Product Development Specialist Job Job Details | O&L
namibia dairies (pty)ltd - windhoek, namibia
5 months ago
PURPOSE OF THE POSITION:
Responsible for leading and driving the technical development of new products from concept to launch. Additionally, improving or re-engineering existing Namibia Dairies products to optimize costs, aligned with market demands and trends, and enhance consumer satisfaction.
QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCES:
- Minimum 4-year degree in Food Science and/or Food Processing.
- Minimum 4-6 years of proven working experience in a similar position within the Dairy Industry, with at least 3 years at a supervisory or junior management level.
KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES:
Product, Production & Process Support
- Develop and implement re-engineering strategies and initiatives to enhance product performance, reliability, and manufacturability. Reconstitute, analyse, and optimize existing recipes to find cost-effective alternatives without compromising quality.
- Support root cause analysis on process and recipe deviations and provide inputs and recommendations to relevant teams and process owners.
- Maintain awareness of industry regulations, standards, and best practices to ensure compliance and quality in product development processes.
Product Development
- Design & develop new products to ensure the best possible value offering, considering the current production environment.
- Create & manage product specifications. Includes requesting product specifications and other technical documentation from suppliers, creating internal specifications, and reviewing & approving any updates to current product specifications
- Coordinate prototype development, testing, and refinement to ensure product performance, quality, and safety standards are met. Direct the testing of prototype products from conception to Measuring & Evaluation.
- Evaluate the technical side of solicited and unsolicited product ideas or inventions and recommendconceptualization or termination.
- Ensure compliance with the Trial Process and Checklist, report on all innovation trials conducted, ensuring compliance with the Trial Report template for record-keeping purposes, and to prevent trial products from ending up in the market
- Closely coordinate ingredient and material costings with the procurement department on the new and optimized products
- Advise on the correct execution of dairy procedures and processes, suggesting best practices
- Advise on recipe changes where needed as per raw material availability
- Provide data-driven recommendations for recipe modifications to elevate product quality
- Provide input on product specifications and features based on recipe and process changes
- Work closely with manufacturing partners to scale up production processes and ensure a seamless transition from prototype to mass production. During projects maintain internal departmental relationships.
Cost-Effective Recipe Management
- Collaborate with procurement, engineering, marketing, quality assurance, and supply chain teams to understand product performance, customer feedback, and market trends.
- Assess existing product designs, recipes, intrinsics, components, and processes to identify opportunities for re-engineering and optimization. Conduct ongoing analysis of product specifications, materials, and manufacturing processes to identify areas for improvement in cost, quality, and efficiency.
- Collaborate with procurement and production teams to source cost-effective ingredients for existing recipes.
- Conduct and collaborate on the technical aspects of cost analysis and projections for innovations and product optimization implementations for the business.
Process Improvement & Optimization
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure seamless integration of process improvements as these pertain to optimized and/or new products.
- Conduct research and benchmark current dairy processes and technology against industry trends and recommend process improvement.
- Collaborate with production and processing teams to test, troubleshoot, and oversee the implementation of process changes and equipment validation as these pertain to optimized and/or new products.
SKILLS AND ATTRIBUTES:
- Technical Food (preferably dairy) Knowledge / Process improvement expertise, incl. but not limited to:
- Working knowledge of ingredient functionality, product formulations, and basic food preparation
- Understanding of regulatory and food labeling regulations
- Working knowledge of sensory evaluation procedures; utilizing a well-developed sense of taste, smell, and texture (mouthfeel)
- Working knowledge & understanding of manufacturing equipment, systems & and environments
- Working understanding of GMP, HACCP, ISO, and other quality assurance systems
- Intermediate Financial Acumen
- Excellent time management skills and sense of urgency
- Clear and assertive communication and interpersonal skills
- Innate drive to complete all assignments on a timely and detail-oriented basis
- Adaptive and adaptable learning ability
- Tenacity and perseverance
- High Emotional intelligence/stress tolerance/ resilience
- Problem-solving skills / Sound judgment skills
Closing date: 12 June 2024
O&L - a Great Place to Work.
Applicants meeting our requirements are invited to apply. O&L Group of Companies is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
"This position is subject to a pre-employment screening and vetting process, and by applying for this position, applicants acknowledge that they are aware that the Company reserves the right to carry out screening and pre-employment vetting for all shortlisted applicants. Certificate of Conduct issued by the Namibian Police (not older than 6 months) may be required from all shortlisted applicants."
Requisition ID: 4019