Concept Development Manager, Leeds



At Arla, we do so much more than make some of the world's favourite dairy products. We make healthy taste delicious, mornings worth getting up for and family dinners unforgettable. Cravendale®, Anchor®, Lurpak® and Tickler® - names like these make us a vital, natural part of modern life in over 100 countries around the world. We are 4,000 UK and 19,000 global employees at the heart of it. Every single one of us plays an important role and together we build on our 10bn Euros turnover and establish our position as one of the largest dairy companies in the world.



We are currently looking for two new Concept Development Managers to join our marketing team at our head office in Leeds, responsible for our Yogurt and Cheese categories. Both roles will report to the relevant Category Director.



The key focus of these roles will be to drive organic growth through innovation. Through truly understanding trends and consumer needs, the successful candidate will anticipate and generate consumer insight that feeds the innovation pipeline with concepts and new ideas. You will select and manage potentially high-impact innovation projects through concept development and commercializing processes, in close co-operation with category and brand management teams.





The key responsibilities in this role will include:

• Feeding into the creation and helping to deliver the +3 year innovation strategy aligned with the category and relevant brand strategy that supports the ambitions of the overall category
• Developing and maintaining a clear understanding of retailer priorities and strategies to help fuel the own label pipeline in line with the internal own label category strategy
• Creating and developing innovation projects through consumer, category and customer insight and ensuring that these projects result in robust business cases leading to impact on profitable growth
• Working closely with global colleagues in order to develop the right products and packaging solutions for the UK market aligned to the UK category and innovation strategy
• Liaising with a range of key internal stakeholders including Global Categories and Growth Platforms, Arla Strategic Innovation Centre (ASIC), other innovation teams, category teams etc.
• Collaborating with key external stakeholders such as consumers, customers, suppliers and other partners

To be successful in this role you will have experience working within an FMCG environment, along with experience of working alongside external agencies, extracting maximum value and insights from findings. You will have high levels of commercial acumen with strategic and creative thinking and problem solving skills. With a strong team work ethic, you will also have outstanding influencing and relationship building skills.