Product Improvement Specialist

Foster Clark Products Ltd in Malta is looking to recruit a Product Improvement Specialist to join their team on a full-time basis. 

Job Role: 
Reporting to the Head of R&D, the Product Improvement Specialist designs and optimises recipes/formulas and plans product/process improvements in collaboration with other team members. The Product Improvement Specialist also carries out cost optimisation exercises and product improvement initiatives as directed by the Head of R&D which includes alternatives suppliers and raw materials qualification & validation. The Product Improvement Specialist also follows the scale-up of relevant products and supports operations with any formulation phase-in / phase-out issues, as well as assisting in troubleshooting.

Key Accountabilities:
Product Renovation:

• Responsible for executing recipe development and improvement projects as part of quality, cost, or product performance improvement projects whilst documenting the development work as per FCP standards.
• Responsible for adhering to the FCP stability program by ensuring timely initiation of stability studies, execution, and reporting as directed by the category responsible as part of recipe development/improvement or packaging changes.
• Lead and perform trials/experiments in kitchen/lab/pilot and factory scale to achieve all briefed objectives on time
• Develop robust product specifications in collaboration with others (from a nutritional and ingredient standpoint) to ensure sustainable and flexible formulas that will meet consumer, quality, and process needs
• Support the category during product industrialization by acquiring basic process understanding and ensuring proper knowledge transfer from R&D to operations.

Product Improvement Pipeline Management:

• Contribute to overall project success by the achievement of assigned project deliverables
• Propose and develop innovative concepts and prototypes based on trends/business requirements
• Build knowledge on ingredients and their interaction in food matrices, scouting new relevant development, and technologies addressing key consumer trends/needs/regulatory framework
• Produce and dispatch samples within defined quality parameters, on time, and within budget
• Support consumer test design and execution.

• Responsible for approving Quality Control Samples
• Responsible for testing, qualifying, validating and specifying the alternative & new raw materials coming from existing and/or alternatives suppliers
• Effectively ensuring constant upkeep of competition analysis with basic sensorial and consumer understanding to support product development
• Participate effectively in investigations and problem-solving initiatives
• Perform product analysis and set up new methods when required.

Ideal Candidate Profile:
Education:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Food Technology/ Food Science/ Food Engineering
• A Master’s degree in a relevant field will be preferred.

Experience:

• Basic knowledge of product development and the ingredient needed (ideally with 1-2 Experience in Food Product Development either in a factory/ kitchen lab environment).

Technical skills:

• Good level of ingredient knowledge & their impact on the process and the final product
• Good knowledge of processes and technologies involved in food manufacturing.

Competencies:

• Analytical thinking and problem-solving*
• Planning and organizing*
• Attention to detail*
• Drive for results*
• Verbal and written communication
• project management skills
• Good team player.