Chief Research & Development Officer

SUNTORY BEVERAGE & FOOD ASIA PTE. LTD.; Singapore; On-site; SGD 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading beverage company in Singapore is seeking a Senior R&D Manager to drive innovation, manage complex research projects, and develop strategic product pipelines. The ideal candidate will have over 15 years in the food or beverage industry, with at least 8 years in a management role. Responsibilities include overseeing R&D budget planning and execution, fostering a culture of continuous improvement, and ensuring alignment with business strategies. The role requires a Master's or Doctorate in Science and offers a dynamic work environment.

Qualifications

• Over 15 years in food or beverage industry, with minimum 8 years as a people manager.
• Experience managing complex R&D programs on a global scale.
• Capability to build hypotheses based on market/consumer trends.

Responsibilities

• Develop robust R&D strategy aligned with business goals.
• Plan R&D budget and track project KPIs.
• Oversee collaboration between R&D teams to meet product readiness.

Skills

Technical knowledge in food & beverage

Leadership and team management

Market trend analysis

Strong communication skills

Problem-solving abilities

Agility and open-mindedness

Emotional intelligence

Education

Master's or Doctorate in Science

Job description

Job Responsibilities

• Develop robust R&D strategy to generate short term strong outputs and also to create mid-term strategic product pipeline, prioritizing fewer bigger bets in line with business strategy
• Plan research and development budget, in line with Business Partner and region MTP
• Work closely with the team to identify new opportunities for business growth, and make R&D proposal to contribute on mid-term plan
• Drive innovation through enhancing and leading collaboration internally and externally
• Drive sustainability agenda through portfolio transformation by utilizing technology
• Monitor core NPD projects (esp. Core Brand Innovation/ New Category Innovation) and ensure the product readiness and launch on-time with achieving target KPI
• Oversee the collaboration between Region R&D and BU R&D team, and provide guidance on developing formula to meet both local preference and regional optimization
• Provide recommendations on adjustments required to make product more desirable and cost efficient, subsequently offering competitive advantage within the market
• Ensure to keep strong connection between Scientific Research (SR) and Product Development (PD) especially for Brands NPD
• Proactively identify and manage technical risks to ensure smooth project execution
• Lead to build systematic and efficient approach for formula governance
• Explore opportunities to leverage strong SR capability for Beverage PD
• Promote geographical expansion through compatible formula development (as much as possible) through defining project scope in early phase
• Ensure quality manage cycle for product design to meet Suntory quality standard.
• Manage any quality issue and incident for product design with Tokyo/Region/BU stakeholder
• Embed quality mindset into team and organization
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement within the team to identify opportunities for process improvements and implement best practices
• Define/clarify the organization R&R with relevance to business goal and challenges
• Arrange required/sufficient resources to build the right structure of R&D through optimum resource allocation, to execute the plan and achieve the target
• Continue seeking organizational improvement opportunity through strategy building/ people development/ organization optimization
• Lead the creation of a breakthrough-driven R&D culture that embraces challenges, promotes diversity, and drives change, while maintaining high-quality standards
• Ensure robust succession plan for key positions and key talent development

Job Requirements

• Master's degree or Doctor degree of science
• Over 15 years in food or beverage industry, and minimum 8 years of experience as people manager
• Experience in beverage/ health supplement category is preferred.
• Managing multiple & complex R&D program in global scale
• Consistent track record in delivering results, through great balance of technical skills & commercial acumen
• Create strong team to be relied upon by relevant functions
• Technical knowledge and experiences in food& beverage/ health supplement industry
• Capability to understand market/ consumer trend and build hypotheses
• Ability to communicate and manage well at all levels of the organization
• Open-minded, agile, and positive
• Inspires, motivates, and empowers others
• Builds trust, recognizes talent, and fosters growth
• Resilient, self-aware, and emotionally intelligent
• Comfortable navigating unknowns and encouraging collaboration