Danone

Senior Research & Innovation Manager

Danone’s mission is bringing health through food to as many people as possible and we and we believe in order to do so we need a healthy planet. We have more than 100 000 employees worldwide built on three business categories: Essential Dairy and Plant-Based Products, Specialized Nutrition and Waters who all strive for our vision One Planet One Health.

Are you a passionate research, innovation and product development professional looking for a new challenge in an entrepreneurial and international environment? Do you want to be a part of a purpose driven FMCG-company and be a key player in developing well-known brands and creating best in class break through innovations? Maybe the role of Senior Research & Innovation Manager at Danone is the right role for you! 

ABOUT THE JOB

Innovation plays a key role in Danone´s growth agenda, and as Senior Research & Innovation Manager it´s important to have strong capacity to explore, select and define innovation and renovation projects for our brands across the Nordics & Baltics region. You will be the co-leader for the innovation strategy for our brands, together with Strategy & Insights and Marketing teams.

You will be leading a small Research & Innovation team of 3 people that is responsible for designing & developing superior experiences (products & pack) in line with consumer expectations, business opportunities and the brand strategy of the cluster.

The role is truly in a multi-functional environment, you will collaborate with many different stakeholders like local and European Research & Innovation teams, Design, Sensory and Behavior experts, Product and Pack Experts and Nutrition Managers. You will also work closely with other internal business functions like Marketing, Operations & Project Managers, Quality and Sales.

The role is based in our office in Solna, Stockholm and you will be reporting to the Head of Growth & Innovation.

Your main responsibilities will be to:

Lead Portfolio of projects in the early development phase on brands:

  • Together with teams in Marketing, Consumer Experience and Strategy & Insights, responsibility to drive and design the Explore Phase and define the 3 year calendar portfolio of future innovation & renovation projects.
  • Lead competition benchmarking analysis and build a deep understanding of main competitors and market trends: product and pack, nutrition and sustainability.
  • Bring innovation ideas from inside and outside of the company via strong internal and external networks.
  • Ensure connection within International Research & Innovation community.

Lead project definition and validation from Research & Innovation side:

  • From Research & Innovation side lead Define Phase of innovation projects.
  • Accountable and with support of Consumer Experience Manager, Research & Innovation European teams, Marketing and Strategy & Insights team responsible for consumer centric product development brief definition. Together with Consumer Experience Manager design the approach and then lead the execution – e.g. product landscape mapping, consumer & retailer safari, fast prototyping, co-design with consumers, design thinking, agile, etc.

ABOUT YOU

In order to be successful, you need to have: 

  • 5-10 years’ experience in Food & Beverage industry.
  • Required experience/background: R&I/R&D Engineering, Innovation, Sciences, Food – University studies (master’s degree).
  • Experienced in Product or Packaging Development in FMCG company, and able to build formulation back bone recipes in define phase and discuss recipe and options with experts as of develop phase.
  • Knowledgeable in Agile methodologies e.g. Design thinking, Lean Startup, Scrum.
  • Passion for consumer centric innovation and value creation, strong business acumen, financial and analytical skills.
  • Strategic thinking, strong creative and conceptual skills with ability to switch between strategic and operational tasks.
  • Team player with a natural ability and predisposition to take the lead where/when needed. With demonstrated experience in leadership and facilitation.
  • Fluent in Swedish & English language.  

WE OFFER

A career in a purpose driven and fast-moving international company. We have a performance culture but how we reach our goals is equally important as the end results. In line with our values we foster a friendly, motivating and supportive culture where everyone is a leader, no matter what your position is within our organization. We encourage an entrepreneurial mind-set by giving our employees the opportunity to drive growth of strong brands, contribute to a healthier world as well as develop professionally and personally.