Hybrid - 2-3x a week in the office with shuttle service for NYC-based employees

Compensation: Base salary $125K to $140K based on experience, expertise, and other legitimate, non-discriminatory factors. The position includes annual bonus opportunities and other competitive health and welfare benefits.

This role is for an R&D leader to take our industry-leading products, technologies, and know-how and to help them reach their potential in these alternate channels. Within a profitable industry, Flora Food Group is focused on a long-term strategy: driving growth through innovation. With a fresh leadership team, we have defined a different agenda, underpinned by bold innovation. In the retail channel in North America, Flora Food Group is the undisputed leader in dairy-free, plant-based butter, cheeses, and creams. With large, category-leading brands like Country Crock, I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter, and Becel, Flora Food Group is driving innovation and growth in retail customers all over North America. However, retail only presents a part of the growth ambition of Flora Food Group.  There are huge opportunities for our products in other channels such as food service, industrial, and private label that we have only begun to scratch the surface.  

Responsibilities

• The person in this role will work closely with Flora Food Group Customer Sales, Marketing, Supply Chain, and Global R&D Product Design teams to:
• Develop customer and consumer insights to guide innovation growth program.
• identify potential growth opportunities and strategies by channel
• Evaluate Flora Food Group's product portfolio for the best possible product fit for each opportunity
• Initiate development briefs for new product solutions when appropriate
• Actively work with our field sales teams to demonstrate the benefits of Flora Food Group product solutions and to close sales
• Work collaboratively to develop strategic partnerships with key customers  
• Serve as Technical Project Leader on projects involving rollout of existing technologies.
• Lead a small team of R&D Project leaders and technologists. 
• Coordinate product and packaging development with the global R&D channel growth team as well as the global product and pack design team.
• Maintain and build a strong network of industrial and food service contacts. 

In this role, you will inject passion and bring strong initiative to make a hugely positive impact to the way R&D delivers and innovates on both short and long-term business goals for growth in these channels. You will be encouraged to bring new insights, approaches and innovative technologies to the business to further strengthen Flora Food Group R&D team. 

Qualifications 

• Bachelor’s degree in Food Science or Engineering with a passion for food.
• 10+ years of experience in Food Product Development R&D with considerable experience leading both R&D and cross-functional teams, experience in FMCG is essential.
• Technical experience and know-how in plant-based food technologies such as vegetable fats and oils, proteins, emulsification, and water structuring are a plus.
• Excellent communication skills including the ability to effectively communicate technology to both internal stakeholders and team members and external customers.
• Significant experience working in the food service and industrial (business to business) channels.
• Demonstrable skill in managing product innovation from ideas to launch including the identification, development and delivery of impactful business and consumer optimized product innovations.
• Experience in overseeing products in market, maintaining and growing existing base business, as well as driving productivity and cost

What’s next 

If this position sounds interesting, please hit the apply button now!

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