Director, Functional Platform Leader

Job Description

Summary:

Director, Functional Platform Leader About the Research Team:
The Research to Experimentation (RtE) function in TI&SC delivers scalable and impactful innovations in the areas of ingredients, packaging, and dispensing (package-less) that grow, sustain, and protect our business. The Flavor and Ingredients Research Application (FIRA) team is part of RtE and creates a compelling consumer holistic experience through flavor & ingredients. Our Functional ingredient Research, Application and Ingredient Delivery team (FRAD) is researching, developing, and validating the edge creation functional ingredient solutions for beverage application in order to address consumer wellness and functional benefit need.

Job Description

Summary:

The Director of Functional Ingredient Research & Application will explore, identify and translate the relevant neuroscience knowledge and advance including molecular & cellular neuroscience, neurochemistry, cognitive neuroscience, or neurology, into functional ingredient solution and beverage innovation for cognition, relaxation and sleep benefits. This role will also advance our knowledge and expertise in areas such as (but not limited to) brain and gut axis, and healthy aging areas, striving to unlock transformational opportunities for differentiation in functional beverages.

This role has global scope, and we are looking for a thought leader with technical subject matter expert and influencing skills. The ideal candidate will have a strong track record in combining deep scientific and academic expertise with hands-on experience in application or ingredient industry and will bring leadership acumen to develop and execute a robust research strategy and pipeline across short, mid, and long-term horizons.

The individual will play a pivotal role in driving innovation in functional ingredient research while collaborating across global internal and external networks to deliver impactful technical innovation, aligned with The Coca-Cola Company's strategic vision and OU innovation need.  What You’ll Do for Us

Key Responsibilities:

Initiate and form scientific hypothesis as research exploration direction based on consumer’s needs and problem to solve.  Explore, identify and translate the relevant science in neuroscience for functional ingredient solution for beverage application, through the collaboration with internal and external technical network, including universities, institutes, start-ups, technical providers, and ingredient suppliers.  Develop, execute and land the platform research strategy and pipeline (short-mid-long-term) for functional ingredients innovation under manager’s guidance, with consumer centric approach from insights to communication, to deliver differentiated and transformational solutions for functional beverages.

Work with appropriate internal and external experts to develop clinical studies and test protocols and experiments to validate efficacy of functional ingredients and technology, and enable claim substantiate with high quality data.  Drive end-to-end collaboration with cross-functional teams, including Global Development & Innovation, Scientific & Regulatory Affairs, Technical consumer Research and external partners, to translate research into consumer-centric ingredient solutions to address consumer problems and bring value to system.

Responsible for identifying, recommending, and managing external research partners. Stay ahead of cutting-edge developments in functional ingredient science and proactively identify novel technologies, partnerships, or methodologies to maintain competitive advantage. Enable innovation solutions with beverage application and global scaling up feasibility to bring value to system. Access…