Senior Innovation Technologist (Newton Abbot Site)

At Yeo Valley, we're more than just an organic dairy company – we're a community rooted in the land, committed to sustainability, and passionate about producing quality food that nurtures people and planet. As a co-owned business, we invest in our people, encourage growth, and believe in doing things properly. We have an exciting new opportunity for a Senior Innovation Technologist to join our growing Central Development Team. Under the direction of the Innovation Manager, as a Senior Innovation Technologist you will support in the launching and evaluating of new and existing products in our Own Label Dairy categories. The role will work closely with cross-functional teams to assist in the delivery of cutting-edge, high-quality product concepts.

Your main areas of focus will be:

• Supporting the Innovation Manager in concept creation
• Improving raw material and packaging knowledge
• Product formulation knowledge across multiple categories

This role is critical in shaping the future of the Yeo Valley Product Portfolio.

Key responsibilities:

• Product Innovation Support
  • To assist in the delivery of development projects from Gate 0- Gate 2
  • Assist in the co-ordination, production and delivery of kitchen samples
  • Liaising with existing suppliers for new ingredients within a set list of parameters
  • Demonstrate scientific understanding of the recipe formulation and the roles of the ingredients and impact of the process
  • Collaborate with Process Development teams to identify opportunities for process improvements and EPD modifications.
• Customer Engagement
  • Support with customer engagement and supporting customer presentations
  • Support in the arranging of customer lunches and displays
• Market Trend Support
  • Conduct market reviews and product benchmarking to analyse competitor products to help identify new trends, opportunities and insights
• Cross Functional Collaboration
  • Work with the stakeholders to ensure buy-in of new concept ideas and products to deliver “First to Market” innovation ideas
• Documentation & Reporting
  • To assist in the generation of the critical path and delivery of projects that meets the target launch date
  • Prepare and maintain accurate documentation related to innovation development
• Training & Knowledge Transfer
  • Transfer kitchen approved recipes into a customer pack and liaise with process teams on new concepts to ensure effectiveness and consistency in the transfer from concept to scale-up

This is a full time role, working 40 hours per week (Monday – Friday). The role is based at our Newton Abbot site in Devon, and will require travel between our sites to liaise with other departments, sites, suppliers and customers.

Essential:

• Project Management - Experience in managing multiple product development projects simultaneously, with a focus on meeting deadlines
• Teamwork – Ability to work well with a collaborative, cross-functional team environment
• Problem solving – Proactive and strong hands-on approach to troubleshooting
• Communication - Good verbal and written communication skills with the ability to present ideas and data clearly to technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Drivers License is essential due to multi-site locations

Qualifications:

• Food qualification or previous related food manufacturing experience in Innovation
• Minimum 2 years of post-graduate experience in a food process NPD role

Desirable Skills:

• Industry Knowledge - Working knowledge of relevant legislation criteria and food production industry standards/HACCP

Personal Attributes:

• Detail-Oriented – Attention to detail in both product development and documentation
• Adaptability – Able to work in a fast-paced environment and adjust to changing priorities and project timelines.
• Resilience and supporting others are key
• Tenacious and “can do” attitude
• Self-driven with a growth mindset and can use initiative
• Hands-on and practical approach to working
• Good IT skills - Microsoft and database systems

We’re independent, British and proud to be making the highest quality yogurts, desserts and ice cream under the Yeo Valley brand and for many of the UK’s major retailers. Operating from four dairies and two logistics centres in Somerset and Devon, we employ over 1900 staff and produce more than 25% of the UK’s packaged yogurt. We’re sure you don’t need convincing, but there’s a whole host of benefits that we offer. It goes without saying that you'll have access to free parking. You'll also receive the following:

• Competitive holiday allowance
• Non-contributory pension scheme
• Life cover
• Healthcare cash back plan
• Cycle to work scheme
• Subsidised Yeo Valley products and services
• Preferential rates with our partners
• Learning and development opportunities; we’re committed to ensuring all of our employees have the chance to grow

Our closing dates are a guide for when the application window should close, although we may close the advert sooner if we can. So, we recommend you get your application in straight away – and don’t miss the opportunity to join us! Unfortunately, we’re not able to provide employment sponsorship to candidates at this moment in time. Please note that Yeo Valley do not accept speculative agency applications; we will only accept applications from preferred suppliers that have been submitted to us via our recruitment portal at the point of instruction.