Waycool - Head - R&D & New Product Development - Brands Business

R&D and NPD Head for the Brands Business - Waycool

The Job Description:

Job Purpose:

The categories include basic foods to highly value-added foods in future. Currently spanning from staples, Basic Dairy, spices, condiments, fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds and expanding into highly value added products like Dairy and expanding over time into \new categories like Ready-to-eat, Healthy breakfast, Baked, Category shifting new platforms, Sweet snacks, Healthy food stuffs and related beverages

Key Responsibilities / Deliverables / Outcomes / Impact:

The role is expected to lead and execute, setting directions and strategize the following:

- Build & execute research and development strategies/ projects to deliver Business Results through Innovative product development initiatives

- Excellence of design delivery on core brands

- Creating and enhancing productivity, product quality, cost effectiveness standards for new & existing products

- Support execution of the Business Plan/ AOP through research and development processes and best practices

- Lead the Technology team to ensure to ensure research and development initiatives match with business requirements

- Design products that meet the challenges of available RM, PM and Supply Chain

- Quality Design leadership that meets the challenges of consumer acceptance

- Measures set for all financial targets in innovations

Key Challenges:

- Setting strong financial and success measures in innovation and executing to success

- Meeting the challenges of supply chain quality and deliver to consumer expectations

- Continuous measured productivity across the chain

- Strong consumer orientation in all the innovations

- Speed of delivery - High turn-around of innovations on multiple platforms

- Watch out competition and stay ahead of competition

- Regulatory compliance

The scope of the role would include:

- The role provides for innovations across New Product Development, Packaging Development, Product Design and Quality by Design for all foods categories that Way Cool is currently operating in India and for exports

- Staples like - Rice, Dhal, Wheat, wheat Flour, Millets / Organic Staples and value-added staples - fortified & foods / Value added Staple based product - flours, ready-mixes, batters, snacks etc., that span through consumer consumption occasions condiment blends

- Dairy and value-added dairy products

- Spices and value-added spice blends, pre-cooked convenience

- Fresh products - fruits, vegetables and value added F&V products

- Convenience products - Ready to Cook / RTE across various categories

- Work in several related areas of food science - baking, dehydration, mixing, blending, extrusion, and Dairy Tech & related, spice technology /Innovative products of the future - e.g. Meat Mimics, Heath foods, etc

- Strong bent of consumer understanding and work with an idea on consumer appreciation in all the NPD's

- Lead packaging development work across categories

Main interactions:

- Marketing - Areas of Innovation being critical to the job the role will interact strongly with Marketing team especially category managers and consumer insights group - The role will interact strongly to identify, strategic consumer opportunities and work with marketing.

- Operations - The job would interface strongly with Operations & Quality Control, working in tandem to implement new innovations and support operational productivity

- Procurement / Purchase - Strong interface is a norm for the job with Purchase head on the procurement of various RM/PM. Continuously scout for productivity is a key aspect of the job

- Planning - Will need to interact with planning team to ensure that the new innovations meet the financial norms as per the AOP plans. Product Development plans must be Financially Wetted

- Packaging - The role will work closely with R & D - support, respect and implement the viewpoints of related groups as above within R & D

- Regulatory, Nutrition Science- The role will also lead the groups responsible for National and international regulations (Exports) and ensure compliance

- 3P & Co-Pack - Ensuring Co-pack and 3P compliance

- Audits- The role will ensure that every product design is compliant and in the process

- Following up quality of competitors products on market..

- Build and Drives R&D strategy to ensure product formulations are developed for maximum compatibility across the global market and synergy opportunities being capitalized.

- Leverages deep understanding of upcoming technology in the R&D space and amongst competitors to enhance and develop new product formulations which will cater to next 2 to 3 year's trends specially in food products market.

- Formulates and directs overall R&D program and SOPs in accordance with organization's growth deliverables and key project objectives.

- Administers overall R&D deliverables with high technical competence and judgment and ensures sound technical expertise are applied while achieving them.

- Design and set up critical R&D projects that are completed within cost and schedule objectives.

- Prepares and correlates short and long term R&D plans and programs for design, construction or alteration of activities

- Ensures research and development of new technologies/products to support growth of business.

- Sets overall departmental vision, goals and priorities based on the financials/objectives of the business

- Direct and guide the team while defining specifications for new or reformulated products.

- Ensure all the control data relevant to all food products/ ranges/ SKU's are properly documented and stored in controlled manner.

- Ensuring regulatory compliance of all products that are developed for global markets that we export to.

The candidate Requirements (Education / Work Experience / Skills / Competencies):

- Master's / Doctorate in Food Technology / Food Science / Food Chemistry or related science

- Must have worked in related areas at least for 15 years in a well-known FMCG Food company

- Managing the products portfolio for end-users and industrial customers working closely with marketing, procurement, QA and production.

- Managing new product development from theoretical recipe to lab prototype and final product

- Build up strong product development team in term of technical knowledge and working skill

- Responsible for formula cost optimization projects.

- Work with R&D team of other countries within group to maximize opportunities in new product development

- Collaborate with external partners such as university, research institute,

- Providing necessary technical support to marketing, branding team

- Delivering technical support to existing and new customers, and creating new market opportunities.

- Supporting all departments, on any technical or application issues relating to products.

- Completing follow-up and execution of necessary project documentation

- Must be able to work on formulation development and benchmark matching independently.

- Ready and able to work on multiple product formulations at the same time, with a view to develop potentially hundreds of new products per year.