Job details

Director R&D Innovation Process & Program Management

The Director, R&D Innovation Process and Program Management will have a great opportunity to shape how we manage innovation at Ingredion. In this role, you will be part of the Growth Portfolio Team and be responsible for how we manage our innovation pipeline. You will collaborate with other leaders in the company to shape the end-to-end innovation process and play a critical role in the implementation and management of the new process. In addition, you will lead the team of Global Program Managers, who are critical enablers for our big innovation programs.

We are looking for a leader willing to roll-up their sleeves, equally comfortable in conversations about the strategic shaping of our innovation portfolio and in conversation about the details of how we will implement new processes. If you are passionate about food, have experience shaping innovation organizations, and want to lead a wonderful team, please read on!

As the Director, R&D Innovation Process and Program Management you will be responsible for:

Shaping how we manage our innovation pipeline

Lead a cross-functional team to define how we manage the end-to-end innovation process, from ideation through product launch
Define and implement systems and processes that support this vision for end-to-end innovation, including:
- Facilitating finding bigger bolder innovation bets
- Early de-risking of project ideas
- Intentional resourcing of ideas entering the innovation pipeline
- Active management of the innovation pipeline through our stage gate process
- Close tracking of new product performance once products are launched

Collaborating with business and marketing colleagues to support innovation sales

Be the go-to person for information on the status of projects
Facilitate alignment of project business cases by bringing together marketing, sales, and finance colleagues
Define innovation sales goals for upcoming years, in partnership with finance, based on our innovation funnel

Owning our portfolio and project management processes and tools

Select a system for program management and a system for project management
Become a key user for the system
Champion the use of the new system by helping new team members get up to speed
Drive use of the system so we have a single source of truth
Own the analysis and visualization of our innovation pipeline; proactively finding areas that need attention and working with leadership to address emerging issues
Lead stage gate process and drive towards continuous improvement
Work with project teams to prepare for reviews

Leading the program management team

Manage a team of ~5 program managers
Coach and support them in their professional development
Deploy program managers to support our largest innovation programs
Define a career path for innovation program managers at Ingredion, and
Work with innovation project managers to improve our project management capabilities.

The Director R&D Innovation Process and Program Management is well-suited for you if you:

Can effectively work in a matrixed organization,
Can deal well with ambiguity,
Exhibit good interpersonal and communication skills,
Are self-motivated,
Handle pressure well,
Have a high level of enthusiasm for the job, and
Possess leadership, sound judgement, and decision-making authority

Qualified candidates will have:

A technical degree with 10+ years of innovation management experience; ability to develop and translate strategy into actionable innovation plans
Significant relevant experience navigating complex organizations and driving change in such an environment through your team
Significant relevant experience working with virtual and/or matrix teams and ability to effectively lead/communicate/collaborate in this environment.
Proven portfolio and project management experience with large global projects of varying degrees of complexity, including a thorough understanding of how to interpret business needs and translate them into operational requirements
Proven experience and proficiency with different project management methodologies and frameworks
Strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills required.
Strong business acumen
A ‘completer-finisher’ taking accountability for ideas from inception to delivery, in an environment that requires robust metrics to confirm success
Excellent verbal and written communication skills and the ability to interact professionally with a diverse group of stakeholders
Comfortable at managing risk, complexity, diversity, and ambiguity
Prior experience managing diverse teams and developing people
Prior experience in the food industry is a plus

Ingredion provides accommodations to job applicants with disabilities throughout the hiring process. If a job applicant requires an accommodation during the application process or through the selection process, we will work with the applicant to meet the job applicant's accommodation needs.

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We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, age, national origin, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status, military status, or disability status.

Relocation Available:

Yes, Within Country

By Ingredion

We bring the potential of people, nature and technology together to make life better. That’s our purpose. We are all IN to make life better! Every day, Ingredion employees bring their skill, creativity & passion together to deliver ingredient s...

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FUNDING

Private

INDUSTRY

Food & Beverage Manufacturing

TEAM SIZE

10000+

LOCATION

Hybrid, based in Westchester, IL

DATE POSTED