Senior New Product Development (NPD) Technologist (12 Month fixed-term) in Blackburn

Who We Are

Science In Sport Group is a world leader in sports and performance nutrition.

We have two highly regarded brands; SiS which combines world-class science and innovation to provide optimal performance nutritional solutions for professional athletes, sports and fitness enthusiasts and the active lifestyle community. This includes over 320 professional teams worldwide across a broad range of sports including Football, Rugby, Cycling, Athletics, Basketball, Netball and Swimming. Brand ambassadors include former track cyclist Sir Chris Hoy, an eleven‑time world champion and six‑time Olympic champion, and Eilish McColgan, who won gold in the 2022 Commonwealth Games 10,000 metres.

PhD Nutrition is a premium, active‑nutrition brand for the active lifestyle community wanting intelligent nutrition to help them achieve their goals. With over 20 years of research and development, our products are designed to maximise performance in and out of the gym. It’s an exciting time for PhD Nutrition as 2025 will kick off an entirely new line‑up of brand ambassadors, from hybrid athletes to qualified sports nutritionists.

The two brands sell through the phd.com and scienceinsport.com digital platforms, third‑party online marketplaces including Amazon, as well as extensive domestic and international retail distribution.

In 2022 the company opened a state‑of‑the‑art 160,000 square‑foot manufacturing and logistics facility in Blackburn, Lancashire. Providing a significant advantage in product costs and customer response time and most importantly, allowing Science In Sport to lead the way for quality standards.

Science In Sport is the nutrition partner to globally recognised elite teams, including Tottenham Hotspur, Saracens Rugby, British Triathlon, Aquatics GB, British Cycling, England Netball and Loughborough Sports. As well as being the Official Energy Gel Provider of RunThrough and the Official Nutrition Partner of Ultra X.

The Role

We are looking for an experienced Senior NPD Technologist to lead the delivery of new product development projects across Science in Sport and PhD Nutrition. This role combines technical product development expertise with strong project leadership and organisational capability, ensuring projects progress efficiently from concept through to commercial launch.

Working across powders, gels, bars and emerging formats, the successful candidate will coordinate cross‑functional teams, manage project timelines, drive launch readiness activities and support technical development programmes. They will play a key role in ensuring innovation projects are delivered on time, risks are effectively managed and products are successfully transitioned into manufacture.

This position is ideally suited to a highly organised and proactive individual who enjoys solving problems, influencing stakeholders and maintaining momentum across multiple concurrent projects.

Contract: 12‑month fixed‑term contract
Salary: Up to £38,000 per annum
Working Hours: 09:00 – 17:00
Location: Blackburn

Benefits

• On‑site gym
• Cycle to work scheme
• Product discount
• Birthday day off
• Pension scheme, employer contribution at 4%

The work – Your 4 most important responsibilities

• 1. Project Delivery & Stage Gate Leadership
• Own project plans from concept through to launch
• Drive progression through Stage Gate governance
• Maintain project timelines, critical paths and delivery milestones
• Coordinate cross‑functional teams and stakeholders
• Escalate and mitigate project risks
• 2. Launch Readiness & Commercialisation
• Ensure all launch activities are completed on time
• Coordinate production trials and first production runs
• Manage product delivery review meetings and trackers
• Ensure technical documentation is completed, recorded and auditable
• 3. Technical Product Development
• Support formulation and optimisation across product categories (gels, powders, bars, ready‑to‑drink and others)
• Translate consumer and commercial requirements into product solutions
• Evaluate ingredients (from food technology and performance nutrition standpoint), suppliers and technologies
• Generate technical recommendations based on evidence and testing
• 4. Continuous Improvement & Portfolio Support
• Identify process improvements within NPD
• Improve project governance and ways of working
• Support portfolio planning and resource prioritisation
• Contribute to future innovation platforms and capability development

Accountability – What You Are Responsible For Delivering

• Project Ownership – Own the delivery of assigned projects from concept through to successful commercial launch, ensuring milestones, timelines and objectives are achieved.
• Project Delivery – Deliver projects on time and to agreed quality, cost and commercial objectives while proactively managing risks, dependencies and stakeholder expectations.
• Launch Readiness – Coordinate all activities required for successful product launch, ensuring products, processes, documentation and stakeholders are fully prepared for commercialisation.
• Cross‑Functional Leadership – Drive alignment and collaboration across Supply Chain, Operations, Regulatory, Quality, Commercial and Marketing functions to ensure effective project execution.
• Project Governance – Maintain accurate project plans, documentation, status updates and Stage Gate requirements, ensuring clear visibility of progress and decision‑making.
• Continuous Improvement – Identify opportunities to improve NPD ways of working, project management processes and cross‑functional effectiveness to enhance delivery performance.

Capability – the skills and behaviours required to do this job well

• Degree in Food Science, Nutrition, Food Technology or a related scientific discipline
• Demonstrable experience in product development, project management, innovation delivery or a similar role
• Strong understanding of food products, ingredients and manufacturing processes across relevant categories
• Excellent organisational skills with the ability to manage multiple projects, priorities and deadlines simultaneously
• Demonstrated experience coordinating cross‑functional stakeholders to deliver projects on time
• Strong problem‑solving skills with the ability to identify risks and implement practical solutions
• Commercial awareness and an understanding of balancing product quality, consumer needs and business objectives
• Excellent written, verbal and presentation communication skills
• Effective project planning and project management capability
• Experience working with suppliers, manufacturers and external partners
• Proficient in maintaining project documentation, tracking milestones and communicating progress
• Self‑motivated, proactive and comfortable working in a fast‑paced environment with changing priorities.

Performance – how you will know you are doing a great job

• Delivers projects on time and through the Stage Gate process to agreed milestones
• Drives launch readiness and commercialisation activities to ensure successful product launches
• Identifies, manages and mitigates project risks proactively
• Maintains strong cross‑functional alignment through effective stakeholder management and communication
• Ensures project documentation, timelines and status reporting are accurate and up to date
• Coordinates factory trials and production scale‑up activities to support successful manufacturing transfer
• Balances technical, consumer and commercial requirements when making recommendations and decisions
• Continuously improves ways of working to enhance project delivery and team effectiveness

Specific metrics will be set when in role and will be reviewed and built upon regularly. Alongside this, you will be supported with a personal performance plan that will enable you to continue improving your own performance and impact.

Attributes – experience and mindset that will enable you to do well in this role.

• Takes Ownership – Proactively drives projects forward, takes accountability for outcomes and follows through on commitments without requiring close supervision.
• Highly Organised – Excels at planning, prioritising and managing multiple projects, stakeholders and deadlines in a fast‑paced environment.
• Solutions Focused – Anticipates challenges, identifies practical solutions and maintains momentum when faced with obstacles or changing priorities.
• Influential Communicator – Builds credibility and engagement through clear communication, effective stakeholder management and strong interpersonal skills.
• Collaborative – Develops strong working relationships across technical, operational and commercial teams to achieve shared objectives.
• Adaptable – Remains flexible and resilient while managing shifting priorities, business needs and project requirements.
• Continuous Improver – Continuously looks for opportunities to improve processes, ways of working and project delivery effectiveness.
• Commercially Minded – Understands the link between product development, consumer needs and business performance, balancing quality, speed and commercial objectives.

Science in Sport Group is an equal opportunity employer; we value diversity and strive to cultivate an inclusive workplace. We do not tolerate discrimination of any kind in regard to race, colour, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, ethnicity, age, disability, marital status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We fully support reasonable adjustments throughout our recruitment process, to provide an inclusive and welcoming recruitment experience.