Join us and celebrate the beauty of human experience. Create for happier, healthier lives, with love for nature. Together, with passion and creativity, we deliver food innovations, craft inspired fragrances and develop beauty and wellbeing solutions. There’s much to learn and many to learn from, with more than 16,000 employees around the world to explore ideas and ambitions with. Every day, your talent, your innovative spirit, and your determination will shape our future, making a positive difference on billions of people. Every essence of you enriches our world. We are Givaudan. Human by nature.
As the Technical Director/Sub-Regional Head, you will help develop technical strategies and be a technical leader across all Flavour Creation and Application Teams in Western Europe. Your expertise will guide technical solutions excellence within our organization, provide a positive customer experience, and ensure Givaudan is a place where our employees love to be and grow.
You will be a member of the Western Europe Leadership Team and a member of the Technical Leadership Team for Europe. You will report to the Commercial Head Western Europe and will be based either in Naarden, The Netherlands, Argenteuil, France, or San Celoni, Spain.
Main Responsibilities
Strategy & Leadership
1. Define the Western Europe technical strategy based on the overall strategy for Western Europe.
2. Provide strategic direction from a Western European perspective for our Research & Development or Regional Innovation departments.
3. Ensure strategic and technical alignment with the other regions in Europe.
4. Ensure the right capabilities and resources are in place to implement the technical strategy.
5. Update management on internal and external technical activities, including performance against objectives.
Provide a Superior Customer Experience
1. Act as the main technical contact at selected key accounts to develop relationships at the management level to better understand the technical execution needs and design the brief execution process to deliver against these.
2. Participate in key customer visits and meetings at the customer.
Technical Process Management
1. Coordinate with all functional areas to assess departmental needs and improve technical execution.
2. Provide technical leadership to select, elevate, implement, and promote technology which improves the ability to provide better technical solutions.
3. Manage the approach and tools to improve the technical execution of projects and briefs.
4. Support the commercialization of new technologies.
People Management
1. Oversee the performance and capabilities of the Western Europe technical team, ensuring the achievement of technical objectives.
2. Lead initiatives to develop and deliver technical process and capability training.
3. Support and guide the local Technical Managers in recruitment, aligned development, and performance management of the local Technical teams.
4. Foster a diverse and inclusive work environment, leveraging different styles and approaches to enhance team performance.
Academic Background
1. Polytechnic or Bachelor's Degree in Food Science, Chemistry, or a related field; or
2. M.S. in Food Science, Chemistry, or a related area.
Professional Experience
1. Minimum 7+ years of experience in a food applications lab, flavorist lab, or related area.
2. Comprehensive understanding of project management skills and the ability to guide and coach project managers.
3. Proficient in interfacing with customers to address technical needs across multiple application areas.
4. Strong leadership skills to manage personnel in application and flavor creation effectively.
5. Ability to prepare and deliver technical presentations encompassing various functions, including applications, flavor creation, sensory analysis, consumer understanding, analytical science, and marketing.
6. Excellent communication skills to align resources and execute technical objectives successfully.
At Givaudan, you contribute to delightful taste and scent experiences that touch people’s lives.
You work within an inspiring teamwork culture – where you can thrive, collaborate, and learn from other talented and passionate people across disciplines, regions, and divisions.
Every essence of you enriches our world.
Diversity drives innovation and creates closer connections with our employees, customers, and partners.
Givaudan embraces diversity and is committed to building an inclusive environment where everyone impacts our world. #J-18808-Ljbffr