Director, R&D Specialties – Western Europe

About the role

The R&D Director Specialties Western Europe is accountable for creating, driving and executing the region’s strategy on Specialties, Decorations and Inclusions. The role owns the end‑to‑end New Product Development funnel, from opportunity identification and customer co‑creation through industrialisation and launch readiness. By combining portfolio governance, cross‑functional execution and direct customer engagement, the director ensures innovation delivers commercial value, technical feasibility and operational excellence.

Key responsibilities

• Define and steer the regional innovation strategy and portfolio, ensuring disciplined project selection and resourcing.
• Lead the Western Europe NPD portfolio for Specialties, overseeing innovation platforms, funnels and project execution.
• Act as business partner to commercial teams, collaborating with marketing, supply chain, sustainability and quality to achieve volume and profit growth.
• Manage end‑to‑end execution of projects, from formulation through industrialisation and packaging implementation.
• Allocate resources, conduct portfolio reviews and negotiate decisions across stakeholders to meet customer requirements.
• Inspire, lead and coach the Specialties R&D network, representing the function to customers and internal teams.
• Drive customer co‑creation, translate market insights into project briefs and maintain strong client relationships.
• Ensure all R&D activities comply with internal standards and external legislation, taking decision authority on new raw materials and packaging solutions.

Required profile

• Master’s degree in food science, engineering, chemistry or equivalent.
• 10+ years of experience in the food industry, with at least 5 years in a leadership role.
• Proven experience leading global NPD portfolios and complex, cross‑functional innovation projects.
• Strong exposure to customer‑driven innovation in B2B environments and solid understanding of industrialisation, packaging and scale‑up processes.
• Experience in cocoa, chocolate, confectionery or ingredients industries; fluency in English; additional European language a plus.

Required skills

• MS Office
• Salesforce
• SAP