Want to help us bring happiness to the world? Want to join an ambitious and fast growing global biscuits and confectionery business investing heavily in iconic global brands, infrastructure and people? Then this is the place for you.

As proud bakers and chocolatiers and custodians of iconic global brands, we don’t compromise on the quality of ingredients in our products or on the people we hire. We are looking for entrepreneurial spirits who share our passion for bringing happiness to our consumers and who embody our Winning Traits.

To succeed at pladis you need to be purpose-led, resilient and positive to succeed here because we expect pace and agility, we insist on collaboration and demand accountability. If that is your thing, then pladis offers global ambition, a clear Vision and roadmap for success, challenge, and unrivalled opportunities to learn and make an impact

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pladis operates in highly competitive, fast moving markets where it is essential to maintain and extend market share through profitable branded growth.  Successful innovation through product development, continuous value improvement and consumer perceived quality superiority vs. the competition are critical. 

This is a critical role supporting strategic projects, implementing best practices, and driving new approaches within the sensory and consumer science domain. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in design thinking, packaging research, and quality by design methodologies.

The role requires an individual who is competent and skilled at working across cultures and functions and collaborating to deliver with others.  They need to be able to work effectively with external partners to identify appropriate opportunities and drive development of innovative solutions, best practice approaches and systems.

The role demands strong technical and interpersonal capabilities to:

• Build and manage sensory capabilities globally
• Set the agenda within R&D and Quality & Food Safety, to raise the consumer research profile
• Secure global alignment to consumer success criteria and research principles/design and global findings plans
• Deliver consumer science learning plan in support of global innovation projects and the smaller regions who do not have their own CTI capability, which represent significant financial opportunities for pladis

The ideal candidate will have excellent core technical skills, and be able to understand the needs of the business, our consumers and customers to drive an exciting product agenda.  You will be a self-starter, possess a drive for results.

pladis organization model is based on 8 regions with full accountability of their own P&L

• Global
• UK & Ireland
• Europe & Emerging Markets (EEM)
• Turkey, Central Asia (TRCA)
• Middle East, North Africa (MENA)
• North America (Nam)
• Asia pacific (APAC)
• Godiva (Global)

A few global functions, supporting all regions, to leverage size, expertise and best practices.  Global R&D is required to create new processes and best practice in a range of functional disciplines and drive continuous improvement to ensure we stay at the forefront in these areas.  Specifically in the area of Sensory Science, we need to:

Strengthen our Sensory Science Capability:

• Develop new sensory science methodologies particularly related to breakthrough product innovation
• Deliver CTI guidance for the regions related to implementation of global projects in lead markets
• Lead the CTI  Community of Practice.

The position will report to the Director – Product Design, Taste and Sensory Science.  It is expected that the incumbent will work with their counterparts in region and with the Global Growth and Insights team, along with other regional R&D colleagues to effectively delivery of innovation that wins with our consumers.

• Lead and manage sensory and consumer science projects to support strategic initiatives across the organization.
• Develop and manage research programmes according to recognised international standards.
• Collaborate with Consumer Marketing Insights to ensure that all learning plans are joined up.
• Continuously develop tools and techniques of Sensory & Consumer Science for relevant business areas.
• Analyse and interpret results and communicate effectively to all stakeholders.
• Provide consumer and competitive insights and understanding/models at category level 
• Continuously develop tools and techniques to drive a consumer led innovation process 
• Drive sensory and consumer science value into the pladis business and develop and manage capabilities across all regions, in collaboration with local CTI teams where they exist
• Drive sensory and consumer science leadership within the wider R&D and Quality and Food Safety function and across the business 
• Secure alignment to consumer success criteria and research principles/design  
• Deliver sensory & consumer science strategic learning plans in support of innovation, renovation and stewardship projects, which represent significant financial opportunities for pladis. 
• Develop and implement best practices and innovative approaches in sensory and consumer science to enhance product development and consumer satisfaction.
• Utilize design thinking principles to drive creative problem-solving and innovation in product and packaging development.
• Conduct comprehensive packaging research to ensure optimal consumer experience and product quality.
• Implement and advocate for a Quality by Design (QbD) approach in all sensory and consumer science activities.
• Act as senior technical advisor in Sensory & Consumer Science and collaborate with relevant R&D and Marketing teams to pro-actively contribute to strategic plans and ensure that the research needs to support those plans are met 
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including marketing, product development, and quality assurance, to ensure alignment and integration of sensory and consumer insights.
• Analyze and interpret sensory and consumer data to provide actionable insights and recommendations.
• Stay abreast of industry trends, emerging technologies, and best practices in sensory and consumer science.

The role is highly visible and will require the ability to lead a team & work cross functionally across leadership teams.

pladis is an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to hiring a diverse workforce. All openings will be filled based on qualifications without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, marital status, veteran status, disability, age, religion or any other classification protected by law.

We operate a strict Preferred Supplier List. If you are a recruitment agency and wish to submit candidate to be considered for this vacancy, you must have agreed to, and signed, our terms of business.
We will not accept CVs from any other sources other than those currently on our PSL. We will not pay a fee for any candidate that has not been represented by a provider on our PSL.