R & D Senior Product and Packaging Development Manager -The Laughing Cow

Bel, makers of iconic brands including The Laughing Cow, Babybel, Boursin, Kaukauna, Merkts, Price's and GoGo SqueeZ is a growing global company that values your contributions, strives to create a sense of belonging for everyone and offers career growth and development opportunities, as well as competitive total compensation and meaningful well-being benefits from day one. For All, For Good, our company signature, reflects Bel’s commitment to sustainability and healthier and responsible food for all. Bel Brands USA has been named Chicago's "101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For" for 10 years in a row. The company has headquarters in Chicago for our Bel Cheese business and in New York City for GoGo Squeez. Bel operates five manufacturing plants in Little Chute, WI, Leitchfield, KY, and Brookings, SD, Nampa, ID, and Traverse City, MI.

Job Description Summary

The R & D Senior Product and Packaging Development Manager will be the single point of contact of R&D (RID) at the factory level and corporate/global office and is responsible at the factory level for product development, inno/reno/cost saving portfolio for delivering product development projects on time in full (OTIF). The R & D Senior Product and Packaging Development Manager will be in charge the innovation pipeline for the Processed Cheese Brands (The Laughing Cow) within a 3-year time frame and align priorities between Platform at Factory level for the NORAM scope (USA & Canada) and will be supported by a product & pack developer (direct report). 

 

Chicago Based-Hybrid work environment (2-3days/week in office)

 

Essential duties and responsibilities

• In charge of Bel Brands and Private Label projects for the Laughing Cow platform produced in NORAM (USA & Canada). Coordinate all Feasibility Requests.
• Ensure the development platform follow the CSR and nutri+ program guidelines.
• Ensure project methodology.
• Deliver development projects at the right quality level, OTIF and best Time-to-Market (TTM).
• Lead (dotted line) the Plant Technologist, team members, and technical resources for the project
• Formula & process consistency & ensure product process transformation & key member of industrial master plan.
• Packaging development in coordination with Suppliers and internal teams.

 

Management / Coordination activities

• Security, safety and quality management of their team
• Ensure technical coaching within Project team to develop talent.
• Main stakeholders: Marketing, Development platform manager, plant technologist, plant director, coordinators.

 

Key performance indicators and impact on results (qualitative and quantitative)

• Launch product, process and package OTIF and at the right quality level.
• Project management excellence: passed the different stage gate Exploration, Development, Implementation, Market Launch and Improve, using our internal (O2T) database for each project
• Risk management.
• Time-to-Market improvement

 

Qualifications and Competencies:

Minimum degree and experience required:

• Bachelor’s degree and/or equivalent experience required
• Minimum 10 years of e