SJS Recruitment
Head of Innovation
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Head of Innovation
Premium & Speciality Food | London | £75,000 + Benefits | Minimum 3 days office-based
An exciting opportunity to join a highly regarded, entrepreneurial premium food business with a strong heritage and ambitious plans for growth.
We are looking for a commercially minded Head of Innovation to lead NPD and shape the future product range. This is not a traditional back-office NPD role – you'll have genuine influence across product, sourcing, suppliers and commercial strategy.
The Role
- Lead the innovation and NPD agenda, from concept through to launch.
- Identify emerging food and consumer trends and turn them into commercial opportunities.
- Develop differentiated and exclusive products that strengthen the brand and drive revenue and margin.
- Build relationships with producers and suppliers and identify new sourcing opportunities.
- Work closely with Buying, Commercial, Operations and senior leadership.
- Lead and develop the Innovation team and bring greater structure to the innovation process.
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About You
We are open to candidates from a Buying/Food Development/NPD background or a commercially minded Chef with strong product development experience.
You'll bring:
- Deep knowledge and passion for premium/speciality food.
- Strong understanding of the UK consumer and food trends.
- Proven experience taking products or ranges from idea to market.
- Strong commercial judgement around margin, pricing and range strategy.
- Excellent supplier, relationship-building and influencing skills.
- The confidence to challenge, make decisions and turn ideas into action.
- A genuine curiosity about food, ingredients, producers and new concepts.
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This is an opportunity to make a visible impact on the future product proposition of an established but entrepreneurial food business, working closely with the senior leadership team.
Occasional international travel will be required.
Due to the volume of applications, we can only respond to successful candidates. Therefore, if we do not make contact within 5 working days this means your application was not successful. We are more than happy to discuss why if you would like to contact us.
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