Senior NPD Manager

Shape the future of food innovation for one of the UK's leading retailers. Role Overview This is an exciting opportunity to lead innovation and New Product Development across Sofina Foods Europe, with a particular focus on our M&S partnership. You'll identify emerging consumer trends, build innovation pipelines and bring commercially successful products from concept through to launch. Working closely with Commercial, Category, Marketing and Operations teams, you'll drive customer-focused innovation strategies that support growth while ensuring products meet standards for quality, safety, legality and cost. Key Duties

• Develop and deliver a rolling innovation pipeline aligned to customer and business growth plans.
• Identify emerging consumer, category and food trends and turn them into viable opportunities.
• Lead customer innovation sessions and present concepts to retailer development teams.
• Drive continuous improvement in launch success and speed to market.
• Build strong relationships with customers, suppliers and cross-functional teams.
• Lead innovation projects from concept through to launch approval.
• Coach and develop NPD teams to create a high-performing innovation culture.
• Represent Sofina at customer meetings, innovation forums and product reviews. Ideal Candidate
• An experienced NPD professional with a proven track record in retailer-facing food manufacturing.
• Skilled in innovation, product development and NPD processes.
• Commercially aware with the ability to translate insight into growth opportunities.
• Confident presenting ideas and influencing senior stakeholders.
• Experienced in leading customer-facing innovation programmes, ideally with M&S.
• An effective people leader with coaching and mentoring experience.
• Able to manage multiple projects in a fast-paced environment.
• Passionate about food, consumer trends and product development. Why Join Us? You'll have the opportunity to influence innovation strategy, work closely with major retail customers and play a key role in shaping future growth. Alongside a competitive salary, we offer a company pension scheme, life assurance, online benefits hub and ongoing career development opportunities within a collaborative and supportive environment. Apply today and help create the next generation of food products for Sofina Foods. About Sofina Sofina Foods is more than just a food company. It's a place where you can grow your career, learn new skills, and make a positive impact. With a wide range of meat and seafood products that delight consumers worldwide, Sofina Foods is always looking for talented and passionate people to join its team of over 13,000 employees across 40 sites in Canada and Europe. At Sofina Foods, you will be part of a culture that values innovation, quality, sustainability, and customer satisfaction. You will work with diverse and delicious products that are sourced responsibly and sustainably from over 50 different protein sources from 5 continents. Our vision is to be the most successful food company in the world. If you are looking for a rewarding and exciting career in the food sector, Sofina Foods is the place for you.