New Product Development Project Manager

**Job Title**:New Product Development Project Manager**:

- Facility: Palmela Manufacturing Plant
- Location: Palmela, Setúbal, Portugal
- Workplace Type: Hybrid

Dawn Foods is a global leader in bakery manufacturing and ingredients distribution. As the partner of choice for inspiring bakery success, we help customers grow their business through meaningful partnerships, research-driven insights and innovations, and products and expertise they can depend on. As a family-owned company, our commitments to our people, products, customers, and corporate values, are all part of our recipe for success.Dawn Foods is a global leader in bakery manufacturing and ingredients distribution. As the partner of choice for inspiring bakery success, we help customers grow their business through meaningful partnerships, research-driven insights and innovations, and products and expertise they can depend on. As a family-owned company, our commitments to our people, products, customers, and corporate values, are all part of our recipe for success.**Job Purpose and Overview**
- As the New Product Development (NPD) Project Manager you will lead and coordinate NPD initiatives and other cross-functional projects involving R&D across our dry plants in Europe. In this role, you will ensure that projects are delivered on time, meet business objectives, and align with stakeholder expectations. You will serve as the central point of contact for all project-related activities, driving collaboration between internal teams and external partners. You’ll be a key player in coordinating innovation in our sweet bakery products in Europe. This role offers the opportunity to work across markets and teams, combining structure, coordination and collaboration to deliver products that consumers love.
- This position is part of the European R&D Team.

**What will you do as a New Product Development Project Manager at Dawn Foods?**
- **Project Leadership**: Manage and coordinate NPD and R&D-involved projects across Europe, from brief to launch. Ensure alignment with strategic priorities, functional capabilities, and commercial timelines.
- **Cross-Functional Collaboration**:Serve as a central coordination point between R&D, Marketing, Sales, Supply Chain, Quality, Regulatory, Procurement, and Ops teams. Drive collaboration and effective communication across all project stakeholders.
- **Planning & Execution**: Ensure proper project prioritisation in line with strategy & resource availability across the various sites in collaboration with R&D leadership. Develop detailed project plans with timelines, monitor progress and adjust plans as necessary to ensure successful delivery.
- **Communication & Reporting**: Maintain clear and consistent communication with stakeholders at all levels. Provide regular project updates, progress reports, and performance metrics. Analyse and present portfolio-level insights to identify improvement opportunities and support strategic planning
- **Process Improvement**: Continuously seek ways to improve project management processes and support best practices in NPD and cross-functional collaboration. Contribute to best practice sharing, systems development, and performance improvement initiatives.

**What Does It Take to be a New Product Development Project Manager at Dawn Foods?**

You are pro-active, structured have good business acumen and a can-do mentality. You see the big picture but are also hands-on, solutions focused and involved in the details. You are a collaborator and get things done by engaging others, influencing and mobilising your colleagues and stakeholders.

Furthermore, you recognize yourself in the following profile:

- Bachelor’s or master’s degree in, Business, Project Management, Food Science or related field.
- 7+ years work experience in project management in the food industry or FMCG, with direct involvement in New Product Development.
- Proven ability to manage complex, cross-functional projects with multiple stakeholders.
- Experience working in an international matrix organization.
- Fluent in English; additional European languages are a plus
- Willing to travel in the European region.
- Familiarity with food innovation processes and lifecycle management in bakery or similar categories is an advantage.

**Why should you apply?**

At Dawn you’ll be part of an innovative company that recognizes and values your unique contributions and supports you in achieving your full potential. Our commitment to excellence extends to our employees, providing development opportunities to help you progress in your career. Our package includes:

- Competitive salary + bonus
- 22 days of annual leave + a day off to celebrate your birthday
- Health insurance for you and one other family member
- Life insurance
- Meal allowance of Eur 10,20 per day
- Transportation allowance of Eur 6,00 per day

You’ll also be able to enjoy such benefits as:

- Hybrid Working; the opportunity to split your week between the office and