Marro is a fresh cat food company looking for a Head of Food to own product development strategy, from long-term vision and range architecture to the roadmap and hands-on execution. The role focuses on two core goals: customer retention (fewer customers pausing because of the food) and palatability (cats choosing Marro). The role works in partnership with the Product Development Director and includes budget ownership. The team spends 3 days a week in office and 2 days remote. The interview process includes an initial remote call, a 90-minute in-person skills interview with a task, a 60-minute remote behaviours interview, and a 45-minute in-person leadership interview. Visa sponsorship is not offered and recruitment agency support is not sought.
Responsibilities
Own the product development strategy end-to-end, including long-term vision and range architecture; Turn the strategy into a prioritised multi-year roadmap; Own palatability performance and define what winning looks like; Reduce customer pauses caused by the food, using pause reasons, customer feedback and cat response data; Own the Marro budget for trials, palatability and sensory testing, external specialists and research; Build business cases for product changes covering recipe cost, margin, savings and customer benefit; Make trade-off decisions between nutrition, palatability, quality, cost and manufacturability; Act as leading expert on feline nutrition, ingredients, formulation, processing, palatability and sensory; Set quality benchmarks and work with Operations to fix quality issues at the root; Decide research priorities and work with external specialists; Sign off product quality and claims, working with Brand and Marketing; Report to the Product Development Director
Requirements
Deep expertise in feline nutrition, ingredients, formulation, processing, sensory and palatability; Strong product judgment balancing nutrition, palatability, quality, customer expectations, manufacturing realities and cost; Experience shaping product strategy, not just delivering against a roadmap; Ability to lead cross-functional work and influence senior stakeholders; Hands-on with the food, tasting, running trials and evaluating product; Scientific curiosity and ability to turn evidence into practical change; Comfortable with ambiguity, moving quickly and taking ownership; Ideally a degree or postgraduate qualification in animal nutrition, food science, sensory science or a related field, or equivalent depth of expertise through hands-on pet food experience; Comfortable commuting distance to London
Benefits
Equity option package; 25 days holiday (plus bank holidays), 5 paws days and an additional day every year of service; €500 personal learning & development budget; Butternut Box / Marro employee discount; Subsidised Private Medical Insurance with Vitality; Cycle to work scheme; Flexible working with hybrid remote working; Team socials, plus company-wide summer and winter parties
Wielka Brytania · Blyth
