Product Innovation and Development Manager

Job Title: Product Innovation and Development Manager  
Location:  Hybrid -  travel to Hemel Hempstead and customers' sites is expected

Job Length: Permanent - Full time

Competitive Salary with extensive benefits:

Monthly product allowance – alcoholic & non-alcoholic options available 
Private Medical options
Life Assurance Company bonus schemeAccess to 24/7 GP servicesEnhanced pension contribution
Generous holiday (inc bank holidays)
Access to a range of high street discounts

Carlsberg Britvic is the largest multi-beverage supplier in the UK and is home to some of the most iconic and popular beers & soft drinks, including Carlsberg Danish Pilsner, 1664, Poretti and Brooklyn to ale favourites such as Hobgoblin and Wainwright. For soft drinks, Carlsberg Britvic’s brands include J2O, Robinsons, Tango and London Essence along with the licence rights to the Pepsi portfolio in the UK including Pepsi MAX, 7UP, Lipton Iced Tea and Rockstar Energy.
 
With a strong national footprint, the Carlsberg Britvic business includes 5 production facilities and 16 logistics depot’s servicing customers up and down the UK.  As these two historical businesses have come together, the one common goal remains, and that is ensuring our people succeed. 

About the role:

Join Carlsberg Britvic, a dynamic soft drinks company committed to creating a better tomorrow. As a Product Innovation and Development Manager, you will apply your expertise in ingredients, recipes, nutrition, and consumer insights to develop and deliver innovative, sustainable products for our breakthrough brands. Working closely with global technical and marketing teams, you will contribute to the long-term innovation pipeline, ensuring alignment with strategic business priorities and our Healthier People, Healthier Planet agenda. As part of the Innovation Delivery and Development (IDD) team, you will collaborate with internal and external partners to bring science-led innovation to life and help shape the future of soft drinks.

Role Responsibilities:

• Manage key strategic innovation projects/programs; developing ingredients, processes, insight that will enable high-quality product development.
• Manage and deliver innovation projects in our Break Through Brands portfolio (Plenish, Jimmy’s, London Essence Company, Aqua Libra)
• Lead projects both internally and externally with our 3rd party manufacturing network.
• Diligent project delivery, meeting required governance and regulatory frameworks.
• Maintain and build robust relationships with the supplier community on new to market ingredients and technology opportunities, building internal and external capability.
• Lead projects from concept to delivery, building the brief to benefits realisation.
• Develop and maintain an innovation network, encouraging and participating in open sharing and best practice across technical implementation and group R&D.
• Manage and develop a portfolio of Product Innovation Projects that are aligned to business strategy.
• Partner with internal technical and marketing teams to embed innovation and technology within AOP projects.
• Support the Sustainable Business and Commercial teams with delivery of product innovation that delivers against Break Through Brands strategy.

Experience and Key Attribites:

• In-depth knowledge of ingredients, processes, nutrition, innovation, and sustainability across beverage categories.
• Ability to translate consumer trends, competitor activity, and environmental factors into actionable insights and strategic direction for Product Innovation.
• Experience in drink development, with the ability to formulate high-quality products that resonate with consumers.
• Understanding of marketing, legal, and regulatory considerations in product innovation and development.
• Effective stakeholder management skills, including persuasion, communication, and engagement.
• Experienced in project management.
• A-levels essential; a degree in a Science discipline (Biology, Chemistry, or Nutrition).
• Proficient in IT systems, including MS Office.

Our commitment to diversity equity and inclusion:

We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, identities, and experiences - including those of different races, ethnicities, genders, sexual orientations, ages, abilities, religions, and socioeconomic statuses. We actively seek to create a safe and inclusive environment for all of our colleagues, where diverse perspectives are welcomed, and inclusive practices are embedded in everything we do.

We are happy to support accessibility needs, to ensure a fair and equitable experience for all candidates, so please do let us know if you require any adjustments during the recruitment process.

Application process:

We read applications continuously, and vacancies may be filled anytime, so please apply as early as possible.

We look forward to receiving your application.