NPD Manager

NPD Manager

Job title:                         NPD Manager

Location:                        Foods UK, Leek

Salary:                            Generous salary depending on experience

Hours:                             36.25 hours per week

Benefits:                         Matched pension scheme up to 8%, Generous holiday allowance increasing with length of service, Subsidised staff canteen, Company shop offering discounts on Ornua products, Sports & Social Club, Staff Lottery, Discount on Bikes & Tech Scheme, Confidential Employee Assist Programme, Free onsite parking

Ornua (meaning “new gold”) is Ireland’s largest exporter of Irish dairy products, proudly bringing the unique taste of Irish dairy to the world for over 55 years.

Are you a dynamic and collaborative NPD specialist looking for the challenge of taking a mission driven organisation to its next level of success?

Ornua Foods UK is actively seeking two innovative, approachable and grounded NPD Managers to join our team as we continue our growth trajectory. We are the UK’s largest packer of cheese for the UK Grocery Trade, driven by our mission to be Ahead of the Herd.

Our Pilgrims Choice brand is proudly the UK’s number two cheddar brand, and we are committed to further developing its core cheese capabilities. For private label, we are focused on delivering excellence in the cheese category for all our retail customers, combining insight-driven innovation with high-quality products. 

Additionally, we collaborate with the Global Innovation Team for Kerrygold, a globally recognised brand and the UK’s number two block butter brand, to deliver world-class solutions that align with its global reputation.

As our NPD manager, you will play a key role in delivering innovation projects from ideation to process handover.

Why Ornua?

• Ornua operates from 10 business units worldwide, including 16 production facilities, and has sales and marketing teams working in-market across all four corners of the globe.
• The Group is structured across two divisions: Ornua Foods and Ornua Ingredients.
• Ornua Foods is responsible for the marketing and sales of Ornua’s consumer brands including Kerrygold, Pilgrims Choice.
• Our co-operative ethos lies at the heart of how we do business as a purpose and values-led organisation, creating value for Irish dairy farming families.
• Our Values lie at the core of everything we do. Our five values encourage us to Seek and Embrace New Ideas, Make It Happen, Be Our True Selves, Show You Care, and Achieve Great Things Together.
• We invest in our people and foster a culture of continuous learning and improvement.
• Dynamic Working policy in place which facilitates flexible hours and hybrid working.
• Career Progression including Global Mobility opportunities.
• Comprehensive Benefits with regional specific offerings.

Why This Role Is Valuable:

The NPD Manager is responsible for leading on;

• Innovation Leadership: Identify opportunities for growth across private label and branded categories, using consumer insights and market data to develop products that meet retailer and shopper needs.

• Translate briefs into food concepts to feed innovation pipeline and recommend how to win in differentiating private label from branded concepts
• Concept Development: Generate and evaluate new product ideas in line with brand / private label strategy, customer and consumer demand, and company goals.
• Product Testing & Trials: Oversee recipe development, lab testing, sensory evaluations, and factory trials to ensure feasibility and scalability.
• Customer & Retailer Engagement: Collaborate with customers and retailers to understand requirements and present product concepts, samples, and timelines.
• Compliance & Quality: Work with Technical teams to ensure all new products meet legal, safety, nutritional, and labelling regulations, as well as internal quality standards.
• Work with co- manufacturing to develop branded products in line with the brand strategies
• Lead End-to-End NPD Projects: Manage the full lifecycle of new product development from concept to commercialization through S&G process, ensuring projects are delivered on time, within budget, and to the required quality standards.
• Post-Launch Evaluation: Monitor the performance of launched products, collect feedback, and recommend improvements or iterations.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with internal teams, retailers, and external co-manufacturers to ensure seamless delivery of projects

What You Bring To The Role:

• Qualifications to include either Food Science Degree, Culinary Arts Degree or proven track record in food manufacturing
• Commercially astute and passionate about innovation, with a focus on delivering consumer and retailer-centric solutions. A proven track record in NPD, ideally within branded food development or private label, preferably with a strong focus on cheese or broader dairy categories.
• A solid understanding of the grocery retail market and the ability to align innovation with retailer strategies and consumer needs.
• Experience working with co-manufacturers, both in the UK and Europe, with a strong understanding of their capabilities.
• Exceptional relationship-building skills and the ability to inspire collaboration across teams and partners.

Our interview process is designed to be thorough yet supportive. This process includes a first stage via Teams to allow us to get to know you better and to understand your skills and experiences and, if successful, a second stage face-to-face interview that will build upon the first stage and give you the opportunity to get a feel for Ornua and the environment in which you will be working.

Ornua has ambitious growth plans and we’re building a team to help enable and accelerate that growth. We are looking for people who share our values, are curious, forward-looking, take ownership and work together to build a future for themselves and Ornua.

Would you like to make an impact?

To learn more, please visit Ornua at www.ornua.com

Ornua values diversity and inclusion and welcomes applications from candidates with diverse backgrounds. We also strongly encourage women and other underrepresented groups in the manufacturing industry to apply. Your unique perspectives and experiences are highly valued and will be instrumental in driving our company’s continued success. Join us in shaping a more innovative, inclusive, and sustainable future.

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