Head of Food – 6969

South West of England
£negotiable
Permanent
Ref: 6969

The Company

This well-established food business have it all – the combination of stability / security and a great brand reputation balanced with a forward thinking, entrepreneurial approach.

Culinary excellence is paramount to the success of the business who have ambitious development plans and prioritise food-first culture.

To help drive their business forward they are looking for a confident and highly capable Head of Food to join their team.

This role is hybrid with four days on site with visits to the London office.

The Role

This is an all-encompassing role where you will support the Director of Food to drive the agenda for culinary excellence, strategic direction as well as process & quality improvements.

You will be the owner of the continuous improvement strategy ensuring it aligns with the wider product strategy and business goals. You’ll also be responsible for optimising product quality and embedding training initiatives to drive meaningful team engagement and ultimately increasing the culinary standards across the site.

You will challenge the status quo through product, packaging and technical innovation, problem solving and highlighting new capabilities to shape the future of the business. You’ll keep up to speed with new food / consumer trends, ingredients, packaging and technologies as well as the competitor landscape, to instil a foodie culture and demonstrate creative flair that will delight discerning consumers.

As well as leading the on-site NPD team, you will collaborate with the other site NPD & Process team, motivating them to deliver projects with energy and enthusiasm whilst ensuring costs parameters and technical requirements are met.

You will be required to brilliantly plan, manage and successfully deliver NPD projects from scaling up recipes to post-launch reviews whilst effectively influencing, briefing and coordinating people cross-functionally at all levels to ensure clarity and alignment across all project activity.

The Person

This role will suit a passionate and driven Head of Food with a culinary background as well as experience gained from a chilled food manufacturing, food service or food/drink brand environment.

We are looking for that special NPD professional who has a proven track record of leading continuous improvement initiatives as well as leading the development and scale-up of multiple projects. This person is also insights driven with a consumer-centric approach, with amazing project management skills – and to top it off, is also technically savvy. You can showcase how you have created, implemented and landed a successful innovation strategy for a food brand. You’ll be able to apply your knowledge of consumer trends and use an insight-led approach to land new opportunities that are on brand as well as competitive.

You’ll need to have experience of working with suppliers, manufacturing and cross-functional teams to continually raise the bar on product innovation and drive the continuous improvement agenda. You will be a natural communicator, able to effectively manage and influence key stakeholders, building strong working relationships to deliver significant NPD projects.

If you think you have what it takes to help this brand leverage their presence in the UK market, blowing the competition away, then please get in touch. Apply now or call Dhrutee on 0345 2600 737 // 07700 137 110 for more information.

ref: 6969

Due to the large number of applications our opportunities attract, it sometimes takes us time to thoroughly review and consider them all. We endeavour to respond to every application within 5 working days, however if you have not heard from us within this timeframe, we are sorry to say your application for the role has not been successful. To support you in showcasing your best self, we make sure that any necessary accommodations, whether physical or non-physical, are provided to assist you throughout the job application and interview process.

Also, please note that we are only able to accept and respond to applications from candidates with eligibility to work in the UK and those who hold valid work visas.

A few kind words

Blue Spark have been a completely different experience. Dhrutee genuinely cares, investing the time and energy to get to know the sorts of role I was searching for and importantly the reasons why. She has an enviable network across the industry and deep intuition about people which means the fit was perfect. I couldn't recommend Blue Spark highly enough and look forward to partnering for years to come. Thankyou!

Working with Blue Spark was a game changer for our team, their expertise and dedication finding the right talent transformed our team. Blue spark delivers excellence in recruitment, they swiftly found us the right candidate with a perfect fit for our team.

Working with Dhrutee is a pleasure, her industry knowledge is second to none, she always has her finger on the pulse and will offer advice when asked. I have always found Dhrutee to be professional, passionate and discrete she genuinely cares about both her candidate and her client. I would strongly recommend speaking to Dhrutee whether you are looking for your next opportunity or looking to add talent to your team.

The Blue Spark team offered a fantastic experience by guiding me through my work options based on my background which they had deep expertise in. They were kind and friendly over the phone, and listened well to my requests to ultimately help me understand what sort of roles I should be aiming for. They followed up the conversation with an email with all the points we discussed together over the phone and guidance for my next steps. This approach helped bring clarity and confidence to my decisions going forward.

Blue Spark are brilliant! They listen well to what’s needed and use their great insights into people and businesses to really match the right people to the right roles. I have worked with Dhrutee who is always friendly, has great strengths in filtering to the heart of what’s wanted (skills & character) and always gives “spot on” recommendations that make sense. I would highly recommend if you are either recruiting for NPD / Innovation roles or looking for a new role as a candidate; especially if you prefer an easy journey that feels positive throughout with no time wasted at any point.

Dhrutee and the team at Blue Spark are wonderful, they always make sure candidates are kept in the loop and provide feedback at all stages of the interview process, with complete honesty and transparency. They are truly one of the best recruitment agencies I have come across in my years of experience.