Interim Ingredients Optimisation Manager

Day Rate: Competitive, dependent on experience

Contract: Initially 3 Month Interim Contract, day rate

Working Pattern: Monday to Friday | Predominantly site-based | Standard hours 8:30am - 5:00pm with some flexibility

An established food manufacturing business is looking to appoint an Interim Ingredients Optimisation Manager to support a focused cost optimisation project on an initial three-month contract.

This is a hands-on, delivery-focused role centred around ingredient and raw material optimisation. Working as part of a dedicated project team, you will identify and implement opportunities to reduce cost, simplify complexity and deliver measurable value while maintaining or improving product quality.

Working closely with Procurement, suppliers and cross-functional teams, you'll assess ingredients and materials, identify viable alternatives, conduct product evaluations and trials, and take approved opportunities through technical validation and implementation.

Due to the practical nature of the project and the need to assess products and support trials, the role will be predominantly site-based. Some remote working may be possible on paperwork-focused days, and there can be some flexibility around the standard 8:30am - 5:00pm working hours.

What You'll Be Doing

• Identify and deliver ingredient and raw material cost optimisation opportunities across the product portfolio

• Build and manage a prioritised pipeline of opportunities, with clear benefits, timelines, dependencies and risks

• Identify potential savings through ingredient substitutions, alternative suppliers, specification optimisation and rationalisation

• Work closely with Procurement, suppliers and internal stakeholders to evaluate the commercial and technical viability of proposed changes

• Carry out hands-on assessments of ingredients and raw materials, evaluating their impact within finished products

• Plan and support product assessments and production trials to validate proposed changes

• Challenge unnecessary cost, complexity, duplication and over-specification while protecting product quality and performance

• Assess proposed changes against product quality, customer expectations, food safety, regulatory and operational requirements

• Take approved opportunities through technical validation, change control and successful implementation

• Coordinate product, specification and data requirements to ensure changes are implemented accurately and right first time

What's In It for You

• A focused interim project where you can deliver tangible and measurable commercial results

• The opportunity to take ingredient and raw material optimisation projects from initial opportunity through to implementation

• A genuinely hands-on role combining ingredients, product assessment, trials, project management and commercial thinking

• Broad exposure across Procurement, suppliers and cross-functional food manufacturing teams

Your Background

• Extensive experience within food manufacturing, gained within Product Development, Ingredients, Technical, Quality, Project Management or a related function

• Demonstrable experience identifying and delivering raw material and product cost-saving opportunities

• Strong knowledge of ingredients and raw materials, with the ability to identify commercially and technically viable alternatives

• Proven experience leading complex cross-functional projects from opportunity identification through to implementation

• Practical experience carrying out product assessments and supporting production trials

• Strong commercial awareness with the ability to balance cost savings against quality, customer, technical and operational requirements

• Excellent project management, prioritisation and organisational skills

• Confident working with cost, specification and product data with excellent attention to detail

• A practical, hands-on and delivery-focused approach with the ability to quickly identify opportunities and turn them into measurable results

Join a Business That Invests in You

This is an excellent interim opportunity for an experienced food professional who enjoys getting close to ingredients, products and the manufacturing process while delivering meaningful commercial results.

You'll have the opportunity to identify opportunities, work directly with suppliers and internal teams, assess products in practice and see your recommendations through from initial idea to successful implementation.

If you have strong ingredients and raw material knowledge, a track record of delivering cost optimisation projects and enjoy combining hands-on product work with commercial thinking, we'd love to hear from you