La Lorraine Bakery Group (LLBG) is a 100% Belgian family-owned company with more than 80 years of experience in the milling and bakery sector. Every day, more than 5,000 enthusiastic employees create and sell high-quality bakery products worldwide to consumers, retailers, and the foodservice sector in more than 30 countries.

LLBG counts 4 business units (fresh, frozen, milling and store concepts) and represents various bakery product categories (bread, viennoiserie, sweet on the go, savoury, and patisserie), amongst which bread is the leading one. The frozen bread business is situated mainly in Western & Central Europe, and in the Middle East.
La Lorraine Bakery Group has the ambition to further expand and strengthen its market position in the bread category. To realize this goal, LLBG is looking for an enthusiast, versatile and self-driven International New Product Development Manager Bread within BU Frozen.

As international NPD manager, you are responsible for bringing LLBG’s product leadership strategy alive through the overall definition of the international product innovation & renovation procedures and processes, and the coordination of Bread category projects within the Frozen business unit.
You will cooperate closely with the colleagues within the international Bread Category team, as well as with other departments, such as R&D, technology, sales, production, quality, finance, and the local NPD managers. The common goal is the fast and successful launch of new international products in the market.

Jouw functie:

• Build a vibrant international NPD community to foster knowledge sharing & collaboration
• Onboard, train & inspire newcomers to streamline the international way of working
• Share best practices and encourage to act & comply with the defined procedures & processes
• Act as architect and key user for international project management & product database IT systems
• Ensure all relevant legal & technical information is available and up to date for internal customers
• Monitor and report on the status of the various ongoing NPD projects
• Project manager / track lead in different strategic LLBG group projects related to NPD management
• Track industry trends and identify opportunities for new technologies and processes
• Coordinate a selection of international innovation and renovation projects in bread
• Translation of the project brief (insight) into clear product briefs including the physical & qualitative product characteristics, needed claims & ingredients to use
• Defining the location of production depending on the feasibility / needed investments and possible timeline in close cooperation with the group technology and operations team
• Accountable for the overall coordination of the prototype development, from the collection of the raw materials, over the development of prototypes up to the validation of the product & parameters (including claims, shelf-life validation & prices)
• Close cooperation with the international product manager to provide the needed info & samples in the different stages of the project to help building the concept
• Accountable for the onboarding of the local team (NPD/Local technologists) & the overall coordination of the line scaling up to the product creation and validation of the final product & quality in line with the initial briefing
• Assessment and performance measurement of the international innovations in close cooperation with the category analyst 

Jouw profiel:

Background

• 6+ years of experience in coordinating (NPD) projects at FMCG, preferably in the food industry
• Master’s degree in science (e.g., Bio engineer, Food technology engineer, …) is a plus

Critical Soft Skills

• Personal values in line with LLBG values
• Integer & mature team player with genuine interest in people & different cultures that can motivate other departments to cooperate/deliver in the development of new products
• Entrepreneurial & hands-on, able to impact and push projects forward in an inclusive way
• A genuine interest to master & build knowledge about the category in all its aspects
• Change & innovation give you energy
• Creative, open-minded & determined
• Passion for food, especially for bakery products (trends, ingredients, processes, textures…)
• Empowered, eager to grow and develop in a fast and ever moving environment

Critical Hard Skills

• Clear communicator with strong influencing & persuasion skills
• Pragmatic and systematic approach, good organization skills
• Problem solver, flexible and independent attitude
• Responsible, resistant to stress and effective in making decisions
• Self-learner (Looking to continuously learn and improve, learning from experience)
• Able to think in a conceptual way, carry out analysis and draw conclusions
• English language knowledge, other languages are a plus

Reporting

The International NPD Manager Bread will report into the International Category Director Bread and be part of the International Marketing team within Business Unit Frozen.

Location

• Flexible, homebase nearby a West-European hub where LLBG has an office (Belgium, Poland, Czech Republic) is strongly preferred; We apply an 80-20% office vs work from home policy
• The team HQ is in Haaltert, Belgium (between Brussels & Ghent, nearby E40 highway and 5’ walk to train station)
• Traveling 25-40% of the time is expected
• International mobility for future roles is aspired

Ons aanbod:

You will work in a growing Belgian family company, active in the European bakery sector. More than 4,000 enthusiastic colleagues produce and sell high-quality bakery products to consumers, supermarkets and the catering industry every day. This is a unique opportunity to work in a company with a strong vision, which continues to grow and innovate in cutting-edge products.
In our organisation, entrepreneurship is highly valued and it is possible to take initiatives. You will join a team of motivated and enthusiastic (international) colleagues, who are happy to share their knowledge and help you progress and develop. Our LLBG Academy supports and develops our employees through various training initiatives. By developing each other's talents and skills, we can all become the best version of ourselves.
You will be part of an organisation that has strong growth ambitions and also wants to take responsibility for the environment and society. We are committed to meeting today's expectations in a sustainable way, taking into account future generations.
We value our employees and invest in a pleasant working environment through various initiatives such as: sports and wellness activities, work-life balance and flexible working hours.In this position, you will enjoy an interesting financial package including a company car, meal vouchers, hospitalisation insurance and group insurance, complemented by 30 days' leave to plan free. Our products take centre stage and you literally taste our passion every day.