Head of Innovation - THIS

Kandidate ,
London, Greater London
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Job Description

What is THIS THIS is a high-growth, VC-backed start-up producing plant-based food. Meat-alternatives, to be exact. In fact if were being really exact our products are at the leading-edge of the plant-based sector in terms of taste, texture and appearance. Heres our insta, for a quick stalk - Its worth mentioning that since our launch in June 2019, the company has experienced extremely significant growth in revenue around 35% compound every month weve been trading. Why we are doing THIS Were Andy and Pete - co-founders of THIS. Our last job entailed selling tonnes (literally tonnes) of meat. Then we felt bad. Also, we felt like meat-alternatives weren't really for people who love the taste of meat. We felt like they were for people who like sandals and socks. So we've basically ended up making THIS for ourselves, but we'd love other meat-lovers to nom nom it too. THIS is a game-changer Whats the deal with this role? The successful candidate will be the companys first dedicated R&D/innovation hire; that means theyll be building the innovation engine from the ground up. Weve allocated over 500k of our latest funding round to build an R&D facility in Q1 2020. That will consist of a circa 2000sq ft space, lots of fun hardware, food technologists and the head of innovation running the show. In short, this person will work directly with the founders and oversee all new products, as well as incremental improvements on existing products. What Youll Do - This is a unique opportunity to join as a senior member of a tight-knit and growing team, building up the internal R&D function from a standing-start. - Oversee the conception, development, testing and commercialisation of new plant-based products for THIS. - Oversee all work around incrementally improving the companys existing products. - Taking on numerous external stakeholder relationships, to leverage the worlds best flavour, texture, processing and ingredients expertise. - Working with the founders on building up the innovation team from scratch. - Establishing best practice procedures for the company around new product testing and analysis. - Keep a close eye on future market trends and appetites, attending key trade-shows domestically and internationally, to help inform the companys innovation strategy moving forwards. - We estimate that youll spend around half of your time in our main office (based in Notting Hill, London) and the other half in our R&D facility. That facility will be based under 15 minutes away from the office. - Jointly manage the annual innovation budget with the founders. - This person will be managing the innovation team as it grows, helping to ensure efficient collaboration across the innovation functions. - Working with the operations team on the challenges around launching a lab-developed product. Requirements What We're Looking For - Someone with a deep, end-to-end understanding of the food innovation process, from idea conception to launching a product to market. - A HUSTLER. This person will need to get sh*t done in a major way and knock through what will seem like brick walls. We are leading the category in terms of product, and for us to stay there, you will need to have a relentlessness that isnt in everybody. - previous management experience; wed love to meet someone who likes to hire and mentor great people - positive attitude, proactivity and a tenacious character: things in our business can change very quickly, so being comfortable reacting quickly to unexpected opportunities and challenges is super important too! - ability and interest to work cross-functionally, were a small team and believe that strong collaboration will take us further than working in silos - honesty & integrity - a conviction in their work to improve their small patch of the world for themselves and others - team player: were colleagues but also mates (unless we're playing table tennis) Other stuff As a start-up, everyone who joins us needs to be ready to roll up their sleeves and carry out tasks away from their core focus because - they just need to get done. That could be helping to prepare samples for a customer meeting, trying new products and giving tasting notes, packing cold bags into boxes or a lot of other random stuff that comes up. They're not always the most glamorous jobs, but from the founders down, the whole team gets involved! Benefits From our side - A competitive salary that fairly recognises your experience and potential. - We are offering share-options in our company to everyone who joins us at this early stage - 25 days paid holiday plus bank-holidays we care about our teams wellbeing, so we make sure you have time to fully switch off, rest, and recharge. - Flexible working hours We're not a 9-5. No-one will tap their watch if you prefer to start late and finish late because you like to go to the gym before work. Our focus is on your ability to deliver for the business, not your ability to keep strict working hours. - Everyone has th

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