Sensory and Consumer Experience Team Lead

The Kraft Heinz Company; Nijmegen; On-site; EUR 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Fast career track

Competitive salary and bonus structure

Travel expense reimbursement

Room for new ideas

Job summary

The Kraft Heinz Company in Nijmegen seeks a Dynamic Sensory and Consumer Experience TeamLead to lead our Consumer Experience Core Platforms. You will guide a multi-disciplinary team across sensory research and consumer insights, ensuring insights translate into market-ready product and packaging strategies.

You will drive collaboration with R&D, Marketing, and senior leaders, manage resources and budgets, and foster a high-performance culture that delivers measurable impact on strategic projects.

Qualifications

• BSc in Food Science, Engineering or Sensory / Consumer Science or in Marketing or Innovation Studies with 13+ years of experience.
• International experience within a matrix organization.
• Strong background in quantitative and qualitative research and experience in workshop facilitations.
• Knowledge of Design thinking, lean startup and Design Principles methodologies applied to consumer products testing.

Responsibilities

• Lead and mentor a multi-cultural team of Consumer Experience researchers and sensory analysts.
• Strategize and collaborate with R&D, Marketing, and leadership to align product development routes and market strategies.
• Oversee external partnerships and agency roster for data collection and insights delivery.
• Translate market opportunities into actionable product and packaging design principles to drive category growth.
• Own and steer product and pack superiority programs with clear business impact.

Skills

Leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Stakeholder management

Strategic thinking

Mentoring & coaching

People management

Project prioritization

Education

BSc in Food Science, Engineering or Sensory / Consumer Science or Marketing or Innovation Studies

Tools

Design thinking

Lean Startup

Design principles

Workshop facilitation

Qualitative & quantitative research

Job description

Job Description

About Us

Kraft Heinz is a global food company with a delicious heritage. With iconic and emerging food and beverage brands around the world, we deliver the best taste, fun and quality to every meal table we touch.We’reon a mission to disrupt not only our own business, but the global food industry. A consumer obsession and unexpected partnerships fuel our progress as we drive innovation across every part of our company.

What’son the Menu:

We have a fantastic opportunity available for a Dynamic Sensory and Consumer experience TeamLeadto make a difference at Kraft Heinz. Heading our Core Product Platforms (Sauces and Meals),you will coverEPDM (Europe Pacific Developed Markets), collaborating with the zoneRD leadership team. Reporting to the Emerging and Developed Market Consumer & Culinary Experience Director, you will bemanagingthe Consumer Experience Core Platforms team.

This role is pivotal in ensuring our products resonate with market opportunities and consumer needs. Your primary responsibility will be to drive the organization in transforming insights into actionable products and packaging design principles toelevatemarket success.

Key Ingredients:

Leadership & Management:

• Lead and mentor a multi-cultural team of Consumer Experience researchers and sensory analysts.
• Manage resources to ensure impactful results, including outstanding strategic & technical mastery of the team.
• Ensure the right project pipeline prioritization and associated budgetneedsto deliver high impact on strategic projects.
• Foster a high-performance culture within the team, ensuring continuous professional development.

Strategy & Collaboration:

• Lead the Platforms Consumerexperiencestrategy to step change our consumer obsession agenda, connecting the dots across multiple functions.
• Be thevoice of the consumer throughSensory and Consumerexperienceinsights, connectingmulti-source of information toanticipatefuture consumer needs.
• Collaborate with R&D, Marketing, and leadership teams to align product developmentroutesand market strategies.
• Supervise the development and execution of the team’s strategic learning plans to enhance our portfolio penetration and develop new innovations to attract new consumers.

Stakeholder Management:

• Build andmaintainstrong relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
• Manage external partnerships to ensure consistency, quality, and agility.
• Engage with senior leadership, steering committees, and key company leaders torepresentand reflect the voice of the team, ensuring team perspectives are considered in strategic discussions and decision-making.

Learnings, Methodologies and Best Practices:

• Work in close collaboration with the Global Consumer ExperienceAccelerationLeadtoidentifycapability needs, define anddevelop new methodologies, and implementstandard processesthat enable the team to be successful, agile, and future-ready.
• Ensure synergies are created within the EMDM zone with other CX researchers, aligning on best practices, supporting specific needs with guidelines and cascading key insights as well as collecting the ones generated at the local levels.
• Enrich and manage the agency roster, regularly reporting back on partner performance to ensure reliability, consistency, and quality in data collection across studies.

Activity Responsibilities:

• Lead the development of proactive insights, continuous learning plans, and strategic programs that influence category growth and strengthen consumer-led decision-making.
• Guide the team in translating market opportunities and consumer needs into clear product and packaging design principles, leveraging design tools, methodologies, consumer research, and sensory capabilities. Ensure category “where to play” choices are converted into actionable insights that define “how to win”.
• Provide leadership oversight on product development follow-up, ensuring key design principles are embedded and risks are assessed to support informed decisions on product viability.
• Champion design sprint projects in partnership with our innovation coach, enabling the team to shape next-generation product development through strong design challenges.
• Own and steer the implementation of product and pack superiority programs, ensuring the right level of focus, discipline, and business impact.

• BSc in Food Science, Engineering or Sensory / Consumer Science or in Marketing or Innovation Studies with 13+ years of experience
• Proven experience in the field of Consumer Technical Insights, ConsumereXperince, Cognitive science, Economical Science and Sensory Science, with an established track record within consumer / FMCG / retail industries on the client side – ideally with food categories experience
• International experience within a matrix organization.
• Strong background in quantitative and qualitative research and experience in workshop facilitations. Display a broad & diverse range of knowledge/applicationskills across the full range of sensory and consumer research disciplines.
• Knowledge of Design thinking, lean start up and Design Principals methodologies applied to consumer products testing.

What we offer you / You deserve

• A fast career track like only few other companies can match;
• A competitive salary and excellent bonus structure (above market);
• Reimbursement travel expenses;
• Always room for new ideas; if you have a good idea, please let us know, and we can set it in action

Why Us?

We grow our people to grow our business. We champion great people who bring ambition, curiosity, and high performance to the table as the guardians of our beloved and nostalgic brands. Good is not good enough. We choose greatness every day by challenging the ordinary and making bold decisions. All while celebrating our wins – and our failures – as we work together to lead the future of food.

Challenging the status quo takes talent. We invest in your purpose and potential by developing skills and nurturing strengths that leave a legacy on our business and a lasting impact on your career. Because great people make great companies, and we’regrowing something great here at Kraft Heinz.

We hope you find a seat at our table!

Location(s)

Nijmegen

Kraft Heinz is an Equal Opportunity Employer – Underrepresented Ethnic Minority Groups/Women/Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity and other protected classes