
Jenni Hart
Research & Development Project Manager at Taylors of Harrogate
Be yourself, use your strengths and make sure you have fun every day. Also keep an open mind to new opportunities.
About Jenni...
Who am I?
"My investigator side allows me to decipher the best route of action to deliver new tea and coffee products to market. The developer side allows me to think of solutions to overcome obstacles that the project team faces. Communication is key in my role to ensure the project team understands what we're delivering, why we're delivering it and what they need to do to reach the end point. It also helps me manage stakeholder expectations and deliver clear project updates."
What do I do?
"I lead a range of projects including new and existing product development as well as quality/efficiency (continuous improvement) projects. The goal is often to launch a new tea or coffee to UK and international markets or renovate an existing range to make it more appealing and improve rate of sale. What I enjoy most is being involved in turning something from an idea into a product, there's nothing better than seeing a product on shelf after developing it for months or even years! I also love being creative at any opportunity and in my current role I use this to improve ways of work such as identifying duplication of work and changing processes to streamline them. I also like creating simple visuals like process flows to summarise our internal processes and make them easier for people to understand."
How did I get here?
"I studied Food Science and Nutrition (Industrial) BSc at university. I chose to spend my industrial year doing a placement with the food research company Campden BRI. I did a Product Innovation Technologist role and confirmed my love for new product development but also learnt that I didn't like not seeing a tangible product at the end of it (the output was research that fed industry). After uni, I got a Product Development role for a confectionery company, I loved being involved in every step of the launch process from ideation all the way through to 1st production but after a few years I needed a new challenge... ...I applied for a similar development role with Taylors because I have more passion for tea/coffee and wanted to learn more about that category of the market. Unfortunately, I was unsuccessful in this application but a new opportunity presented itself to me when Taylors asked me to come back and interview for the position of R&D Project Manager. I’d never considered this career route before but when I read the job description, I realised it matched a lot of my strengths and would offer me the opportunity to learn new skills. I was successful in my application and I’ve now been in this role 2 years. So far, this role’s improved my leadership and communication skills and I’ll soon gain a formal project management qualification, paid for by the business."
The life I live
"In my spare time I've started dressmaking. It's a subject I did really well at in school but never pursued it. I recently completed my first project- a denim jumpsuit and I really enjoyed the process. I'm already planning my next project!"
My typical day
"A typical day for me involves reviewing and refining project plans and checking activities are on track. I hold multifunctional project meetings with the team as well as smaller one-to-one discussions.I do a fair bit of written communication too (often via email or other internal documentation) to ensure everyone is up to speed and knows what's expected of them.I do a fair bit of co-ordination to ensure that activities flow between departments. It's essential for me to keep a good rapport with the project team so I try to take time to understand how they are doing and flag any challenges they face to the leadership team.I attend and sometimes lead workshops to improve our internal processes."
My qualifications
"A-Level Biology, Psychology, Media and AS Photography.Food Science and Nutrition (Industrial) BSc"