External Collaboration & Innovation Director Grooming & Beauty

Job Title

External Collaboration & Innovation Director Grooming & Beauty

Job Description

External Collaboration & Innovation Director Grooming & Beauty

We are seeking an innovative & dynamic External Collaboration & Innovation Director. You will lead the strategic development and execution of external innovation partnerships to enhance our R&D capabilities and drive breakthrough innovation. You will be responsible for identifying, cultivating, and managing collaborations with external parties—including customers, academic institutions, startups, and industry partners—to co-create value and accelerate innovation beyond the front-end stage.

Your role:

• Strategic Ecosystem Engagement: Shape and maintain a deep understanding of the external innovation landscape, including trends in technology, consumer behavior, and competitive intelligence.
• Partnership Development: Identify and establish strategic collaborations with external partners to unlock innovation opportunities aligned with business priorities.
• Innovation Scouting: Lead scouting efforts for emerging technologies, IP opportunities, and co-development prospects that can be integrated into the Grooming & Beauty innovation pipeline.
• Cross-functional Integration: Collaborate closely with internal teams across Front-End Innovation, Digital Solutions & AI, and User Experience & Insights and category programs to ensure external inputs are embedded into the innovation lifecycle.
• Thought Leadership: Represent the organization in external forums, innovation networks, and industry consortia to position the company as a leader in collaborative innovation.
• Competitive understanding and awareness: Support G&B business categories maintaining understanding of competitive moves and intentions
• IP and proprietary protection: support business programs and teams delivering foresights based on IP and competitor knowledge; support execution of control point delivery and drive protection against breaching those
• Team Leadership: Lead a multidisciplinary team including project leaders, senior development engineers, and data analysts focused on external innovation initiatives.

You're the right fit if:

• Master’s degree or higher in Engineering, Innovation Management, Business, or a related field.
• 10+ years of experience in R&D, innovation strategy, or external partnerships, preferably in consumer health, beauty, or technology sectors.
• Proven track record of building and managing successful external collaborations.
• Strong understanding of digital, AI, and user-centric innovation methodologies.
• Experience working with product development, marketing, and design stakeholders in a global matrix environment.
• Excellent strategic thinking, communication, and stakeholder management skills.
• A collaborative leadership style that inspires and empowers teams.
• A strong drive to innovate and challenge the status quo.
• Strategic thinker with a hands-on approach to execution.

How we work together
We believe that we are better together than apart. For our office-based teams, this means working in-person at least 3 days per week.
Onsite roles require full-time presence in the company’s facilities.
Field roles are most effectively done outside of the company’s main facilities, generally at the customers’ or suppliers’ locations.


About Philips
We are a health technology company. We built our entire company around the belief that every human matters, and we won't stop until everybody everywhere has access to the quality healthcare that we all deserve. Do the work of your life to help the lives of others.
• Learn more about our business.
• Discover our rich and exciting history.
• Learn more about our purpose.

If you’re interested in this role and have many, but not all, of the experiences needed, we encourage you to apply. You may still be the right candidate for this or other opportunities at Philips. Learn more about our culture of impact with care here.