NPI Technologist

Kerry; Coleraine; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job description

About Kerry

Kerry is the world's leading taste and nutrition company for the food, beverage, and pharmaceutical industries. Every day we partner with customers to create healthier, tastier, and more sustainable products that are consumed by billions of people across the world. Our vision is to be our customers' most valued partner, creating a world of sustainable nutrition. A career with Kerry offers you an opportunity to shape the future of food while providing you opportunities to explore and grow in a truly global environment.

About the role

We are recruiting for an NPD Technologist to work with the wider R&D team and operations team to drive the projects through the development process in a timely manner. This role will involve activities such as building relationships with Marketing, Operations, and Commercial and ensuring customer care and adherence to the Kerry Purpose, Vision, and Values.

The successful candidate will strive to win in the market by providing a standardized approach to: New Product Introduction trials and launches; Process Improvements and Profit Improvement Projects (PIPs) that will be loved by our customers and deliver commercially for the business.

To achieve success, it is critical that the NPD Technologist works cross-functionally to ensure that all concepts/recipes developed are aligned with the business strategy. A key focus of this role will also be to maintain awareness of the potential upgrade of existing products, giving consideration to operation efficiencies and PIP initiatives.

Key responsibilities

• Interpretation of project briefs and planning and co-ordination of the gate zero meeting to gain site approval to progress the project. This will involve creation of the feasibility study outlining how, how much, how long the projects will take, while ensuring the correct systems are used to manage the project (e.g., use of Salesforce).
• Master schedules to be developed for each project and to be communicated and managed with the key stakeholders involved in the project.
• Responsible for product/packaging development and validation, conducting trials on benchtop, in the pilot plant through to scale-up trial in the factory in conjunction with the site teams.
• Trials will be completed in accordance with the agreed site processes and systems, ensuring all documentation is retained, including full nutritional information, shelf life (micro and organoleptics).
• Costings will be completed in conjunction with procurement and site finance and communicated to brand/customer for approval once the process has been agreed with the site team.
• All trial records to be kept in folder and online for reference purposes ensuring trial success or failure is clearly captured and recorded.
• Managing private label and branded artwork approval.
• All new concepts to be presented to site SLT/key stakeholders prior to panels ensuring accurate costings are delivered against current factory capabilities and post-launch reviews of the quality of existing products via Consistency Panels to be completed.
• Prepare product samples for customers (internal and external to the company), which may include samples for activities such as photography, customer tenders, nutritional’s, shelf life, handovers, pre-pro, launches, and Brandbank.
• Along with the total team, ensure that the NPD work areas are maintained and cleaned to the highest possible standards.
• Once the project has been approved by brand/customer, the commercialization process will be followed in conjunction with the site quality/technical team, brand, or sales lead to ensure the transfer of quality into the factory with the support of the site teams during trials and ongoing post-launch until full handover.
• Responsible for the handover of the Tech Doc to the Quality/Technical/Regulatory/Packaging departments to assist them in completion of customer specifications and artwork approval for both product and packaging based on the information gathered throughout the development process.
• Supporting the brand/customer agendas via project delivery.
• Working alongside the R&D Co-Ordinator/NPI team to prepare high-quality presentation paperwork.
• Maintaining awareness of market, consumer & restaurant trends, and competitor activity, applying this knowledge during the development phase as well as understanding the customer protocols and Kerry’s strategic plan (e.g., packaging sustainability plans) and leading the sourcing and trials in conjunction with the packaging lead, procurement, and the site team.

Qualifications and skills

• Previous experience in NPD
• Communication skills
• Degree in food-related subjects
• Organizational skills
• SAP, Optiva, MS Office computer skills