SUMMARY:
The Group R&D Manager/Specialist, Culinary leads the end-to-end R&D agenda for Our Client’s Culinary portfolio (including seasoning cubes, granules and adjacent culinary products) across their Africa operating markets. Reporting to the Group Senior Manager, R&D, the role owns the category innovation pipeline — from consumer-led briefs through formulation, scale-up and commercial launch — and is the technical authority for the Culinary category across the Group. The position involves extensive travel within Africa.
POSITION INFO:
Category Strategy & Pipeline
- Define and own the multi-year R&D plan for the culinary category, aligned with brand, commercial and Group innovation priorities.
- Build and prioritise a fully costed pipeline of new product development, renovation and value-engineering projects.
- Generate proprietary technology, ingredients and process ideas that drive distinctive competitive advantage.
Product Development & Launch- Lead end-to-end NPD from concept through formulation, lab and pilot trials, factory scale-up, sensory and consumer validation, and commercial launch.
- Develop new and renovated seasoning cubes, granules, pastes, marinades and adjacent culinary formats.
- Lead salt-reduction, fortification (iodine, iron, vitamin A) and clean-label initiatives in line with public-health priorities.
- Design recipes that deliver authentic regional African taste profiles validated by sensory and consumer panels.
- Ensure robust documentation: specifications, BOMs, shelf-life dossiers, technical files and launch hand-overs.
Quality, Regulatory & Food Safety- Ensure all category products meet regulatory and food-safety standards across various operating markets (incl. NAFDAC, SON, GSA, KEBS, FDB and others) and relevant international standards.
- Partner Quality and Regulatory teams on labelling, claims, fortification and shelf-life validation.
Cross-Functional Partnership- Partner Marketing and Insights to translate consumer briefs into winning technical concepts.
- Partner Procurement and Supply Chain on ingredient qualification, alternative sourcing and multi-source specifications.
- Partner Operations and Engineering on factory readiness, line trials and process robustness.
Technology, Sustainability & External Partnerships- Maintain expert command of savoury flavour systems, bouillon and seasoning cube manufacture, granulation, drying, hot-fill, blending and aroma encapsulation.
- Identify and evaluate emerging technologies, ingredients and process improvements for the category.
- Build strong working relationships with key suppliers, co-manufacturers and external technical partners.
Team Leadership- Lead, coach and play a role developing the category R&D team across markets.
- Set clear objectives, deliver structured feedback and build succession in the category.
KPI’sCommercial impact- NPD vitality — share of culinary category revenue from products launched in the last 36 months.
- Gross-margin uplift delivered through reformulation and value-engineering programmes.
- Culinary R&D budget delivered vs. plan.
Pipeline & execution- Number and value of projects launched on time and on quality.
- Stage-gate cycle time from concept to first shipment.
- First-time-right launch rate (target distribution, sell-through and consumer score within 12 months).
Quality, safety & compliance- Zero major regulatory or food-safety incidents on culinary launches.
- Consumer complaint rate (PPM) for the culinary category — year-on-year reduction.
- On-time submission of regulatory dossiers in each operating market.
People & capability- Team engagement and retention vs. Group benchmark.
- Successful onboarding of new joiners and capability progression of the team.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSA) required - Degree/BTech in Food Science & Technology, Chemistry, Nutrition or related discipline; Master's preferred.
- 8–10 years' progressive R&D experience in FMCG, with strong specialisation in culinary or closely related categories.
- Hands-on experience with savoury flavour development, MSG / yeast-extract / hydrolysate systems and bouillon-cube technology.
- Familiarity with fortification, salt-reduction and clean-label reformulation programmes.
- Working knowledge of FSSC 22000 / ISO 22000, HACCP and Codex Alimentarius, and familiarity with African food regulatory regimes.
- Experience leading small technical teams and managing cross-functional projects.
- Strong project and stage-gate discipline; consumer and commercial mindset.
