Product Developer

Are you ready to shape the future of food?

At Waitrose & Partners, we don’t just put products on shelves; we create food experiences that our customers love. We are striving to be the most LOVED, TRUSTED and INNOVATIVE own brand in the market. Recognised for setting industry standards in QUALITY and SUSTAINABILITY through Passionate partners serving food lovers.

We are looking for a visionary Product Developer to lead the creation of innovative, high-quality, and differentiated "Own Brand" products that set the standard for the UK grocery market.

This isn’t just about innovation for innovation’s sake. You will be the commercial heart of the development process, balancing culinary creativity with the strategic realities of a fast-paced retail environment.

The heart of the role:
As a champion of our Own Brand values, you will own the End-to-End NPD (New Product Development) relationship between Waitrose and our suppliers. You aren't just managing projects; you are building and strengthening the partnerships that make our unique product range possible.

Collaboration at its core:
You will sit at the center of a dynamic, cross-functional team collaborating with our Chefs, Innovation teams, and Customer Insight experts. With our Technical & Quality, Nutrition, Agriculture, and Legal & Compliance teams. With our Own Brand, NPD, Packaging, Design, and PR teams to bring your products to life.

At a glance:

• Salary: £53,100.00 - 81,600.00 per annum based on skill and experience 

• Contract type: We have both permanent and fixed term contract/secondment opportunities available.  Upon application you will be asked to specify your preference

• Hours and location of the role:

  • 35 hours per week

  • Your home location will be our Bracknell Head Office

  • The Partnership has adopted a hybrid working approach meaning you'll be able to work a mixture between the office and home based upon your personal needs whilst balancing the needs of the business. The team attend the office 3 days a week to connect and attend key meetings on more of an ad-hoc basis

Key responsibilities:

• Keeps abreast of customer strategy, insight, market direction and consumer trends

• Plans strategically, scoping out and researching product categories to determine clear outcomes that meet with the Waitrose Own Brand strategy

• Stays close to the target customer and is up to date with broader market dynamics, anticipating future customer needs for specific categories. Work collaboratively across Waitrose ensuring all Product Developer activities relating to the development of new products/existing products are well coordinated and that speed to market and commercial viability is optimised

• Driving continuous improvement and quality mindset in all development projects including COGS, category strategy, new customer proposition ensuring Own brand product meets theWaitrose Own brand technical, nutritional & ethical standards and meeting GScop & legal requirements within the assigned category/project

• Good understanding of NPD capability within the supply base to support quality & innovation. Uses knowledge to contribute to supplier strategy discussions for NPD to support the food category requirements

• Collaborates with cross-functional teams on assigned projects to lead efficient delivery of NPD following a stage and gate development process ensuring critical path targets are met

• Uses such insight together with internal and external sources of data to develop product proposition plans ensuring that speed to market and commercial viability is optimised.

• Able to understand  and clearly articulate good, better and best tiering principles and apply with clear product values in line with the Waitrose own brand strategy

Essential skills and/or experience you’ll need: 

• A passion for product and a strong commercial acumen

• Previous product development experience within Manufacturing or Retail, including experience in launching major NPD/Brand projects from end to end

• Proven track record of high quality, commercially successful product development & supplier

• management

• Strong creative skills in food and grocery

• Ability to analyse and interpret customer and market data

Desirable skills and/or experience you may have: 

• Further qualification in food and grocer

• Project Management

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We’re the largest employee owned business in the UK and home of our cherished brands, John Lewis and Waitrose. We’re not just employees, we’re Partners, driven by our purpose to build a happier world. As we look to our future, there’s never been a more exciting time to join us.  

We’re ruthlessly focused on being brilliant at retail. We continue to innovate, adapt and diversify. Never Knowingly Undersold on price, quality and service in John Lewis and passionately serving food-lovers in Waitrose.   

As Partners we all share the responsibility of ownership and in its rewards. We use our voices to contribute to our success, working together through the good and challenging times, holding true to our behaviours and treating everyone with kindness and respect. 

We all own making the Partnership somewhere we belong. Embracing our differences and creating an environment where we’re free to be ourselves and can THRIVE. Growing ourselves individually, and as a collective. 

As Partners, we make all the difference. And, we all own it.  

Important points to note:  

It’s important to note that some of our roles are subject to pre-employment vetting (which may include DBS checks for successful candidates). If required, you’ll be informed and provided with information about vetting during the recruitment process and we encourage you to complete any vetting documents quickly to avoid delays. Any DBS checks required will be carried out by a third-party registered body and financial probity checks may also be required for some of our roles.  

We occasionally close vacancies early in the event we receive a high volume of applications, and therefore, we recommend you apply early. If you require a reasonable adjustment due to a disability which means you may need longer to complete your application please contact us as soon as possible.

We want all of our Partners to have a good work-life balance and we support flexible working. This might mean flexible or compressed hours, job sharing or shorter hour contracts, where possible. Please discuss this further with the hiring manager during your interview.