Head of Research & Development, the Netherlands

Koninklijke Verkade nv; Zaandam; On-site; EUR 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Koninklijke Verkade, part of pladis, seeks an experienced Head of R&D for the Netherlands to lead the local R&D team in Zaandam and drive the region's product development agenda.

You will own end-to-end innovation, manage cross-functional teams, and collaborate with UK & Europe LT while upholding quality standards and Winning Traits.

Qualifications

• Degree in Food Science, Food Technology, Chemistry, Engineering or related scientific discipline.
• Advanced degree desirable.
• Significant FMCG R&D leadership experience (roughly 5+ years) and 10 years in FMCG food category, preferably baked snacks.
• Fluent English; Dutch desirable.
• Strong product development and commercialization track record.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Netherlands R&D strategic pipeline, including innovation, renovation and tech productivity projects.
• Drive end-to-end product development from ideation to launch.
• Map technology opportunities for Zaandam site aligned with consumer demand.
• Act as custodian for Verkade and Sultana brands and guardrails.
• Oversee external partners to meet consumer needs; participate in NL LT.
• Provide leadership across formulation, ingredients, processing technology and product performance.
• Coach and develop the Netherlands R&D team; foster high-performance, inclusive culture.
• Contribute as active member of UK & Europe R&D LT.
• Deliver innovation objectives and successful product launches.
• Develop technical capability within the team.

Skills

Leadership

R&D Leadership

Product development

FMCG experience

Team management

English fluency

Dutch desirable

AI tools

Education

Degree in Food Science/Engineering

Advanced degree desirable

Tools

Microsoft Office

AI Assistants/Agents tools

Job description

Want to help us bring happiness to the world? Want to join an ambitious and fast growing global biscuits and confectionery business investing heavily in iconic global brands, infrastructure and people? Then this is the place for you.

We are seeking to recruit for the role of Head of R&D for pladis’ Netherlands region, based at their local office and manufacturing site in Zaandam, Netherlands. The role will be accountable for the Netherlands R&D team in delivering the R&D agenda for this region on time and in full as pladis seeks to accelerate recent growth performance.

• Full time

As proud bakers and chocolatiers and custodians of iconic global brands, we don’t compromise on the quality of ingredients in our products or on the people we hire. We are looking for entrepreneurial spirits who share our passion for bringing happiness to our consumers and who embody our Winning Traits.

To succeed at pladis you need to be purpose-led, resilient and positive to succeed here because we expect pace and agility, we insist on collaboration and demand accountability. If that is your thing, then pladis offers global ambition, a clear Vision and roadmap for success, challenge, and unrivalled opportunities to learn and make an impact.

The Challenge

The position entails

The role is primarily product development and commercialization focused, and therefore by association requires very strong formulation and processing competency in food manufacturing. As the role involves stewardship of a product development team, candidates should have strong interpersonal and management skills in order to coach and develop.

Key responsabilities

Innovation & Product Development

• Take a lead role in developing and executing the Netherlands R&D strategic pipeline on time in full, consisting of innovation, renovation and technical productivity project pipelines for Netherlands.
• Drive end-to-end product development from ideation through launch.
• Technology mapping for Zaandam site identifying opportunities and potential white space, aligned with consumer demands.
• Custodian for Verkade and Sultana brands and brand identity guardrails.
• Technical oversight of 3rd parties offering incremental technology capabilities to Zaandam in order to meet consumer needs.
• Member of the Zaandam NL LT.

Technical Leadership

• Provide leadership and clear direction across formulation, ingredients, processing technology, and product performance.
• Champion scientific rigour, and continuous improvement.
• Lean Six Sigma fundamental understanding mandatory, high level qualifications desireable.
• Lead, coach and develop the Netherlands R&D team.
• Build a high-performance and inclusive culture.
• Contribute as active member of UK & Europe R&D LT.

What you will bring

• Degree in Food Science, Food Technology, Chemistry, Engineering or a related scientific discipline.
• Advanced degree desirable.
• Significant (typically 5+ years) FMCG R&D leadership experience, 10 years in FMCG food category, ideally baked snacks.
• Strong product development and commercialization track record.
• Languages: English fluent mandatory, Dutch / Turkish Desirable
• High competency in Microsoft office systems
• High competency in AI Assistants, Agents, & Competency tools.

Core Competency Alignment: Product Development

Consumer-led product design, baking and chocolate formulation, innovation pipeline delivery, process development, commercialization, technical leadership and continuous improvement.

Success Measures

• Delivery of innovation objectives
• Successful product launches
• Product quality and consumer satisfaction
• Development of technical capability

Who are we?

Koninklijke Verkade, with brands like Verkade and Sultana, is part of pladis since 2016. pladis is one of the world's leading snacking companies.

pladis succeeds because of people like you. People who wake up in the morning excited to get to work. Who believe in themselves and their potential. Who want to grow as part of a global community of like-minded colleagues.

pladis colleagues care deeply about being the best. About winning, staying the course and never giving up. Whichever part of the world we’re in, whatever our role. Whether we’re baking, working in HR, finance, marketing or many other areas – we win as one pladis team.

And while we’re all unique, we share something in common. It’s the code by which we live and work. We call it our ‘Winning Traits & Behaviours’: Purpose Led, Agile, Collaborative, Positive and Resilient. Five aspects of pladis life that define who we are, how we interact and get things done.