Director of Research Development

Greencore USA; Charlotte (NC); On-site; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Greencore USA in Charlotte, NC seeks a Director of Research & Development to lead end-to-end product development for key grocery and e-commerce customers. This onsite role partners with Sales to translate strategy into viable, launch-ready products across categories, driving growth and customer satisfaction.

You will manage a cross-functional team, shape the R&D pipeline, stay ahead of food trends, and ensure projects meet timelines and financial targets in a fast-paced environment.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of total experience in R&D roles including ownership of customer accounts
• Excellent interpersonal skills with internal and external stakeholders
• Entrepreneurial spirit with ability to launch new products and manage customer relationships
• Experience developing R&D and category account plans across challenges
• Strong commercial acumen to drive year-on-year growth
• Willingness to travel up to 25% of time

Responsibilities

• Maintain robust customer relationships and align R&D with customer needs
• Lead category management and market awareness to guide R&D briefs
• Collaborate across functions to ensure smooth R&D deliverables
• Lead and support the team to deliver development plans on schedule
• Foster innovation and culinary awareness with data-backed concepts
• Oversee development cycle and pipeline management to meet customer expectations

Skills

Customer relationships

Category management

Team leadership

Innovation

Project management

Food industry knowledge

Job description

Product Development is a fundamental stage to growing the US business with current and new customers. The role is exciting and rewarding as the face of Greencore USA to the largest grocery and e-commerce retailers in the United States, in the fast-growing fresh prepared foods category within the grocery store. This is a hands-on, operationally oriented environment that emphasizes teamwork and open collaboration with a strong customer focus.

The Director of R&D will be assigned and work alongside the Sales team to develop products in line with the sales/business strategies and end-to-end ownership of key existing customer relationships. As the key touchpoint with the customers across all Greencore USA categories, this spans from working with the sales team to creating a portfolio of products leading to continued sales growth, ensuring coherent plans to execute seamless launches for our customers and commercially viable products on time, in liaison between internal Greencore Operations and the customer. The candidate will understand customer business needs and build short and long-term strategies that support those customer goals while achieving company sales targets and financial expectations. Greencore USA is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The role is to be based onsite in Charlotte, North Carolina.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

• Customer Relationships: have robust overall awareness of customer development requirements and their brand values, has regular, effective communication with customers
• Category Management and Market Awareness: Leads projects working with the sales manager to have a thorough understanding of category management and how to apply it to R&D briefs. Can initiate/lead internal briefs and have overall awareness of relevant product ranges in the market, monitors and benchmarks product quality, and escalation issues, when necessary, applies all information gathered to help shape the R&D plan
• Business Knowledge and Teamwork: work effectively across key functions/business units, has good working relationships with all team members to ensure smooth deliverables for R&D activity, can recognize and implement solutions to problems, is constantly looking for better ways to do things, takes knowledge and experience from previous roles to drive positive improvements
• Leadership: managers and support the team in effectively delivering the development plan to the highest standard, ensuring delivery of the project in line with the critical path and customer expectations. Attention to detail, fast-paced, positive, dynamic, creative, tenacious, resilient, and aligned with Greencore values
• Innovation and Culinary Awareness: has sound awareness of relevant food trends, uses all mediums to generate ideas, and can funnel, prioritize, demonstrate culinary knowledge through panels, menu ideas, and brainstorming, and backs up concepts with data. Works with chefs internally and has a strong network to pull group/external ideas from. Foster a culture of innovation and continuous improvement within the R&D team. Stay current with emerging technologies and industry trends to drive technological advancements
• Development Cycle and Pipeline Management: responsible for ensuring all product development is clear and accurate on project management documentation in line with customer and business expectations, can creatively find solutions to problems, and clearly communicates when something is off schedule and the impact on the business.

QUALIFICATIONS

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE

• Minimum of 10 years’ total experience in R&D roles, including at least 5 years of direct responsibility in the ownership and management of customer accounts
• Excellent interpersonal skills with internal and external stakeholders; comfortable liaising with both groups regularly, with energy and enthusiasm
• Entrepreneurial spirit: able to act on own initiative and work independently while leveraging internal and external connections to successfully launch new products and new customer relationships. Work at pace with high personal accountability to drive incremental year-on-year growth. Be able to think critically when working on all projects
• Experience developing R&D and category account plans, considering current challenges and future opportunities, and implementing short, medium, and long-term R&D plans
• Resourceful: Be well networked in retail space, think creatively to solve internal problems and find new business opportunities with minimal costs and high-value sales results
• Passion for food: in touch with growing food trends and product innovations
• Strong attention to detail with financial understanding, able to clearly present and drive business meetings
• Skill in balancing multiple priorities, customer assignments, product categories, and projects while consistently delivering against agreed milestones and deadlines
• Ability to travel up to 25% of work schedule