New Product Development Technologist (Food Manufacturing)

Doves Farm Foods Ltd is a successful, award-winning, family-owned food business, specialising in artisan, organic and free from flours and foods. It operates a portfolio of loved brands including Doves Farm, FREEE and Wessex Mill. Job Purpose To lead a range of product development and product change projects determined by the NPD team. The focus for this is primarily bakery products, including a gluten free range of bakery mixes, oat bars and breakfast cereals. There will also be some development of the range of gluten free and organic flours. Projects will be managed from concept to launch to meet the set timelines. General Responsibilities & Duties
Administration of the stage-gate process for all projects to ensure progress hurdles and deadlines are met for each development stage Working closely with individual teams, eg production, sales, to progress projects and report on progress in the NPD / PCM meetings Maintenance of a clear record of recipe progression, kitchen trials, and evaluations of development projects, including plans for next steps . Plan and conduct kitchen trials for NPD projects followed by taste panels and evaluations. Creation of critical paths and determination of realistic timelines. Creation and circulation of product development briefs in conjunction with teams to relevant stakeholders Oversee and manage development projects from concept to launch of products in collaboration with project owners Minute taking and distribution of NPD and PCM minutes. Maintenance and circulation of Yellow Project Folders containing a collation of all necessary paperwork related to the project. Compilation of the bill of materials for new products.
Organisation and scheduling of taste panels including monthly shelf life panels. Benchmarking of development projects against competitor products in the market place. Test bakes for on pack recipes to determine on pack methodology, verify accuracy and to check quality of products. Preparation of detailed visual quality standards for all new products prepared in collaboration with sampling team. Writing customer specific specifications/queries for new products. Management of retailer specific specifications and maintenance of the customer portals Preparation of quality contracts and discussion with retailer technologists for review and maintenance
EDUCATION Essential
Sound educational background Desirable Degree standard education EXPERIENCE
Essential
Knowledge of factory production processes
Desirable Experience of food and baking Knowledge of gluten free Knowledge of technical processes Experience in food product development Knowledge of food labelling legislation SKILLS Essential
Good at problem solving Excellent communicator verbal and written Project management skills Ability to influence and collaborate Ability to adapt to fluid and changing priorities Desirable
Ability to adjust pace to suit job demands Knowledge of customer technical portals PERSONALITY Well organised Team player Can do attitude Creative Questioning but open minded on viewpoints
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