Product Development Manager

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Location: Enniskillen - office-based role (5 days a week in the office)
Department: Product & Innovation
Reporting to: Head of Product & Process Development

About the Role

We are looking for an experienced and driven Product Development Manager to play a pivotal role in bringing new products to market - from concept through to successful launch.

Working closely with site teams, customer innovation teams and the wider Pilgrim's Europe Product & Innovation Leadership Team, you will lead end-to-end NPD and EPD activity, ensuring alignment with customer strategies, commercial objectives and operational capability.

This is a highly collaborative, influential role where you will shape the innovation agenda, champion feasibility and quality, and help drive the future food agenda at Pilgrim's Europe.

Key Responsibilities
  • Work closely with the Head of Product & Process Development, Development Chefs and Customer Teams to deliver customer-focused, commercially viable NPD and EPD activity
  • Ensure all product development meets customer Codes of Practice and relevant legislative requirements (including health, allergens, sustainability and welfare)
  • Act as a key contributor across ideation, innovation, NPI and product launch, acting as the feasibility gatekeeper
  • Become the Product & Innovation subject matter expert for your assigned category/categories
  • Identify opportunities to improve existing products, supporting improved customer feedback, online reviews and value creation
  • Own and drive the Concept to Launch Gate Process, ensuring products move smoothly through each stage
  • Manage multiple projects and critical paths, providing clear communication and regular progress updates to stakeholders
  • Ensure accurate product recipes and specifications are built into the recipe management system (P74) to enable robust costings
  • Collaborate closely with Customer Teams to deliver against briefs and manage expectations, positioning Pilgrim's Europe as the preferred supplier
  • Oversee product handovers to site cross-functional teams and approve new or amended artwork in line with legal and customer requirements
  • Ensure all products presented to customers are of the highest quality and representative of the manufacturing process
  • Champion quality, consistency and continuous improvement across development activities
  • Support the development of best-in-class ways of working through benchmarking and innovation
  • Deliver against functional KPIs, including % revenue from NPD and conversion rate targets
  • Maintain accurate documentation to support internal and external audits
  • Support, coach and develop the Product Development team to achieve high performance
  • Ensure effective workload planning and clear project delegation
  • Conduct regular one-to-ones and support personal development planning
  • Create action plans to improve engagement and team effectiveness
  • Stay at the forefront of food trends, consumer behaviour and market activity
  • Bring passion for food, cuisines and innovation into internal and customer-facing activities
  • Work with the Natural Work Team to create customer roadmaps aligned to trends and site capability
What We're Looking For
  • Proven experience in a Product Development role within the food industry, with responsibility for launching products
  • Strong experience in product costing, budgeting and commercial decision-making
  • Supply chain experience, including ingredient and packaging sourcing
  • Excellent project management skills with the ability to manage multiple complex workstreams
  • Strong analytical capability and exceptional attention to detail
  • Confident communicator who thrives in a cross-functional environment
  • IT proficiency (Excel, Word, PowerPoint)
  • Experience working with geographically distributed teams (desirable)
  • Relevant food industry qualification and/or equivalent experience (Essential)
  • Degree in Food, Marketing, Business or related discipline (Desirable)
Why Join Pilgrim's Europe?

At Pilgrim's Europe, innovation sits at the heart of what we do. You'll be part of a business with scale, ambition and strong customer partnerships, where product development plays a critical role in shaping future growth.

We offer:
  • A competitive salary
  • Opportunities to influence innovation strategy at a site and customer level
  • Career development within a leading European food business
  • A collaborative, values-led culture where quality, ownership and practicality matter
  • The chance to work on exciting, trend-led products that reach customers at scale
Ready to Apply?

If you're passionate about food, driven by innovation and excited by the challenge of delivering commercially successful products from concept to launch, we'd love to hear from you.

Apply now and help shape the future of product innovation at Pilgrim's Europe.

The company

Pilgrim's Europe produces some of the best-known and most iconic brands in the UK and Ireland, including Fridge Raiders, Rollover, Denny, Richmond, Oakhouse and Moy Park, alongside a diverse range of industry leading own-label products in categories including fresh pork, lamb and chicken, working with all the major retailers and food service outlets.

Our portfolio extends to authentic chilled and frozen ready meals, snacking ranges, added value and food service products.

Across Pilgrim's Europe we combine 20,000 of the best people in the industry, united by a shared set of core values and a passion for producing the highest quality, most delicious and innovative food, which is enjoyed by millions of people in the UK, Ireland and Europe every day. Our Pilgrim's Europe team are based in our Pilgrim's UK, Moy Park, Pilgrim's Food Masters and Pilgrim's Shared Services businesses.

To be considered for this role you will be redirected to and must complete the application process on our careers page. To start the process, click the Apply button below to Login/Register.
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