Product Developer I at British American Tobacco

Job description

British American Tobacco currently have an exciting new opportunity for a Product Developer I to be based in our Cape Town office on a permanent basis.

The purpose of this role is to plan, coordinate and deliver development specifications activities for the Southern Africa area. The job holder will be requesting and monitoring all product support services and Product Stewardship activities for the pre-defined brand product development cycle plan on an operational basis for the geography through effective use of the agreed regional processes.

• Leadership
• Assist with the assigned geographical cell development activities (Innovation, continuous improvement, regulatory etc.).
• Promote and integrate ways of working within the assigned team
• Operational
• Assist with the development and deployment activities for the assigned responsibilities within the geographical area
• Assist with Implementation of new and modified Products at factory level, through specifications in SAP.
• Assist with quality and consistency of Product specifications through tracking of monthly analytical results, and propose corrective actions where required (with the guidance of Senior Expert)
• Act as key contact point for manufacturing to support trials, new Product implementations and monitoring of performance data in cooperation with the Quality department
• Assist with the product specifications and recipes approval in TaO system according to project lead times and product requirements
• Ensure Development Data Sheets are uploaded in Staris system, in compliance with the end market regulation and maintenance
• Assist with product specification maintenance in accordance with product quality and Product Improvement Manager analysis.
• Ensure the accurate update of systems (TaO, Gloss) within the assigned geographical responsibilities
• Management
• Track and monitor budget spend for development activities within the assigned responsibilities/projects in the area
• Monitor and review progress of the development projects against the agreed timelines

Key Success Factors

• Delivery of the assigned Development activities
• Accuracy of data within Group systems (TaO, Gloss)
• Progression of technical capability and capacity through coaching and experiential learning
• Degree in Chemical Engineering, Agricultural Engineering, Agronomy or any related discipline
• Proactive, enthusiastic and willingness to learn and develop understanding of tobacco styles and markets including casings and flavours and cigarette design
• Attention to detail to ensure accuracy of specification data
• Ability to interpret analytical data, formulate conclusions propose action plans
• Effective communication skills and ability to work cross-functionally and cross-culturally

Skills and Experience

• Previous experience with the SAP system would represent an advantage;
• Experience on a similar role would represent an advantage.