About Flora Food Group
We offer consumers a compelling choice in four growing categories: butters and spreads, creams, liquids and cheeses. We hold leadership positions in many of the 100 countries we operate in, with iconic brands including Flora, Becel+Pro Activ, Blue Band, Country Crock, I Can't Believe It's Not Butter, Rama, and Violife, together with our local brands and Professional business.
Global branded food champion Flora Food Group, offers the next generation of delicious, natural, nutritious food. Our products are more affordable and more sustainable than their dairy equivalents.

Location: Wageningen
Hybrid
About the position
The Head of R&D Commercialization for Developed Markets at Upfield is a strategically vital position, responsible for driving market growth and ensuring seamless business continuity within the EU and North America region. With a total business value of G3.3 billion, of which developed markets account for >60%, we are looking for a seasoned R&D lead.
Reports to: Chief R&D Officer, location Wageningen / NL (hybrid)
The objective of this role is two-fold:
You are the R&D owner for the powerbrands that are most prominent in these markets and therefore co-own the product portfolio and innovation pipeline. This means you are responsible for landing the short-term portfolio changes, whilst building a 3-year pipeline per each relevant powerbrand.
At the same time you ensure the successful commercialization from an R&D perspective in these markets for the products which have been designed at global level. This means that you take responsibility for successfully launching new products by

Driving the decision-making process
Taking ownership for product performance
Close partnering with marketing and sales for all "Go to Market" elements, whilst ensuring "big bet thinking", driving alignment on formulations and propositions across countries
Effectively and efficiently managing the interfaces between Global Product Design, Quality, Planning and Logistics for creating alignment across the technical functions
Ensuring clarity on consumer and competitor insights which translate into claims and benefits
Preparing the sales forces with content and knowledge
Ensuring compliance
Reviewing & sharing learnings from past projects
Building a path to portfolio superiority

You will successfully navigate through the Upfield R&D organisation to create the portfolio plans, and for this you will lead a small team of technical experts that deliver projects and create the technical insights required. You will also set the direction for the relevant R&D communities of colleagues from the various capabilities and keep them informed of the Developed Markets Growth strategies and priorities.
This means:

You are R&D business partner to the CMOs and marketing teams for Flora, Becel, Proactiv, ICBINB, Country Crock, co-responsible for pipeline creation and
You establish and manage business partnerships with key members of the COO LT and ELT / NALT
You feed brand needs into the global tech agenda and use global tech roadmaps to feed brand thinking
You translate consumer needs and insights into technical product / pack requirements and benefits / claims
You define the channel strategies for Food Service, Industrial Sales, and Private Label, in partnership with commercial teams; and translate this into relevant projects and actions
You create a regional roadmap that builds on the global tech strategy to ensure competitive advantages and a "superior vs competition" portfolio in developed markets
You are a member of the global RDLT, driving a performance culture in R&D, linked to output / delivery thinking
You bring a data-first mindset — using data for decision making and proactively shaping the way we do R&D for the future
You strongly drive Operational Excellence: Translating R&D innovations into commercial strategies, focusing on delivery and value creation

So, what does it take to be successful in this role?

Strong track record in delivering business impact (measurable)
Strong track record in leading teams towards high performance, and elevating skills and competencies
Strong background in the food industry, with proven leadership experience in R&D or related functions
Demonstrated ability to drive portfolio evolution, challenge the status quo, and deliver results in a fast-paced, dynamic environment
Demonstrated ability to build a strong business mindset and ownership mentality within the (regional R&D commercialization) teams
Forge strong relationships with key stakeholders to facilitate seamless tech discovery and implementation
Experience in managing diverse teams and fostering a culture of collaboration
Cultural fit, stamina, and ability to defend R&D against marketing

What is next?
If this position sounds interesting, please hit the apply button now! If you have additional questions, you can send myself, Pauline Trooster a Whats App message on +34666320262.


We understand your resume might not be up to date and recommend that you apply with what you have or your Linked In Profile. Flora Food Group is dedicated to building an inclusive and diverse workplace, we understand that you might not meet all the requirements stated in the description, but we encourage you to apply anyway. You might be the right candidate for this role or other roles.
Flora Food Group is an employer committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace and equal opportunities for all. We recruit based only on values, qualifications, performance, skills, behaviours, experience, and knowledge. We ensure job advertisements are free from unintentional bias.
No personal characteristics should be a barrier to joining Flora Food Group. We prohibit discrimination and harassment based on race, color, sex, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, or other personal characteristics.


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