Senior Director of R&D - Dog Portfolio

Senior Director of R&D - Dog Portfolio

Our client is a one of the world’s leading petcare  products companies and employs more than 30,000 Associates across 50 countries in both the human and pet food products industries, with total sales of more than $33B. The company is one the 100 Best Companies to Work For Globally and the position is based in Nashville, Tennessee which has been ranked amongst the Best Places to Live and has no state income tax.

Title: Senior Director of R&D - Dog Portfolio
Reports to: VP R&D – U.S.
Location:        Nashville, Tennessee  

The Sr. Director R&D – Petcare is responsible for leading the R&D for the $1B+ Petcare dog business. Responsibility includes product, packaging and process engineering.  This is a key strategic R&D role and will be responsible for shaping the pipelines for the dog brand portfolio as well as renovation and any consumer evident cost savings activities. This position works closely with other parts of the organization to discover and deploy new technology to develop and improve pipeline processes based on market/consumer insights, technology trends, and internal capabilities.

Position Overview

This position plays a critical role on a number of Petcare leadership teams: 

• R&D lead on the cross-functional Dog Business Management Team, which has P&L responsibility for the global brands. 
• Global R&D representative on the Global Dog Brand boards.  As a member of the R&D leadership team, this position will be responsible for leading the development and utilization of appropriate technologies and driving business change for competitive advantage. 
• Member of the Pet Care extended leadership team which is comprised of all of the directors in the US business, and has a significant impact on the company’s overall growth and success. 
• Responsible for ensuring a solid talent pipeline for R&D, working closely with the VP to review organizational design and assure talent capabilities and development of strong R&D leaders.
• Enable future growth and prosperity of the business through sustained delivery of market leading innovations that delight dogs and dog owners.
• Key talent pipeline role to senior R&D roles within both the pet care and human food business globally.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities include:   

• Lead the development of key innovation and technology initiatives in support of the Petcare dog business strategic objectives..
• Creation and refreshment of 3 year innovation pipelines for priority dog brands
• Delivery of innovation, renovation, and all consumer relevant cost savings initiatives for the dog brands.
• Responsible for the integration of new capabilities (from discover group, global technology platforms, and external sources).
• Oversees the management of multiple R&D projects in support of the Petcare Dog business
• Allocates technical resources (associates, funds and equipment) for the delivery of innovation pipelines and R&D initiatives as needed by the Petcare dog business.
• Represents R&D on the Petcare NA Dog Business Management Team (BMT)
• Leadership across the Petcare NA R&D function as a member of the RDLT.
• Provides functional expertise to generate and develop new and enhanced manufacturing processes and packaging solutions.
• Provides critical deep functional competency for the resolution of key technical business issues.
• Develops and directs departmental staffing and training strategies to ensure strong performance and best in class R&D talent
• Creates an innovative environment by collaborative approaches with external and internal partners and by managing the group with passion, intellectual curiosity, integrity and trust.

Mission Critical Competencies

Innovation Management:  a solid track record of successful new technology development, new product innovation and commercializing of new products. Has experience in driving growth through innovation in previous organizations. Able to demonstrate an external focus toward consumers, customers and the marketplace in total product development cycle.  A healthy sense of dissatisfaction for the status quo, and has an attitude toward improvement.

Managing Vision & Purpose - Results Oriented:  Lead by example with a “can do” attitude. Has a track record of delivering industry-leading results while keeping commitments, reducing complexity and increasing focus. Ability to manage the balance of process and speed. Has a clear history of making sound decisions about technology, products, and cost.

Leadership: The successful candidate will demonstrate a good balance of leadership and followership, and have strong skills in working with a diverse workforce. Able to establish credibility, trust and good interpersonal relationships on the team and with key stakeholders.  Ability to mediate and resolve conflict within and across teams. Must be able to lead and direct the Technology platform team, set priorities, allocate resources, manage accountability, and achieve results through others.

Networking - Cross-Functional Relationship-Building Strength:  Able to attract and energize a high performance, cross-functional teams while providing feedback and developing people to their highest potential. Has an excellent reputation for acting with integrity by living company values, being truthful, forthright and trustworthy. Strong skills in establishing technical alliances and in leveraging external relationships.  Is assertive, while also maintaining respect and good relationships with others.

Strategic Agility: Ability to think strategically by anticipating future consequences and trends; able to translate possibilities and trends into business advantage for the customer and business unit. Delivers timely insights to improve our competitive advantage.

Desired Skills and Experience

• Food science, engineering, packaging technology, chemistry or equivalent BS degree required
• Advanced degree (Master’s, M.B.A. or Ph.D.) highly desirable
• The ideal candidate will have a minimum of 15 years of experience in a technical area such as R&D product development, laboratory management quality systems, or food process engineering. 
• At  least 10 years managing large, complex teams. 
• Will require an advanced understanding of innovation and activity management. 
• Candidates will have a successful track record of collaborative product development experience with first rate demonstrable networking relationships across senior R&D leadership, organizations in academia, government and trade / industry associations. 
• From a personal motivational standpoint, this executive will have a history of successful new product introductions and relish driving change.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to work independently or as a member of a team will be required.