RDA Scientist at

4 months ago


Nairobi, Nairobi Area, Kenya Kerry Full time
Kerry is a company rich in heritage and resources.

Over the past five decades, our focus on changing lifestyles, the globalisation of food tastes and ever-evolving consumer needs has brought us to a market-leading global position.

At Kerry, we are proud to provide our customers' some of the world's best-known food, beverage and pharma brands with the expertise, insights and know-how they need to deliver products that people enjoy and feel better about consuming.

Summary


The RD& A Scientist will lead a product development team within a EUM that is responsible for delivering the new business strategy by driving development and innovation of new products.

Have the ability to drive change and progress in the region and connecting the region to the rest of the global organisation.

Build strong customer relationships and driving customer centric solutions by seeing ahead to future possibilities and translating them to breakthrough strategies.

Responsibilities

To manage and deliver the execution of active projects to meet the strategy and growth targets.
To manage the innovation portfolio across the various technology groups

, which entails:

Combining a clear understanding of customer needs and technical expertise in order to formulate innovation initiatives.

Determining how The Company can gain competitive differentiation in the region through excellence in research and driving product development that will exceed the customer's expectation.

Evaluating the existing product portfolio; determine where enhancements may be made to create best-in-category products.

In alignment with the regional leadership team appropriately select and prioritize cross categories projects , (beverages savory, meat, confectionery ) that add the most value to The Company's customers.

Tracking of project progress relative to milestones and launch dates.
Cross categories projects management in Beverages, savory, meat and confectionery
Customer visit and industrial support
Process improvements in the plants
Recipe development and optimization
Innovation concept creation
Share a vision of excellence in R&D and create a road map for implementation.

Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in food science
At least minimum of 5-8 year's work experience in RD&A roles within a regulated food / ingredients industry.
Mix of office, laboratories and production/ processing experience
Business Performance Management
Strong understanding of the current market and customers
Ability to build relationships with, impact and influence effectively in a cross-functional highly matrixed environment.
Decisive, demonstrated ability to make difficult calls based on a combination of data, analysis and experience.

Understanding of company's near, mid and long-term priorities, with a sense of urgency to adapt to changing business situations.

Up to date knowledge of key competitors and their activities within the region
Well-developed interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to lead, motivate and develop talent