NPD & Technical Manager

ABOUT US

Silvertree Brands builds disruptive purpose-driven consumer and digital brands. Our power brands include UCOOK, Faithful to Nature, PetHeaven and SKOON. We focus on building amazing customer experiences that are “Good for you, good for the planet.” We trust our employees with full accountability and autonomy from day one. This unique entrepreneurial and performance-driven culture enables us to achieve executional excellence.

UCOOK is a digital, e-commerce business. We create 32 new recipes for our customers to choose from each week, and we deliver fresh, locally-sourced and ethical pre-portioned ingredients to their door. Additionally we deliver frozen meals, desserts, wine, weekend meal kits and occasions boxes. UCOOK also has a physical store in Cape Town that not only stocks some of our online range, but has a delicious deli and grab & go range, as well as coffee and baked goods.

ABOUT THE ROLE

The NPD & Technical Manager sits on the UCOOK Management team and is responsible for Frozen & Market NPD, production of in-house Frozen meals and Food Safety and Technical aspects of all categories including Meal Kit.

The candidate is required to work cross-functionally with Food, Procurement, Operations, Marketing, BI and Tech teams and is responsible for ensuring the KPIs detailed below are managed and met.

ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

1. Frozen Craft Range project management and development

Own and manage the range of frozen craft meals.

Develop and test innovative recipes aligned with product and business objectives.

Manage existing products and conduct detailed recipe costing on new products to ensure target margins are met for the category.

Draft, implement, and validate production processes through trials and optimizations.

Ensure product consistency and compliance with standards.

Prepare, maintain, and implement specification documents and process documentation.

Prepare and approve artwork for packaging of any new and existing products, ensuring legal compliance.

Provide support in supplier management, including assessment, communication, and compliance tracking.

Drive sales opportunities to grow the frozen range contribution as a % Total Revenue.

2. Food Safety Management

Own & lead development of the Food Safety Management system for all categories.

Lead hazard identification, risk assessments, and validation/verification activities

Develop & implement HACCP studies/ Food Safety plans for product ranges.

Review and drive compliance to PRPs and GMPs

Document record control - Policies, procedures, SOPs and work instructions.

Lead Food Safety meetings to drive compliance to the Food Safety system.

Ensure basic minimum legal compliance:

Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act

R638 , R146, R155 and applicable product-specific regulations

Local municipal by-laws and Department of Health requirements

Create Food Safety Culture

3. In House production management

Manage production kitchen and production team to ensure that meals are produced on time and to a satisfactory standard. This includes manufacturing of:

Frozen Craft meals

Frozen Desserts

Sauces for Meal Kit

Ensure stock required for IH production is controlled and counted, including packaging.

Implement food safety procedures in the In-house production kitchen.

4. Market Range management

Drive market strategic thinking in order to drive revenue in line with business objectives.

Sourcing, costing, and supplier negotiation with regards to new interesting products that aligns with the market objectives

Present samples to tasting panel and consolidate feedback

Ensure that products are safe, from a reputable supplier and have been through a risk assessment

Work with internal stakeholders to ensure that the product is ready for launch - Operations, Procurement, Finance, Marketing, Tech & BI

Deciding on de-listing and changing the range to ensure a balanced range while optimizing sales and revenue, and manage wastage.

Technical approval of new products from food safety & labeling legislation perspective.

5. Leadership & People Management:

Strategic contribution to UCOOK Management team.

Weekly KPIs reporting and Quarter Business review reflection and reporting.

Lead NPD & Technical teams. Create & deliver direction for relevant departments.

Recruit, train & provide operational support & guidance to team.

Set goals & objectives for direct reports, in line with the business strategy & objectives.

Conduct performance reviews and corrective action plans where required.

Create development plans for team members to encourage growth & development.

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE:

Tertiary qualification in Food Science/ Food Technology/ Consumer Science

2+ years experience in product development

2+ years experience in fast paced food manufacturing environment

Experience managing a team

Experience with food safety systems and processes

Culinary qualification (advantageous)

REQUIRED SKILLS:

Functional skills

Team management & Leadership skills

Passion for food and a high level of understanding food and flavours

Commercial acumen, with experience in costing models and working with systems and financials

Critical thinking approach to tasks.

Analytical, with an ability to draw insights from a set of data

Strong administration and organisational skills.

Ability to work efficiently, think on your feet to solve problems to meet deadlines and deliverables.

Strong Excel and Powerpoint skills

Strong oral and written communication

Attention to detail

Soft skills:

Collaborative team player with a can-do attitude and good communication

Builds strong personal and professional relationships.

Shows initiative & drive

Proactive & enthusiastic

Ability to motivate self and others

Holds oneself and others accountable

Time management - deadline driven

BENEFITS

Provident Fund

50% off UCOOK meal boxes

Portfolio company discounts