Job Description
Who We Are
Simply Lunch is a rapidly growing, private family-owned food-to-go manufacturer based in London. Our commitment to delicious food and our local communities has been central to our South London business since it was founded in 1979. Today, we are as committed as ever to creating high-quality hand-crafted products, made to improve lives and protect our beautiful planet. All our food is handmade at our facility in South London with the same care, love and admiration that we’ve shown since day one. Our talented team fuels the success at Simply Lunch, combining expertise and passion to craft products that improve lives through delicious food.
The Role
This is a pivotal leadership role where you will take full ownership of the end-to-end delivery of multiple New Product Development (NPD) projects, shaping and driving the product development function to ensure every product moves from concept through to launch against agreed critical path timelines in a fast-paced food manufacturing environment.
You will combine product innovation with strong project discipline, ensuring structure, prioritisation, and delivery control across a busy pipeline of live developments.
Key Responsibilities
- Own, develop, and continuously improve the product development critical path, ensuring all projects are delivered on time and in full through structured tracking, prioritisation, and proactive risk management
- Lead multiple concurrent NPD projects from concept through to launch, enforcing stage gate governance, managing dependencies, risks, and decision points to maintain control of the critical path
- Act as the central project lead and escalation point for all NPD activity, ensuring clarity, pace, and alignment across internal teams and external customers
- Ensure an agile, solutions-driven approach to actively protect timelines, unblock issues, and maintain delivery momentum across multiple live projects
- Prepare and present key development documentation throughout the stage gate process
- Lead, mentor, and develop the NPD team, including workload planning, prioritisation, and delivery oversight across competing project demands
- Own capacity planning, pipeline prioritisation, and resource allocation across all live and pipeline NPD projects to ensure delivery against commercial deadlines and manufacturing constraints
- Build strong, trusted relationships with customers and internal stakeholders
- Work closely with chefs to translate briefs into commercially viable, scalable products
- Ensure manufacturing feasibility is considered at every stage of development
- Stay ahead of food-to-go market trends and drive innovation aligned to commercial strategy
- Conduct benchmarking and gap analysis against competitors
- Foster a high-performance, delivery-focused team culture
What We’re Looking For
Experience and Background
- Proven track record in food product development, ideally within the food-to-go or food manufacturing sector
- Strong understanding of manufacturing processes, factory constraints, and cross-functional delivery
- Proven experience managing multiple concurrent NPD projects in a fast-paced manufacturing environment with strict deadlines and competing priorities
- Experience managing teams and leading cross-functional delivery activity
- Customer-facing experience with retail or foodservice partners
Key Skills
- Strong end-to-end project management capability with demonstrable ownership of critical path delivery
- Proven ability to manage multiple complex projects simultaneously under pressure
- Highly structured approach with strong prioritisation, planning, and stakeholder alignment skills
- Strong understanding of stage gate or structured product development environments
- Commercial awareness with the ability to balance innovation and operational feasibility
- Strong problem-solving and decision-making ability in a fast-moving environment
- Ability to influence, drive clarity, and maintain delivery focus across teams
- Passion for food innovation, grounded in operational reality
What You’ll Get in Return
At Simply Lunch, we believe our people are at the heart of our success. We’re committed to creating an environment where you can thrive, grow, and genuinely enjoy coming to work.
✨ Great perks & culture
Free lunch and beverages every day
Regular social events – from summer & Christmas parties to BBQs, pizza days, sweet treats, and even ice cream vans
📈 Career development & growth
Ongoing training and development opportunities
Sponsored professional development
A clear commitment to helping you progress your career
💰 Financial & lifestyle benefits
Pension scheme
Cash plan and financial wellbeing support
Discounted car repairs and MOT
🚴 Health & wellbeing
Gym scheme
Cycle to Work scheme
Access to mental health champions
Wellbeing and support services
🌍 Time & giving back
33 days annual leave
One paid charity day each year to support a cause you care about
Long service awards to celebrate your commitment
Why Join Us?
This is more than just a role, it’s an opportunity to shape the future of product innovation within a fast-growing, ambitious business. You’ll have real ownership, the chance to make an impact, and the support to grow your career.
Diversity and Inclusion
Like many other organisations, we are considering with renewed focus what Diversity means to us. What may have been acceptable a short time ago is not sufficient for the future, so we are dedicating a lot of time and resources to creating a workplace where everyone feels valued and respected, especially those who are often excluded or underrepresented.
If you feel that you do not see yourself represented either in the cultural sector or in this professional area because of any part of your identity that makes you special, we would especially like to hear from you.
👉 Ready to take the next step? Apply now or get in touch to find out more.