Senior User Experience & Consumer Insights Team Leader - 12 months assignment

Danone; Utrecht; Hybrid; EUR 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual bonus

Pension

30 days annual leave

Health care allowance

Gym discount

Wellness initiatives

Learning opportunities

Job summary

Danone Utrecht Hybrid is seeking a Senior User Experience & Consumer Insights Team Leader to bring the voice of the user into innovation across our Medical Nutrition portfolio. You will define and lead the UX strategy for Adult Medical Nutrition and Specialized Pediatrics, translating insights into priorities that drive product and packaging innovation.

In this international leadership role you will partner with R&I, Marketing, Design and external experts, building a team focused on consumer‑led

Qualifications

• Significant senior-level experience in consumer insights, sensory science, user experience, or related fields.
• Proven ability to translate consumer and user insights into innovation strategy and outcomes.
• Strong people leadership with team development and prioritization across multiple needs.
• Ability to influence senior stakeholders and lead change in a multinational matrix organization.
• Excellent communication and storytelling to challenge established thinking constructively.

Responsibilities

• Build strong relationships with R&I, Marketing, and external suppliers to align UX strategy with business goals.
• Define and deliver the sensory and consumer insights roadmap to inspire growth.
• Drive consumer empathy and put the consumer at the heart of product and pack development.
• Lead and develop the UX team through transformation toward consumer-led innovation.

Skills

Senior leadership

UX strategy

Consumer insights

Stakeholder influence

Qualitative research

Quantitative research

Communication and storytelling

Job description

About The Job

Utrecht/Hybrid

12 months full-time assignment

Help shape food and nutrition experiences that make a meaningful difference for adults, children, patients, and other consumers with specific nutritional needs. As Senior User Experience & Consumer Insights Team Leader, you will bring the voice of the user into innovation, guiding the development of superior products, packaging, claims, and consumer experiences across our Medical Nutrition portfolio.

In this senior leadership role, you will define and lead the User Experience strategy for Adult Medical Nutrition and Specialized Pediatrics. You will translate consumer, sensory, and behavioral insights into clear innovation priorities that support category growth and strengthen the relevance and competitiveness of our products.

You will work closely with Research & Innovation, Marketing, Strategy and Insights, design teams, external research partners, and the global User Experience community. As a member of the Specialized Nutrition User Experience Management Team, reporting to the Specialized Nutrition User Experience Director, you will also lead and develop a team through a broader transformation toward more consumer‑led innovation.

You will develop and drive the implementation of the UX strategy and priorities.The main missions will be to:

1. Engage Marketing and R&I teams towards User Experience strategy to deliver category growth through superior products and meaningful claims/campaigns.
2. Influence the R&I transformation towards user centricity by inspiring with user insights and competitive understanding to co‑build superior innovations.
3. Ensure awesome user experience in every product we launch; by uncovering sensory and user experience drivers.
4. Empower the UX team towards the transformation with clear focus and prioritization.

As such, your main responsibilities will be to:

• Build a strong relationship with your business partners R&I, S&I, Marketing and external suppliers
  • Constructively influence key stakeholders to build a common strategy, integrate the user voice in projects, from insight hunting to the adequate validation process.
  • Build and nurture collaborations with suppliers (Sensory & Consumer Agencies, Design Agencies, etc…) and consumers.
  • Actively work in partnership with global UX and strengthen the UX community locally: deploy the strategy, build & share best practices, develop the adequate skill set and right level of expertise.
• Define, lead and deliver the sensory and consumer insights roadmap to inspire and impact business growth
  • Contribute to the co‑building of the UX Adult and Specialized Peads strategies in close collaboration with Research & Innovation (R&I) Innovation, Design and Development Centre (IDDC) and Marketing teams.
  • Be the catalyst of a consumer centric organization and drive consumer empathy. Be the change agent to put the consumer at the heart of product & pack development to ensure outstanding and unique products experience in line with the positioning of our brands for greater market success.

About You

This role requires you to work in the interface with multi‑disciplinary teams and key capabilities in R&I, to be a real business partner to the SN marketing teams. Given this, you should have strong leadership in R&I together with a passion for bringing the consumer voice into the business. You will have the ability to influence and lead the change with key business partners, as well as engaging your team towards transformation. Enabling Danone to be both consumer and science led.

As such, you bring:

• Significant senior‑level experience (aprox. 15 years) in consumer insights, sensory science, user experience, behavioral research, or Research & Innovation within the FMCG, food, nutrition, healthcare, or pharmaceutical sectors.
• Proven experience translating consumer and user insights into innovation strategy, product development, or commercial outcomes.
• Strong people leadership experience, including team development, capability building, and prioritization across multiple business needs.
• Demonstrated ability to influence senior stakeholders and lead change in an international, cross‑functional matrix organization.
• Strong understanding of qualitative and quantitative consumer research methodologies. Have a passion for bringing the voice of the users into product design and for superiority.
• Business‑oriented critical thinking, with the ability to connect research findings to category growth, product superiority, and competitive advantage.
• Excellent communication and storytelling skills, with the confidence to challenge established thinking constructively.

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:

• 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, nursing 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.

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