Director MEU Chocolate R&D

Are You Ready to Make It Happen at Mondelēz International?

Join our Mission to Lead the Future of Snacking. Make It With Pride.

As a senior member of the management team, you ensure that technical, scientific and business programs are successfully delivered and that resources are effectively managed. You regularly interact with senior-level clients and the technical and scientific community.

How you will contribute

You will translate business needs into robust scientific research strategies and lead your team to successfully apply existing technology or discover new science, using internal expertise and external partners to accelerate consumer-centric innovation and efficiency. In addition, you will build a balanced project portfolio, effectively managing human and financial targets. In this role, you will use your influencing skills to partner with senior leaders, communicating the impact and benefits of long-term research. You will also help create a culture of collaboration across the global community, identifying and applying best practices and ways of working and protect intellectual property to build a competitive advantage. As a people leader, you will grow a diverse talent base that meets our business needs and helps build the global pool of R&D talent.

What you will bring

A desire to drive your future and accelerate your career and the following experience and knowledge:

• Ensuring that research programs drive commercial outcomes, ideally in a fast-moving consumer goods environment
• Influencing business strategy through critical thinking and technical thought leadership
• Working collaboratively across functions, geographies and with internal and external partners to land the agenda
• Coaching and mentoring others
• Creating a culture of technical curiosity and collaboration

More about this role

What you need to know about this position:

MEU Chocolate Tablet Leader : 45% of total chocolate MEU Business with NR 2.5B$ Business with growth up to >3B$ in 2030

Accountable for delivering and building R&D technical programs to achieve growth (Innovation, renovation, capacity expansion , productivity), rooted in consumer centricity, technical rigor and driving innovation excellence .

Develop Tablet strategy and ensure that technical, scientific, and business programs are successfully delivered and that resources are effectively managed. You regularly partner with senior level clients and stakeholders, internally and externally and across the enterprise from Commercial to Supply Chain, as well as within the technical and scientific community.

Build a balanced project portfolio to deliver against financial & nutritional/sustainable targets, short term and long term and manage resources across the category teams to deliver the BU/CUs priorities.

Identify & Develop Beyond the Core Innovations for long term breakthrough impact.

Milka GAT R&D Co lead . Milka brand global Net Revenue is $3BR&D support at the Milka GAT Growth Acceleration team.

Partner with Milka Brand Lead to build the Global Milka Growth Strategy and the right shape of the Innovation Project Portfolio across product, packaging & Mindful Snacking topics.

Accountable for maintaining and deploying the Product Quality Strategy + Core Renovation of MILKA

How will you contribute:

• You will translate business and consumer needs into robust scientific research strategies and lead your team to successfully apply existing technology or discover new science, using internal expertise and external partners to accelerate consumer-centric innovation and efficiency.
• You lead the development of product solutions and bundles to sustain competitive advantage, drive growth,incrementality, profit contribution and for our Chocolate Tablet and Milka brands and co-create & deliver the innovation pipeline for Mondelez Europe.
• You champion innovation excellence and ensure that all programs meet consumer need states and connect with our overarching strategy.
• In addition, you will build and shape a balanced project portfolio for the short, medium and long term, keeping in mind the goal to create the desired consumer experience, effectively managing human and financial targets.
• In this role, you will use your collaboration and influencing skills to partner with senior enterprise leaders, communicating the impact and benefits of long-term research in delivering the organisation’s strategic priorities. You will also help create a culture of collaboration across the MEU & global community, identifying and applying best practices and ways of working and protect intellectual property to build a competitive advantage.
• As a people leader, you will grow a diverse talent base that meets our business needs and helps build the pool of R&D talent and develop capabilities across MEU.

What extra ingredients you will bring:

As desire to drive your future and accelerate your career and the following experience and knowledge:

• Influencing business strategy through critical thinking, prioritization and technical thought leadership using to educate business stakeholders about technical risks, ensuring mitigation plans, clear communication and understanding to allow for effective cross-functional decision making.
• Ensure that research and development programs drive commercial outcomes (Growth , incrementality, and contribution to profit and sustainable agenda), in a fast-moving consumer goods environment
• Foster a culture of consumer centricity, ensuring that all programs address real and tangible consumer need states and opportunities and that we deliver these programs with excellence
• Lead and deliver innovation programs with excellence; identifying, developing, and deploying breakthrough innovation that delivers sustained growth beyond the existing portfolio
• Working collaboratively across functions, geographies and with internal and external partners to define, initiate and lead teams to successfully deliver business goals using technical rigor, consumer centricity and best practice to land the agenda
• Coaching and mentoring of others, while effectively allocating resources and prioritising workloads
• Creating a culture of technical curiosity and collaboration

What you need to know about this position:

You will be a key contributor to the vision, strategy and ensuring excellence in operational execution & delivery of the integrated Business and Functional agenda, as:

• You will be a senior member of the European Chocolate leadership team , specifically responsible for the European Chocolate Tablets R&D team (15 / 20 scientists in total with teams located across our Chocolate Technical Centres within Europe).
• You will also play a critical role leading across the broader European Chocolate agenda, in close collaboration with the European Chocolate R&D Vice President, including focus, innovation excellence, leadership effectiveness, talent management, engagement and operational excellence.
• You will be supportingMilka GAT Growth acceleration team

What extra ingredients you will bring:

• Influencing Business Strategy, with strong business acumen, strategic agility, and effective communication skills, able to effectively partner and collaborate with senior stakeholders and cross functional teams.
• Prioritizing portfolio strategy and activities with strong efficiency
• Strong people leadership, able to lead direct and indirect teams, coach, and mentor to foster performance, talent development and team effectiveness, and drive culture and engagement.
• Deliver results in a fast paced, complex and ambiguous environment.
• Being a champion of consumer needs and technical rigor , and driving experimentation to lead the future of chocolate talets.
• Fostering collaborative mindset
• Functional R&D leader and demonstrated impact and success in an FMCG environment

Education / Certification / Qualifications

• Significant experience in Business Unit R&D leadership (Business acumen, influence business agenda through technical programs , strategic approaches)
• Significant experience in related R&D technical area (Product / Packaging / Process Development) with demonstrated cross category or cross geography experience.
• Significant experience in team management and leadership, with experience working in cross functional, multi-disciplined teams operating in a dynamic, outcome-oriented environment. Ability to motivate in a remote environment.
• Strong technical background and effective communication skills, including proven ability to influence senior stakeholders .
• Multi discipline experience within R&D functions highly advantageous
• University degree in food related technical field (Food Science, Chemical Engineering, or other relevant applied sciences)
• Fluent English

The responsibilities of this position are performed within the framework of a regional business model that is defined and managed by Mondelēz Europe GmbH, Switzerland.

Business Unit Summary

Mondelēz International is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or preference, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

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