Manager, Custom Products

About Roland Foods

Roland Foods, LLC, based in New York City, is an importer and distributor of high-quality specialty food products from more than 40 countries. Founded in Paris in 1934 and established in the U.S. in 1939, the Company provides customers with exceptional specialty foods, primarily offered under the Roland brand. The company sells its quality foods across the foodservice, retail, and industrial channels as well as internationally. Foodservice is the heart of the business, with the Roland® brand being one of the esteemed back-of-house brands in the industry. Roland Foods' is the original purveyor of the world's finest flavors and its assortment is unrivalled, with products spanning global cuisine segments: from French Dijon mustard, to Israeli couscous, to Thai fish sauce, to Mexican salsa macha, Roland Foods procures ingredients from the places that make them best. And for this the Roland® brand is synonymous with quality, authenticity and creativity for the consumer and chef alike.

About the role

The Manager, Custom Products at Roland Foods will have end-to-end ownership of project execution specific to customer-driven product commercialization for the Roland portfolio, supporting overall business growth objectives across all customer channels (food service, retail, industrial, international) through custom production formulations and packaging requests. Roland continues to invest in custom product sourcing with the newly expanded Custom Products & Innovation team to drive the value of the Roland brand. The Manager will have the opportunity to 'think big' and partner with sales to pitch new product commercialization ideas to drive the legacy of Roland as an industry leader in sourcing global ingredients. This role is ideal for a person with an interest in the food industry or CPG/Grocery, looking to develop project management experience and lead with significant autonomy. The Manager will operate at multiple levels, from project oversight to supplier management and product formulation development alongside the team. Success requires willingness to do day-to-day tactical work alongside strategic planning, including execution of supplier communication, coordinating product formulation cuttings, and partnering closely with Sales/Sales Operations, Food Safety and Quality Assurance, Revenue Management, International Logistics, Supply Chain, and Creative/Marketing to ensure seamless integration of products within the Roland portfolio. The position sits in Roland's Custom Products & Innovation team, reporting to the Senior Manager, Custom Products.

Responsibilities

• Manage the Roland Foods innovation pipeline project flow
• Lead communication with existing and new suppliers to source new products in addition to supporting supplier onboarding alongside the cross-functional team
• Partner with the cross-functional team to define target product specifications and manage cuttings to determine the optimal specification/product formulation
• Own on-time commercialization of custom items, including training content for bonus item Sales training meetings
• Partner with the Sales team to identify new product commercialization opportunities (e.g. retail private label projects)

Qualifications and Skills

• Required 1-3 years of experience in a Project Management, Consulting, Commercialization, or Product Strategy capacity
• Preferred Bachelor's Degree, preferably with a focus in Business/ Business Administration or related field
• Experience in CPG/FMCG or Retail strongly preferred
• Strong verbal & written communication abilities
• Exceptional time management skills
• Prior experience operating within strict deadlines

Pay

The base salary for this role will be $100,000 - $105,000. This role will be bonus eligible.

Schedule

Roland Foods office employees have transitioned to a hybrid working schedule, requiring employees to report in-person Tuesday through Thursday, with the option to telework on Monday and Friday each week. Due to the collaborative, cross-functional nature of the organization, employees at the NY and NJ offices are required to work in-person for the abovementioned days, outside of any People & Culture-approved disability accommodation request.