Senior Director II, NA Sparkling & ARTD, GDI

R&D plays a crucial role in shaping the next chapter of growth for The Coca-Cola Company, we are looking for a leader to help drive that transformation. This role is a key enabler to turn bold ideas into meaningful impact and deliver a diverse portfolio of breakthrough innovations enabling to accelerate our growth.

This role is a key enabler in transforming bold ideas into meaningful impact, delivering a diverse portfolio of breakthrough innovations that accelerate growth. This leader will play a critical role in shaping the next chapter of growth for The Coca-Cola Company and lead the growth strategy to drive both top-line and bottom-line performance across North America's largest and most complex product categories.

The Senior Director is responsible for co-developing and guiding a multi-year innovation pipeline for Sparkling and ARTD in North America, in close partnership with NAOU Marketing VPs, Global Category GDI Leaders, and NAOU Strategy VPs. It also works closely with Trademark Coca-Cola Brand and Technical Leadership to ensure a strong NAOU innovation agenda with appropriate technical governance.

This leader will oversee a team of approximately ten product developers and commercialization managers, responsible for end-to-end technical product innovation across Flavored Sparkling, and ARTD beverage categories. This includes iconic brands such as Sprite, Fanta, and Jack & Coke, as well as emerging brands like Topo Chico Hard Seltzer and Simply Spiked.

Additionally, the role coordinates cross-functional technical expertise across Global and NAOU TI&SC-including Process Development, Consumer Research, Packaging, Regulatory, QSE, Supply Chain, Flavor Manufacturing, and CPS-to ensure seamless end-to-end execution.

• Apply transformative thinking to create innovative solutions within unconventional business processes, models, and capabilities, maintaining a comprehensive end-to-end view.
• Develop innovation strategies to deliver NAOU innovation pipeline for growth, productivity, and business continuity plans across multiple categories.
• Ensure technical efforts on category are informed by consumer insights, business models, and important technological trends to deliver advantaged solutions.
• Foster a culture of experimentation within the organization, manage the budget effectively, and ensure strategic initiative alignment with our overall goals and business plans.
• Collaborate closely with Research to Experimentation team to design, develop and commercialise scalable solutions for next generation of category products via rigorous due diligence (clinical trials, consumer research, and other scientific studies).
• Collaborate with global and NAOU SRA teams to get ahead of novel ingredients approval through appropriate agencies (FDA, EFSA etc.).
• Partner with supply chain and commercial leadership to leverage Stages & Gates routines to successfully deliver pipeline while managing risk.
• Prioritize and allocate resources to deliver committed plans through the stage gate process.
• Establish relationships and routines to share learnings cross functionally across TI&SC and with R&D Center peers in other OUs.
• Monitor external environment to identify threats and opportunities for portfolio.
• Manage competitive benchmarking in NAOU ensuring portfolio remains highly competitive.

• Deliver the company's ABP and LRP by working cross-functionally to align global and local executive level stakeholders on the NAOU product pipeline across multiple categories.
• Articulate a future state for beverage creation including the future role of digitisation.
• Influence executive level leaders to think beyond current limitations to explore new and innovative concepts and methods.
• Ensure technical efforts are informed by consumer insights, business models, and important technology trends to deliver advantaged solutions.
• Provide inspirational thought leadership and enable implementation of multi-year pipelines for competitive advantage.
• Cultivate a global perspective within the team by building rapport at all levels with our global network. Leverage the global system to drive scale and fast adoption of new technologies.
• Advanced collaboration skills:
  Ability to develop and maintain value added relationships with multiple constituencies including Coca-Cola system leaders and associates; bottlers; customers; suppliers; external stakeholders at multiple levels and on a global basis.
• Lead development of clear case for change, desired outcomes, accurate scope, clear roles and decision-making, and effective communication of the change.

• Build, develop and motivate a high performing team of technical product developers and SMEs that are appropriately connected with internal and external stakeholders and driving our business priorities.
• Manage resources effectively, including leading the allocation and prioritization of activities, budget requirements, performance…