F B Product Development Chef

<br> <p> </p><p><u> <strong>JOB PURPOSE:</strong></u></p><p> </p><p>Strategic and senior culinary leader responsible for ADNOC C-Store’s end-to-end food innovation, private label product development. Accountable for portfolio governance of the culinary pipeline, R&D capability building, and scale-up excellence to deliver sustainable, profitable growth while ensuring UAE regulatory, food-safety, and Halal compliance. Private label product & culinary strategy and portfolio leadership are owned by the Category Manager; the Development Chef leads product development in line with the approved strategy.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES: </strong></p><p> </p><p><strong><em>Job Specific Accountabilities </em></strong></p><p><strong>Culinary Innovation & Product Development </strong></p><p> </p><ul><li>Lead end-to-end development of new food products through a structured Stage-Gate methodology, ensuring alignment with category briefs and operational feasibility across multiple store formats.</li></ul><ul type="disc"><li>Develop recipes, formulations, and product specifications that are scalable, cost-efficient, and suitable for both commissary and in-store execution environments.</li><li>Conduct product testing, trials, and sensory validation to ensure consistency in taste, quality, and customer acceptance prior to launch.</li><li>Define preparation standards, process flows, and product handling requirements to ensure consistent execution and ease of operations across stores.</li><li>Identify and drive innovation opportunities based on market trends, customer preferences, and evolving retail food concepts.</li></ul><p> </p><p><strong>Private Label Product Development </strong></p><p> </p><ul><li>Execute private label product development in line with Category Manager-approved strategy, ensuring adherence to portfolio direction and commercial objectives.</li><li>Translate business briefs into detailed product specifications including formulation, bill of materials, packaging, and technical requirements.</li><li>Manage supplier collaboration for product trials, technical validation, and production readiness to ensure scalability and quality assurance.</li><li>Oversee packaging design and labelling requirements, ensuring compliance with regulatory standards including allergens, nutrition, and local labelling requirements.</li><li>Drive value engineering initiatives to optimise cost structures while maintaining product quality, consistency, and brand positioning.</li></ul><p> </p><p><strong>Portfolio Governance & Pipeline Management </strong></p><p> </p><ul><li>Manage the culinary innovation pipeline, including project prioritisation, stage progression, and tracking of development milestones.</li><li>Translate category strategies into structured development roadmaps with clearly defined timelines and deliverables.</li><li>Monitor project risks, dependencies, and resource allocation to ensure timely and effective delivery of product initiatives.</li><li>Establish governance frameworks including stage-gate reviews, reporting structures, and performance tracking mechanisms.</li><li>Maintain structured documentation and reporting to ensure visibility, accountability, and alignment across stakeholders.</li></ul><p> </p><p><strong>Commercial & Menu Engineering Support </strong></p><p> </p><ul><li>Support Category Managers in menu engineering activities, including product positioning, performance analysis, and mix optimization.</li><li>Contribute to product costing, portion sizing, and cost optimization to support overall commercial objectives and margin considerations.</li><li>Conduct pilot testing and market validation to assess customer acceptance, operational feasibility, and commercial viability.</li><li>Analyze trial performance and customer feedback to recommend product improvements and refinements prior to full launch.</li><li>Align product development outcomes with category performance targets while balancing quality, cost, and customer expectations.</li></ul><p> </p><p><strong>R&D Capability & Centre of Excellence </strong></p><p> </p><ul><li>Establish and manage the R&D Kitchen as a centre of excellence for culinary innovation, testing, and capability development.</li><li>Develop and implement standard operating procedures, frameworks, and best practices for food innovation and product testing.</li><li>Build organisational capability through structured training programmes, skill development initiatives, and knowledge sharing.</li><li>Maintain repositories of formulations, product specifications, and development documentation to support consistency and scalability.</li><li>Drive continuous improvement initiatives to enhance efficiency, speed of innovation, and overall development quality.</li></ul><p> </p><p><strong>Scale-Up & Operational Readiness </strong></p><p> </p><ul><li>Lead the transition of products from development to full-scale rollout, ensuring operational readiness across all st