Overview

The Vice President of Research & Development will provide strategic leadership and set technical direction for the Sauces, Dressings and Dips category for food service and retail businesses. This role will partner with key cross functional partners across Marketing, Insights, Supply Chain, Engineering, Sales and Quality to deliver key strategic initiative to drive both topline and margin expansion. This role will translate business priorities into scalable innovation with technical rigor and disciplined commercialization. Success in growing the organization will be achieved by leading, inspiring and influencing others, building highly collaborative teams, and inspiring trust across the organization.

Responsibilities • What You'll Do

Strategic Leadership:
• Translate business objectives into R&D priorities to deliver both annual and long term initiatives
• Identify critical technical resources, skill and capabilities to meet long term corporate objectives
• Serve as a senior technical advisor to executive leadership team and key cross functional stakeholders
• Identify emerging technologies, trends, tools, AI systems to improve speed to market and successful consumer driven innovation
• Lead annual strategic planning and portfolio prioritization
• Business and Financial Acumen

Innovation & Commercialization:
• Partner with Insights, Marketing, Sales, and Key Customers to develop multiyear Innovation Pipeline
• Converts technical solutions into scalable Innovation and/or Design attributes to deliver Innovation across multiple food categories, channels and customers
• Lead all aspects of Product Development and Commercial execution from idea through launch
• Lead Product Lifecycle Management team and systems to ensure accuracy of data specific to ingredient, process and finished good specifications
• Ensure flawless scale up from bench to manufacturing, partnering with Engineering, Quality, Regulatory and Operations

Technical Leadership:
• Develops strong talent, ensures accountability and delivers technical discipline throughout the Stage Gate process
• Leads team using industry best practices, tools, systems, new technology across both retail and foodservice
• Utilizes technical readiness methodology and disciplined R&D process to consistently deliver projects on time and within budget

Margin Enhancement:
• Responsible for leading Enterprise Value Engineering and Supporting Productivity Margin improvement initiatives
• Implement best practices for Design to Value and Value Engineering
• Partners with Procurement to develop supply strategy, deliver flexible solutions related to ingredient sourcing to drive savings
• Leads ingredient technology and supplier collaboration
• Supports Supply Chain/Network Optimization Initiatives

Talent & Organizational Leadership:
• Develop high performing teams across both Retail and Foodservice
• Mentors, teaches and grows R&D technical talent, create enhanced organizational capabilities
• Develop next generation leaders
• Strengthen technical due diligence, rigor and scale up process
• Drive employee engagement and culture

Qualifications • What You'll Bring
• 15+ years of progressive leadership experience in R&D, within CPG Food Industry
• BS in Science, Food Science or Engineering required, related degrees considered
• MS/MBA preferred
• 10 years of second level management position/role leading multi discipline technical teams across various food/beverage categories.
• Knowledge of FDA, USDA, Food Safety and Regulatory related to the food industry
• Experience within refrigerated and shelf stable foods, dressings, sauces, dips preferred
• Proven ability to manage & develop high performing teams and provide effective coaching
• Strong project management and change management skills
• Skilled in complex problem-solving methodologies
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Strong leadership and planning skills; ability to lead through a crisis
• Technically savvy (Office Suite, SAP, spec databases)
• Ability to travel (approximately 20-35%), typically day trips and overnights to plants.

Skills:
• Excellent communication skills (written and oral) to influence business/technical decisions and drive cross-functional communications, documentation, learning and knowledge capture
• Project portfolio management expertise to balance competing priorities of short- and long-term initiatives.
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving and conceptual skills.
• Strong skills in strategy/vision, commercialization, technical expertise, team and relationship building, influence and negotiation.
• Excellent interpersonal and team skills; ability to communicate and persuade at all levels and thrive in a cross-functional environment.
• Excellent decision making and judgment skills.
• Excellent coaching and people and team development skills.
• Possesses business and financial understanding

Working Conditions/Environment

Works in a normal office environment where the employee is regularly required to speak, see, hear, sit, stand, talk, type, walk and bend while moving about the facility. The noise level in the office is quiet. Occasional travel to plants or meetings is required.