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Senior Director, Product Development
The Senior Director of Product Development will champion Global Development & Innovation's (GDI) mission to build, enhance and protect superior consumer experiences. This role leads a team of approximately ten scientists and engineers responsible for the technical product development in North America of the sparkling and alcohol beverage categories including leading brands like Cola-Cola, Sprite, Fanta, Topo Chico Hard Seltzer, Simply Spiked and Jack & Coke.
The ideal candidate will have a strong track record in:
- Developing and launching successful new products.
- Aligning cross-functional stakeholders around a shared innovation vision.
- Leading dynamic teams to execute a diverse portfolio of projects with excellence.
This leader must demonstrate strong Growth Behaviors and possess the ability to work effectively across both technical and non-technical teams, including Research & Experimentation, Marketing, Commercial, Supply Chain Operations, Human Insights, Technical Consumer Research, Supply Chain Operations, Finance, Legal and external Suppliers.
Key Responsibilities:
- Technical Expertise: Strong knowledge of Food Science and Beverage Technology including a foundation in food chemistry and an understanding of ingredient functionality. Experience in formulation design and beverage processing methods including how to scale-up from bench to pilot to full production.
- Visionary Thinking: Articulate a future state for beverage creation including the future role of digitization. Lead the team in thinking beyond current limitations to explore new and innovative methods.
- Strategic Leadership: Work cross-functionally to align key stakeholders on strategic plans that deliver the company's Annual Business Performance (ABP) and Long-Range Planning (LRP). Build and motivate the technical resources to deliver these ambitions.
- Team Leadership: Build and motivate a high performing team of technical product developers and subject matter-experts (SMEs) that are appropriately connected with internal and external stakeholders and driving our business priorities.
- Stakeholder Engagement: Shape and inspire technical strategy by developing an excellent rapport with colleagues and an earned status as a recognized leader. Understand system needs and capabilities to appropriately influence innovation decisions. Negotiation and enforce as necessary technical requirements with stakeholders.
- Global Mindset: Cultivate a global perspective within the team by building rapport at all levels with our global network. Leverage the global system to drive scale and fast adoption of new technologies.
- Safety & Compliance: Champion safety programs and ensure all products comply with food safety best practices and regulatory requirements.
Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Food Science, Chemistry, or related field
- 15+ years of work experience that built advanced knowledge in product development and demonstrated strong leadership and team building skills.
- Strong communication skills, with the ability to influence stakeholders at all levels.
- Proficient business acumen and a global mindset.
- Basic understanding of Safety and Regulatory Affairs.
Pay Range:
$176,000 – $199,000
Base pay offered may vary depending on geography, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. A full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the position, is offered.
Annual Incentive Reference Value Percentage:
30
Annual Incentive reference value is a market-based competitive value for your role. It falls in the middle of the range for your role, indicating performance at target.
Our Purpose and Growth Culture:
We are taking deliberate action to nurture an inclusive culture that is grounded in our company purpose, to refresh the world and make a difference. We act with a growth mindset, take an expansive approach to what’s possible and believe in continuous learning to improve our business and ourselves. We focus on four key behaviors – curious, empowered, inclusive and agile – and value how we work as much as what we achieve. We believe that our culture is one of the reasons our company continues to thrive after 130+ years. Visit Our Purpose and Vision to learn more about these behaviors and how you can bring them to life in your next role at Coca-Cola.
We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and do not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, sex, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, status as a veteran, and basis of disability or any other federal, state or local protected class.
