How You'll Make an Impact at Kinder's:

The Vice President, Packaging will lead Kinder's enterprise packaging strategy and capability, with responsibility for developing and executing packaging solutions that enable innovation, protect product quality, strengthen our brands, improve operational performance, and support continued profitable growth.

As Kinder's continues to expand its portfolio, channels, manufacturing network, and innovation pipeline, this leader will build a scalable packaging organization capable of supporting both the speed of an entrepreneurial business and the complexity of a rapidly growing CPG company. The Vice President will have broad responsibility across packaging engineering and development, commercialization, materials and supplier strategy, cost optimization, manufacturing performance, sustainability, and packaging innovation.

Working across R&D, Innovation, Marketing, Operations, Strategic Sourcing, Quality, Supply Chain, Finance, and external manufacturing partners, this leader will ensure packaging considerations are integrated early into product and commercial decisions and successfully translated from concept through commercialization and scale.

The ideal candidate combines deep technical packaging expertise with strong commercial judgment and enterprise leadership. They are equally comfortable evaluating a new packaging technology, challenging material specifications, partnering with suppliers on cost and capacity, troubleshooting manufacturing constraints, and advising senior leaders on packaging investments and strategic tradeoffs.
Key Responsibilities:

Enterprise Packaging Strategy & Leadership

• Develop and lead Kinder's enterprise packaging strategy, establishing the long-term vision, capabilities, technologies, supplier ecosystem, and organizational structure required to support continued growth.
• Establish packaging roadmaps across the portfolio that balance consumer experience, brand objectives, product protection, manufacturability, speed to market, cost, sustainability, and supply continuity.
• Serve as the senior packaging subject matter expert for the organization, advising executive and functional leaders on packaging technologies, investments, capabilities, risks, and opportunities.
• Build scalable packaging processes, standards, governance, specifications, and decision frameworks that create greater consistency and discipline as the organization grows.
• Translate business and portfolio strategies into packaging capability requirements, identifying where Kinder's must build, buy, automate, partner, or invest to support future growth.
• Maintain a strong external perspective on emerging packaging technologies, materials, suppliers, manufacturing capabilities, consumer trends, and industry developments.

Packaging Innovation, Engineering & Commercialization

• Lead packaging development from early-stage concept through design, testing, qualification, commercialization, and post-launch optimization across new products, renovations, and existing portfolio improvements.
• Partner closely with R&D, Innovation, Marketing, and Creative to translate consumer and brand objectives into packaging solutions that are distinctive, functional, scalable, and operationally viable.
• Ensure packaging engineering is engaged early in the innovation process to identify technical requirements, manufacturing constraints, cost implications, lead times, and commercialization risks.
• Establish rigorous technical standards for packaging design, materials selection, specifications, testing, qualification, and performance.
• Lead development and optimization across primary, secondary, and tertiary packaging, including rigid and flexible structures, bottles, jars, films, pouches, closures, labels, cartons, corrugate, cases, and retail-ready displays.
• Drive packaging simplification and platform strategies where appropriate, reducing unnecessary complexity while maintaining consumer and brand differentiation.
• Build disciplined commercialization processes that enable Kinder's to move quickly without sacrificing quality, manufacturability, cost, or execution.

Manufacturing, Automation & Operational Performance

• Partner with Operations, Engineering, Supply Chain, and manufacturing leadership to ensure packaging designs are optimized for Kinder's internal manufacturing network and external co-manufacturing partners.
• Evaluate packaging performance across filling, sealing, labeling, cartoning, case packing, palletizing, and other packaging operations to identify opportunities to improve throughput, reliability, labor efficiency, and overall equipment effectiveness.
• Lead packaging-related root cause analysis for recurring manufacturing, quality, material, or performance issues and drive sustainable corrective actions.
• Identify opportunities for automation, equipment upgrades, material changes, and process improvements that increase capacity and enable future growth.
• Establish packaging requirements and technical standards for new manufacturing equipment, production lines, and facility investments.
• Partner with Engineering and Operations on packaging-related capital planning, including development of business cases, technical requirements, supplier selection, installation, qualification, and performance expectations.
• Ensure packaging innovation can transition successfully from pilot or initial production into repeatable, high-volume manufacturing.

Materials, Supplier Strategy & Strategic Sourcing

• Partner with Strategic Sourcing to develop and execute comprehensive category strategies for Kinder's packaging materials and suppliers.
• Establish a resilient, scalable supplier ecosystem capable of supporting Kinder's growth, innovation pipeline, quality expectations, geographic footprint, and service requirements.
• Provide technical leadership in supplier selection, qualification, negotiations, performance management, and development.
• Develop strategies across major packaging categories including corrugate, flexible films, rigid plastics, bottles, jars, closures, labels, cartons, and other packaging components.
• Evaluate supplier capabilities, capacity, technology, geographic footprint, cost structures, tooling requirements, lead times, and business continuity risks.
• Establish dual-source and contingency strategies for critical materials and components where appropriate to strengthen supply continuity.
• Build strategic relationships with key packaging manufacturers, converters, equipment providers, and technology partners to provide Kinder's access to emerging capabilities and innovation.
• Partner with Procurement and Finance to understand packaging commodity exposure and develop strategies to manage material volatility and total cost.

Cost, Margin & Value Engineering

• Own the packaging productivity and value-engineering agenda, identifying opportunities to reduce total packaging cost while protecting product performance, consumer experience, quality, and brand equity.
• Build a multi-year packaging productivity pipeline tied to measurable savings, margin improvement, material optimization, and operational efficiency.
• Challenge existing specifications, materials, formats, pack configurations, and manufacturing processes to identify opportunities for simplification and cost improvement.
• Partner with Finance and Strategic Sourcing to develop transparent packaging cost models and improve visibility into material, conversion, freight, tooling, and operational costs.
• Lead make-versus-buy, supplier, material, and technology evaluations using total cost of ownership and long-term strategic value rather than unit price alone.
• Ensure value-engineering opportunities are supported by appropriate testing, risk assessment, and change-management processes before implementation.

Quality, Food Safety & Regulatory Compliance

• Partner with Food Safety & Quality Assurance and Regulatory teams to ensure packaging protects product integrity and meets applicable food safety, quality, labeling, and regulatory requirements.
• Establish robust packaging qualification and validation standards, including shelf-life, barrier performance, seal integrity, compatibility, distribution, transit, compression, and environmental testing as appropriate.
• Ensure packaging materials, suppliers, specifications, and manufacturing processes meet Kinder's quality expectations and applicable regulatory standards.
• Lead resolution of significant packaging-related quality issues in partnership with Quality, Operations, suppliers, and co-manufacturers.
• Establish appropriate packaging specification management and change-control processes to protect consistency across the manufacturing and supplier network.

Sustainability & Responsible Packaging

• Develop a practical, business-aligned packaging sustainability roadmap that considers material reduction, recyclability, recycled content, packaging efficiency, and waste reduction.
• Evaluate new materials and technologies based on environmental impact as well as food safety, product protection, consumer experience, manufacturability, availability, and economics.
• Partner across the organization to identify opportunities to reduce packaging material usage and manufacturing waste without compromising performance.
• Monitor evolving packaging regulations, retailer expectations, infrastructure, and industry standards and translate relevant developments into actionable business strategies.

Organizational Leadership & Capability Building

• Build, lead, and develop a high-performing packaging organization capable of supporting Kinder's current business and future scale.
• Define the organizational structure, capabilities, roles, and technical expertise required as the portfolio and manufacturing network continue to expand.
• Attract, develop, coach, and retain exceptional packaging talent while creating clear accountability and opportunities for growth.
• Establish a culture of technical rigor, curiosity, speed, ownership, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Develop organizational capability beyond the Packaging team by strengthening cross-functional understanding of packaging requirements, economics, risks, and opportunities.
• Create strong operating rhythms, metrics, and performance expectations that provide visibility into packaging innovation, commercialization, productivity, supplier performance, quality, and organizational priorities.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Packaging Science, Packaging Engineering, Materials Science, Engineering, or a related technical discipline required; advanced degree or MBA preferred.
• 12+ years of progressive packaging experience within food, beverage, CPG, or high-volume consumer manufacturing, including significant leadership responsibility.
• Proven experience leading an enterprise packaging function or complex packaging organization, including strategy, innovation, engineering, commercialization, and team leadership.
• Deep technical expertise across multiple packaging formats and materials, including flexible films, rigid plastics, bottles, jars, closures, labels, cartons, and corrugate.
• Demonstrated success commercializing packaging solutions from concept through qualification, scale-up, and high-volume manufacturing.
• Strong experience partnering with Operations and Engineering on packaging equipment, automation, line optimization, throughput, and capital investment.
• Proven ability to develop packaging material and supplier strategies that improve cost, capacity, quality, innovation, and supply resilience, with a strong network across packaging manufacturers, converters, and technology providers.
• Demonstrated track record of delivering meaningful value engineering, productivity, and cost-reduction initiatives while protecting product quality, consumer experience, and brand integrity.
• Strong understanding of food-grade packaging requirements, including material performance, barrier properties, shelf life, testing, quality, and regulatory considerations.
• Strong business and financial acumen with experience evaluating capital investments, total cost of ownership, material economics, and packaging decisions that impact gross margin.
• Demonstrated ability to build and develop high-performing technical teams and establish scalable processes, standards, and capabilities within a growing organization.
• Executive-level communication and cross-functional leadership skills, with the ability to influence senior leaders and effectively partner across R&D, Innovation, Marketing, Operations, Supply Chain, Strategic Sourcing, Quality, and Finance.
• Thrives in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial, high-growth environment, balancing strategic leadership with a willingness to stay close to the work and drive execution.

Leadership Attributes & Competencies

At Kinder's, our leaders are expected to think and act beyond the boundaries of their individual function. The Vice President, Packaging will model a Maker's Mentality-combining curiosity, ownership, urgency, and a willingness to so