Tasting and evaluation of food by a cert

GFIC is recruiting for a Regional leading FMCG company, Producing Powders, Culinery Products and Beverages, private owned with a long history, with a strong export, beeing present in almost 100 countries the

Head of R&D Food and Beverage m/f/d

Location: Southern Europe/Mediterranean Sea

We would like to speak only with candidates having working permissions for the European Union

the Head of R&D is responsible for the development of successful new products & categories and the continuous renovation of existing products. The Head of R&D is to manage the project portfolio and mentor a team of product development specialists.

Key Accountabilities

Product Development Management

Develop the R&D strategy for recipe innovation and renovation in liaison with other business units;
Direct the development process with respect to new categories following ideas generated from

Consumer Insight
Lead product development and product improvements from bench to pilot plant trials, using

innovative ingredients while meeting nutritional guidelines;
Integrate consumer, food science and process knowledge in the interpretation of recipe innovation

and renovation project

Stakeholder Management

Drive decisions by effectively networking with relevant stakeholders/decision-makers in R&D,

marketing and other business units
Pursue effective working relations with international food and food ingredient standards

development organizations, suppliers, and other technical institutes working on ingredient or flavour research

Programme Management

Manage the R&D programme and project priorities according to briefs from the markets by resource allocation and ensuring success by identifying competence level;
Oversee the delivery of solutions at defined quality, time and cost in order to fuel science-based innovation transfers into our business unit(s);
Oversee knowledge building, documentation of results and methods

Technical Assistance

Give operational support to the Process and Applications team in industrialization start-ups and

follow up product launches, including product improvements as may be necessary
Oversee the R&D Lab as it pertains to product testing, analysis, and validation on new products as

well as analyzing and correcting R&D activities

Structure & Lead the team

Manage the work of a reporting team of highly skilled scientists & lab technicians
Oversee the ongoing development of the team
Ensure alignment to the Company Calendar, KPIs, Company policies and procedures in the R&D function’s undertakings

Ideal Candidate Profile

Education

MSc degree in a relevant technical field (Food Science/Technology, Material Science, Analytical Chemistry, Product Technology, etc.).
Preferably with a PhD in the food science field

Experience

Minimum 10 years’ experience in R&D, specifically Product Development (Recipe) in the food and beverage industry
Previous professional experience across food / beverage formulation with strong ingredient knowledge and diverse process experience in powder food & beverage mixes will be considered an asset
Experience working with cross functional teams from Consumer Insights to Applications management

Technical skills

Fluent English
Strong ingredient knowledge
Knowledge of product development processes and prototype modeling methods
Excellent project and time management skills
Sensory training and experience
Up to date knowledge if quality, safety and hygiene requirements
Solid knowledge of Product Lifecycle Management Systems, performance reporting and

financial/budgeting processes