Director - Research & Development

Job Overview:

The RD&A Director will lead the company's Research, Development & Application (RD&A) function for the Company and is pivotal in delivering the regional growth strategy, building a strong innovation pipeline, and driving step-change impact

The successful candidate will be a driver of change, able to translate customer and market needs into winning solutions, and foster a high-performance culture across a matrixed organization.

Key Responsibilities:

- Lead and manage the RD&A function, ensuring alignment with business strategy, growth targets, aligned with company goals and vision.

- Build and deliver a robust innovation and renovation pipeline by:

- Demonstrating deep understanding of customer needs and the company's technology portfolio

- Maintaining a strong view of the competitive landscape and developing differentiated solutions that win in the marketplace.

- Evaluating and improving the existing product portfolio to deliver best-in-class, commercially successful products.

- Mobilizing and leveraging global company's RD&A resources to deliver step-change regional projects.

- Tracking project execution against milestones and launch dates.

- Develop, coach, and lead a high-performing RD&A team through regular feedback, training, and leadership by example.

- Partner closely with Quality, Operations, and Supply Chain to support:

- Plant/process improvements and productivity initiatives.

- Business continuity and supply support.

- Regulatory readiness (including registrations, audits, and inspections as needed).

- Successful transfer of innovations into plants and scalable manufacturing.

- Serve as technical lead for selected key accounts - acting as the main contact to drive consistency, quality of service, and customer confidence.

- Actively contribute as a member of the Indian Subcontinent leadership team, shaping priorities and enabling cross-functional delivery.

Skills:

- Strong leadership capability with a proven ability to build, motivate, and develop high-performing teams.

- Customer-centric mindset with the ability to translate technical insight into clear, compelling solutions.

- Deep technical expertise in food science / food technology, product development, and application.

- Strong stakeholder management skills and the ability to influence in a complex, highly matrixed environment.

- Commercially minded innovator with demonstrated success bringing solutions to market.

- Strong analytical and critical thinking skills; decisive decision-maker grounded in data, experience, and pragmatism.

- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, comfortable engaging internal and external stakeholders at senior levels.

Requirements;

- Master's degree or PhD in Food Science / Food Technology (or related discipline).

- 15+ years' experience in RD&A leadership roles within a regulated food/ingredients for food//nutrition/pharma

- Experience across multiple Asia Pacific markets, with strong understanding of the regional business environment and regulations.

- Demonstrated experience preparing and managing budgets and leading resource allocation (people and spend).

- Proven track record of commercial innovation and successful scale-up/technology transfer to manufacturing plants.

- Ability to adapt to changing business priorities with urgency and accountability.

- Willingness to travel as required.