Manager, Personal Care Innovation, Porto Porto

Manager, Personal Care Innovation, Porto
Porto
Porto, Porto District, Portugal

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Manager, Personal Care Innovation, Porto

Client: Elementis

Location: Porto, Portugal

Job Category: Other

EU work permit required: Yes

Job Reference: 260c48d54cc2

Job Views: 28

Posted: 23. 01. 2025

Expiry Date: 09. 03. 2025

Job Description:

Job Description Summary

The Personal Care Innovation Manager leads and drives product innovations for our Personal Care business. It is a pivotal role in defining the business' global product strategy, ensuring a competitive edge in the market, and ultimately driving revenue growth through the creation of
- edge personal care ingredients and technologies that meet both customer and industry demands.

Position in Organization

Reports to: Global Director of Innovation - Personal Care

Direct Reports: x2 direct reports

Department: Global Innovation Research and Development

Responsibilities

1. You lead and work with a team of synthetic chemists to generate novel compositions at bench scale and assist in
   - up of technology (‘make, test, modify’), fostering a culture of teamwork and innovation, and providing direction to achieve research objectives.
2. You provide guidance and technical direction on project briefs, ingredient composition, and lab trials, ensuring the development of
   - edge personal care products that meet quality and performance standards.
3. You identify, coordinate, and work with internal and external research, academic and new venture partners to discover and present new technology and innovation platforms to the leadership team.
4. You translate voice of the customer into actionable strategies, ensuring that research and development efforts align with market demands and consumer preferences and requirements.
5. You lead multiple projects simultaneously, overseeing project timelines, resources, and budgets to deliver successful outcomes.
6. You communicate the Research & Innovation product vision, new technologies, product ideas, and new ingredients to higher management and to
   - functional teams in order to bring proactive thinking regarding product development.
7. You perform an active role in new product brainstorming sessions with Marketing and R&D, developing new concepts and presenting ideas to Marketing.

Decision making

The preferred candidate would have the authority to make decisions related to technical direction, experimental methodologies, formulation approaches, and product development processes. You can also make decisions related to project execution, including timelines, milestones, and resource allocation within budget. Higher-level approvals are required for those related to significant budget allocations, strategic shifts, or major collaborations that have substantial financial or
- term implications.

Job Competencies

1. Strategic mindset: Having a strategic mindset allows you to set clear direction and vision, identify market trends and opportunities, ensuring product development efforts are strategically positioned to meet future consumer needs and aligned with the company’s overall strategy.
2. Cultivates innovation: By promoting an innovative mindset, you foster a culture of creativity and exploration within the team, encouraging them to think outside the box and generate novel ideas, and drive continuous improvement in products, processes, and technologies.
3. Communicates effectively: Effective communication enables you to articulate the strategic goals, provide technical guidance, ensure everyone is aligned with the company’s objectives, facilitate collaboration within and across teams, ensure ideas and feedback are shared openly and ultimately enhance the quality of innovation efforts. Excellent presentation skills preferred.
4. Plan and align: Planning and aligning to execute is essential for managing multiple projects effectively. It enables you to allocate resources, ensure research activities are synchronized with project timelines, execute projects with precision, maximize productivity, and achieve desired outcomes.
5. Collaboration: Effective collaboration ensures you can harness the collective expertise and insights of various stakeholders including Global R&D teams, Marketing, regulatory affairs, and external research partners. You can facilitate the exchange of ideas, align diverse perspectives, promote synergy, and accelerate the product development process.
6. Customer focus: Being customer obsessed and understanding their pain points to develop
   - centric solutions.

Technical Knowledge and Skills

1. Advanced understanding of chemical/functional relationships
2. Advanced knowledge in chemical synthesis, especially related to chemical processes used for manufacturing of personal care rheology modifiers, polymers, and emulsifiers
3. Advanced knowledge of the personal care industry and key trends
4. Intermediate knowledge of the principles of green chemistry
5. Intermediate awareness of regulatory guidelines and restrictions for new product development

Position Requirements

1. Education: BS or higher in Chemistry or Chemical Engineering
2. Experience: 10+ years of R&D Personal Care experience and 5+ years of
   - on experience in advanced materials or specialty chemicals industrial research and/or new product development. 3+ years leadership experience.
3. IT Skills: Proficiency in Microsoft Office programs, with a strong capability for presentation creation, Project management software
4. Language Skills: English. Portuguese is not mandatory.
5. Working arrangements: Minimum 3 days in the office, 5 days for lab roles
6. Traveling required: Trade shows, customer visits as required