary position, they’re going to want to see tangible results from your previous work, so don't hold back on demonstrating how you've made an impact in past roles.
✨Communicate Clearly and Concisely
They’ll be looking to see how you articulate your ideas, so practice your pitch! Make sure we can summarise complex product requirements into clear, understandable language. Being able to express yourself well is vital in product management, especially in a temporary role where quick collaboration is essential!
