Senior Director, RDA

At Corbion, we exist to champion preservation in all its forms, preserving food and food production, health, and our planet.

 

The Senior Director, North America (NAM) for Research, Development & Applications (RDA) w plays a key role in delivering Food Technology projects that will contribute to the execution of the ambitious Growth Strategy of Corbion. This position reports directly to the Region VP and has a dotted line to the Global VP of RDA Functional Ingredients & Solutions (FIS).  This person will lead a team of Application and Technology Experts with main focus on applying and understanding the performance of our products in different finished products (Bakery, Meat or Dairy). In addition, this person will lead a group of Scientists and Technologists that will create the right products for the different industries that we serve. This person will also work in close cooperation with, and not only, main stakeholders like, Sales and Product Management Directors, IP, Marketing, Operations, Regulatory, as well as Suppliers and Customers. Ensures directly and by driving the team(s) to build, maintain, and deliver a robust and effective innovation pipeline as well as customer support according to the business needs. The person will evaluate talent with the teams and help develop future leaders, drive career advancement and foster stretch goals for direct reports and their teams.

 

Essential Functions:

• Design and execute the NAM RDA Strategy and lead the related team in line with the Business Strategy and Innovation Roadmap for the Preservation and Functional Blends of Corbion.
• Play a key role in translating the Business Strategy into the Technology Roadmap and its execution. Drive the research and exploration of new technologies and the improvement of the existing ones to be implemented in existing and new application solutions that create profitable growth for Corbion.
• Create a culture of high standards of performance, curiosity and continuous learning, continuous improvement, knowledge cross-fertilization within and beyond the team.
• Build, strengthen, and safeguard the technology expertise and competencies of the team. Provide technical insights. Identify appropriate training programs for the team in line with needs and opportunities, and ensure the database management.  
• Ensure the teams support Sales, Application & Technical Service, and Corbion Customers for the needs in food applications, trouble-shooting, solution development/understanding, and training.
• Proactively develop the project pipeline in collaboration with the main stakeholders, in line with the Corbion’s KPI’s and profitable growth targets.

 

Technology, Research, Development and Applications

• Lead organization to identify new opportunities of growth for Corbion, directly and by empowering the team to scouting potential new and existing Technologies and their effective use in known and new Applications.  Align with the key stakeholders in order to create a robust value proposition in line with the Business Strategy.
• Set clear expectations and direction for the teams, fully aligned with the RDA and the wider Corbion strategy.
• Oversee the project pipeline of competence and its progression, and guarantee their delivery OTIF in line with the plans.
• Supervise the proper planning of projects of competence (own and of the team); define timelines and deliverables for the projects in alignment with the relevant stakeholders, and ensure their execution accordingly.
• Manage the resources allocation to projects in line with the Business priorities, identify potential hurdles, and evaluate options, solutions, tactical and strategic plans to overcome them.
• Collaborate, drive results a