R&I Senior Team Leader Packaging - Fibre and Flexibles

Danone; Utrecht; Hybrid; EUR 105,000 - 125,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Yearly bonus

Premium pension

30 days annual leave

Monthly health care allowance

Gym discount

Job summary

Danone Utrecht is seeking a Senior Team Leader Packaging - Fibre & Flexibles to lead a high-performing packaging team and shape our global packaging strategy. You will influence senior stakeholders, drive innovation, and partner with manufacturing to scale sustainable solutions.

You bring deep packaging expertise, strategic thinking, and a proven track record in leading technical teams. This hybrid role interfaces with R&I, Operations, and Business units, delivering long-term value.

Qualifications

• Degree in Packaging, Materials Science, Engineering, or a related field.
• Significant experience in packaging innovation, development, or materials technologies.
• Deep expertise in fibre and flexible packaging technologies.
• Strong understanding of packaging development, industrialization, and manufacturing environments.
• Proven experience leading technical or innovation teams.
• Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills within complex organizations.
• Ability to translate technical complexity into clear business decisions.
• Passion for innovation, sustainability, and people development.
• Fluent in English.

Responsibilities

• Define and execute the fibre and flexible packaging strategy for Specialized Nutrition.
• Shape and deliver the global packaging innovation pipeline.
• Influence senior stakeholders across R&I, Operations, Quality, Procurement, and Business teams.
• Drive capability building and strengthen long-term competitive advantage in packaging.
• Act as a senior technical leader for fibre and flexible packaging technologies.
• Guide technical decisions and support teams in solving packaging challenges.
• Maintain partnerships with manufacturing sites for scale-up.
• Drive improvements in packaging performance, sustainability, quality, and cost.
• Lead and develop a high-performing packaging team.

Skills

Packaging leadership

Fibre & Flexibles

Stakeholder management

People leadership

Packaging development

Industrialization

Innovation leadership

English proficiency

Education

Degree in Packaging, Materials Science, Engineering, or related field

Job description

About The Job

Utrecht/Hybrid

Are you a packaging leader with deepexpertiseinfibreand flexible packaging? Do you combine technical credibility with the ability to inspire teams, influence senior stakeholders, and drive strategic decisions? If so, join Danone Specialized Nutrition as our next Senior Team Leader Packaging -Fibre& Flexibles and play a key role in shaping our packaging strategy, strengthening our technical capabilities, and developing a high-performing team.

At our Nutricia Research Center in Utrecht,you'll have the opportunity to influence the future of sustainable packaging innovation while working closely with business leaders, manufacturing sites, and technical experts across the globe.

Your Role

As Senior Team Leader Packaging -Fibre& Flexibles, you will lead a team of packaging specialists while providing strategic and technical leadership across the organization. You willequallydiscussfibreand flexible packaging technologies with technical experts,and influencelong-term innovation, investment, and capability decisions.You will help shape our packaging pipeline, build organizational capabilities, and ensure solutions are innovative, sustainable, scalable, and fit for future business needs.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic & Business Leadership

• Define and execute thefibreand flexible packaging strategy for Specialized Nutrition.

• Shape and deliver the global packaging innovation pipeline.

• Influence senior stakeholders across R&I, Operations, Quality, Procurement, and Business teams.

• Drive capability building and strengthen Danone's long-term competitive advantage in packaging.

Technical & Manufacturing Leadership

• Act as a senior technical leader for fibreand flexible packaging technologies.

• Guide technical decisions, challenge assumptions, and support teams in solving complex packaging challenges.

• Maintain close partnerships with manufacturing sites to ensure successful implementation and scale-up of packaging solutions.

• Drive improvements in packaging performance, sustainability, quality, and cost.

People Leadership

• Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing team of packaging experts.

• Foster a culture of innovation, collaboration, accountability, and continuous learning.

• Build future capabilities and support talent development within the team.

You will report to the R&I Specialized Nutrition Director of Packaging Innovation & Medical Device.

About You

You are a leader who combines deep packagingexpertisewith strategic thinking and strongpeopleleadership. You bring the credibility to engage technical experts, the influence to guide senior stakeholders, and the leadership to build high-performing teams. You enjoy staying close to both innovation and execution and are motivated by creatinglastingbusiness impact.

What You'll Bring

• Degree in Packaging, Materials Science, Engineering, ora related field.

• Significant experiencein packaging innovation, development, or materials technologies.

• Deepexpertiseinfibreand flexible packaging technologies.

• Strong understanding of packaging development, industrialization, and manufacturing environments.

• Proven experience leading technical or innovation teams.

• Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills within complex organizations.

• Ability to translate technical complexity into clear business decisions.

• Passion for innovation, sustainability, and people development.

• Fluent in English.

About Us

At Danone we are committed to our mission "bringing health, through food to as many people as possible". We are working together to make sure that our brands, like Nutricia and Nutrilon, create real benefits for people, communities and the planet. You will be part of one of the largest Certified B Corps in the world. Being B Corp means to be part of a select movement of companies verified to be meeting the highest standards of social and environmental criteria and using business as a force for good. One Planet. One Health.

Our state-of-the-art research and innovation center builds bridges between food and science and is global in reach, founded on over 125 years of experience in life & food science, technology and user experience and is at the forefront of pioneering advances in specialized nutrition.

We offer:

• The salary range for this role is €105.000 - €125.000 gross annually (including 8% holiday allowance). Your final offer will reflect your skills and experience while also ensuring alignment with our internal equity and salary framework.

• competitive salary and yearly bonus

• premium free pension

• 30 days of annual leave (with the opportunity to purchase more)

• monthly health care allowance

• discount on your gym membership

• initiatives focused on nutrition, physical, and mental health

• continuous learning opportunities through workshops, online courses and training sessions.

We put people at the center of everything we do. Bring your unique perspective, ambitions and ideas to the table – the impact you could make might surprise you. We are committed to embrace diversity, nurturing an inclusive workplace where every individual is valued; Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) is deeply embedded in Danone's DNA.

* All applications will be considered for a vacancy without discrimination based on ethnicity, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or any other characteristic protected by law.

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Need more information? Please contact Camila Grosso, Talent Manager via [e-mail]