Regional R&D Manager CEE

Vandemoortele; Łódź; On-site; PLN 260,000 - 360,000; Full time

Job summary

Vandemoortele in Poland seeks an experienced R&D leader to head the local R&D team focused on bakery products. You will drive development, reformulations, and product improvements, aligning with market needs and the central R&D roadmap.

You will build a robust innovation pipeline, coordinate prioritization with central R&D, and collaborate across Sales, Marketing, Manufacturing, and Supply Chain to maximize time-to-market and commercial impact.

Qualifications

• Master's degree in Food Technology or related field.
• At least 8 years of relevant experience in the food industry, bakery products preferred.
• Minimum 5 years in a people-management role with cross-functional R&D leadership.
• Experience with multinational customers and proven co-creation partnerships.
• Strong business mindset with decision-making and stakeholder influence.

Responsibilities

• Lead the local R&D team to deliver new products, reformulations, and improvements aligned with market needs and central R&D roadmap.
• Build and manage an innovation pipeline combining local initiatives with central R&D projects.
• Identify opportunities to optimize ingredients and processes to reduce costs while preserving quality.
• Develop and coach the local R&D team and foster an innovative, accountable culture.
• Collaborate with Commercial, Marketing, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, and Bakery Products Business Line; support customer meetings as regional technical partner.

Skills

Master's degree

Food industry exp

People management

Cross-functional R&D

Customer co-creation

Multinational customers

Decision making

Polish-English

Education

Master's degree in Food Technology

Job description

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Product development leadership: Lead the local R&D team of product developers to deliver new products, reformulations, and product improvements in line with market needs, commercial priorities, and the central R&D roadmap

Innovation & NPD pipeline: Build and manage a robust innovation pipeline combining locally driven initiatives with projects steered by central R&D. Coordinate prioritization and resource allocation to maximize time-to-market and commercial impact

Cost optimization: Identify and implement ingredient and process optimization opportunities to reduce product costs while maintaining or improving quality

People leadership: Develop and coach the local R&D team, foster a culture of innovation and accountability, and ensure effective knowledge transfer across the organization

Stakeholder management: Collaborate closely with Commercial, Marketing, Manufacturing, Supply Chain and the Bakery Products Business Line. Support commercial team during customers’ meetings. Act as the regional technical partner in customer co-development initiatives and work with the central R&D team on shared projects and knowledge exchange.

Candidate profile :

• You hold a Master's degree in Food Technology or a related field and combine this with at least 8 years of relevant experience within the food industry. Experience with bakery products is a strong asset.


• You have at least 5 years of experience in people management role, with cross functional R&D project leader background.


• You have experience working with multinational customers and a proven track record of customer co-creation and innovation partnerships.


• You have a mature business mindset, strong decision-making skills, and the ability to influence stakeholders across functions and organizational levels.


• You are proactive, energetic, and willing to challenge the status quo. You are a team player with a collaborative mindset, fostering strong cross-functional partnerships with sales & operations.


• You have excellent interpersonal and communication skills, both written and verbal, in Polish & English. Additional regional languages are considered an advantage.