the ideal candidate: 

• 4+ year experience in project management of new product launches within the food & drinks industry
• Driven and ambitious with the energy to work within a rapidly growing business that is constantly evolving 
• Extremely organised
• Strong time management skills 
• Creative thinking
• Passion for food and beautiful designs 
• Attention to detail
• Commercial acumen
• Line management experience

about us:  

itsu is the healthy eating, Asian inspired quick service retail & grocery brand with over 70 stores in the UK and a leading grocery business across Europe and beyond. Renowned for its best-in-class food made fresh in every shop every day, itsu has huge global ambitions with a commitment to continue to open many more stores and intensify the growth of its already thriving grocery arm. With its best-is-class healthy food, latest technology, innovation, and talented workforce, itsu is the future of fast food. 

itsu [grocery], which this role falls under, takes the itsu brand into supermarkets, health food stores, online, wholesale and internationally with products such as crispy seaweed thins, frozen gyoza & bao, brilliant’broth, rice’noodles & miso’easy to name a few… 

D&I statement:  

itsu [grocery] is committed to building a diverse, equitable and inclusive organisation. We encourage applicants from a wide range of backgrounds to apply for all of our opportunities. 

When applying for a role with us, please remove your: full name, name of University/School, address, email address and any photos of you on your CV and covering letter. non-anonymised CVs may not be reviewed.  

Scope of the role: 

itsu [grocery] is looking for a Senior NPD manager to oversee all ambient packaged food & drink development from concept to launch. The successful candidate will demonstrate outstanding project management skills, a true passion for food as well as strong commercial awareness. 

• Directly manages or supervises all ambient NPD and EPD projects from concept ideation to launch on supermarket shelves
• Ensures all projects follow the gate process and are delivered:
  • On time
  • On brand
  • On budget
• Identifies and/or manages new/existing suppliers up until launch
• Conducts commercial negotiations and establishes accurate theoretical COGs for all NPD & EPD
• Keeps track and analyses food and lifestyle trends, new products launches and categories performance   
• Interacts closely with the technical, marketing, supply chain and finance teams to ensure all the deadlines set are met 
• Finds, understands and delivers new opportunities 
• Maintains all the stakeholders (internal and external) adequately informed
• Manages one direct report

what we offer: 

• Competitive salary
• Competitive bonus scheme
• 25 days holiday + bank holidays  (two bank holidays are interchangeable for other religious holidays)
• Health insurance
• Company pension scheme
• Hybrid working (1 day wfh)
• 50% employee discount in itsu shops
• Free itsu lunch 
• Discounts at major retailers
• A sizeable training budget to support your ongoing development

itsu