Product Development Manager

About the role

The critical purpose of the role is to formulate, direct and deliver a customer focused product development strategy that delivers to the Own Brand plan, the customer plan, brand positioning and the innovation sales target. You will work closely with stakeholders to develop short, medium and long term strategic direction for categories in terms of product and packaging as well as working with the supply base and utilising the Waitrose chef team, championing customer first innovation and ensuring the brand position on quality and innovation is met at all times.

Our ideal candidate will have a passion for food and the food industry, be a strategic thinker and natural problem solver. You will be an inspiring leader, comfortable with difficult decision making, someone customer-focused with a deep understanding of value perception, adaptable and resilient.

At a glance:

• Salary: £75,700.00 - 121,000.00 per annum
• Contract type: This is a permanent position
• Hours and location of the role: 35 hours per week
• Your home location will be our Bracknell Head Office
• The Partnership has adopted a hybrid working approach meaning you will be able to work a mixture between the office and home based upon your personal needs whilst balancing the needs of the business. The team attend the office on average 3 days a week to connect and attend key meetings on a more ad-hoc basis

Key responsibilities:

• Work with the Head of Product Innovation on the formulation of the Own Brand (OB) plan led by Brand and Customer, across multiple categories.
• Translate the overarching strategic direction of the OB plan to enable Product Developers (PDs) to develop category specific plans for their aligned areas, including market-leading innovation opportunities.
• Ensure plans are optimised to deliver our OB plan ambition.
• Drive team to deliver the product development strategy that details the short, medium and long-term product & innovation plan for their aligned categories through analysis of market, consumer, food, ingredient, health trends & customer insights to identify innovation / renovation opportunities for OB.
• Deliver clear and robust financial and customer benefits.
• Be a beacon for OB and drive opportunities for newness and differentiation by always being on top of what is trending, new and distinctive, utilising a wide range of available insight and emerging market data.
• Measure and review sales of Key OB ranges, new products & competitor activity, with recommendations on product improvements / new products that will feed back up into our OB plan.
• Be the lead Head of product for selected strategic projects or events e.g. Christmas, No.1 and help to define these propositions from a product perspective.
• Drive the PD team to be relentless in the pursuit of quality and great taste in every tier and put the customer at the heart of every product related decision.
• Ensure the chef and Innovation team deliver & drive a market leading food culture amongst the Product Development function.
• Drive PD team to have a regular benchmarking programme where we know where our products sit versus the competition and where we have a rapid approach to dealing with poor customer reviews.
• Attend brand design governance meetings to ensure clarity of direction for categories and to ensure a consistent approach and delivery of the agreed design.
• Build strong relationships with key suppliers to influence the development of the supply base to ensure sufficient NPD capability to deliver future plans and instigate innovation sessions with these suppliers.
• Provide line management for the PD team, setting and reviewing objectives, giving feedback and holding individuals to account to achieve the KPIs and objectives.
• Determine and manage PD resources according to priorities.
• Recruit, train and develop highly skilled PDs and chefs.
• Active role in aligned category LT, driving & updating on the OB agenda and being a custodian of quality.
• Collaborate with the programme team to continually improve our E2E process to ensure effective and efficient ways of working and role model our new processes, systems and ways of working across the team.
• Accountable for the sign off of customer quality measures and product approval through the E2E gate Process.
• Build strong external networks to ensure that we carry influence at the right level across multiple stakeholders, leveraging networks to support the overall programme.
• Set the conditions for high performing multidisciplinary teams by creating and maintaining an environment, underpinned by inclusivity and collaboration, in which all professions are valued, individuals are motivated, have a voice and supported to work seamlessly and flexibly to deliver commercial and customer outcomes.

Essential skills and/or experience you will need:

• Have significant experience in a Product Development or innovation role in retail, manufacturing, food service or equivalent.
• First rate food knowledge in either of the following industries: Food first retail, FMCG Manufacturing or Hospitality industry.
• Degree of equivalent in a food related subject.
• An analytical and strategic approach to work, with the ability to think commercially & to influence & lead internal stakeholders to ensure buy-in and alignment across cross-functional teams.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to adapt to different audiences.
• Successful & motivational people management experience, with the ability to role model our behaviours & have a positive and growth mindset to create a high performing team and able inspire a team to pursue opportunities and to recover from setbacks and challenges.
• Proven ability to juggle multiple and conflicting priorities.

About The Partnership

We are the largest employee owned business in the UK and home of our cherished brands, John Lewis and Waitrose. We are not just employees, we are Partners, driven by our purpose to build a happier world. As we look to our future, there has never been a more exciting time to join us. We are ruthlessly focused on being brilliant at retail. We continue to innovate, adapt and diversify. Never Knowingly Undersold on price, quality and service in John Lewis and passionately serving food-lovers in Waitrose. As Partners we all share the responsibility of ownership and in its rewards. We use our voices to contribute to our success, working together through the good and challenging times, holding true to our behaviours and treating everyone with kindness and respect. We all own making the Partnership somewhere we belong. Embracing our differences and creating an environment where we are free to be ourselves and can THRIVE. Growing ourselves individually, and as a collective. As Partners, we make all the difference. And, we all own it.

Important points to note:

It is important to note that some of our roles are subject to pre-employment vetting (which may include DBS checks for successful candidates). If required, you will be informed and provided with information about vetting during the recruitment process and we encourage you to complete any vetting documents quickly to avoid delays. Any DBS checks required will be carried out by a third-party registered body and financial probity checks may also be required for some of our roles. We also recommend that you apply as soon as possible as vacancies can close early if we see a high number of applicants. We want all of our Partners to have a good work-life balance and we support flexible working. This might mean flexible or compressed hours, job sharing or shorter hour contracts, where possible. Please discuss this further with the hiring manager during your interview.