Director of Innovation & Commercialisation

Want to help us bring happiness to the world? Want to join an ambitious and fast growing global biscuits and confectionery business investing heavily in iconic global brands, infrastructure and people? Then this is the place for you.

As proud bakers and chocolatiers and custodians of iconic global brands, we don’t compromise on the quality of ingredients in our products or on the people we hire. We are looking for entrepreneurial spirits who share our passion for bringing happiness to our consumers and who embody our Winning Traits.

To succeed at pladis you need to be purpose-led
, resilient and positive to succeed here because we expect pace and agility
, we insist on collaboration and demand accountability. If that is your thing, then pladis offers global ambition, a clear Vision and roadmap for success, challenge, and unrivalled opportunities to learn and make an impact

Click “Apply” to get started.

In 2021, pladis proudly opened the doors to our vibrant global hub, the MIU Campus. Located in the heart of Chiswick Park, West London. Just a short 5-minute walk from Gunnersbury Station, our campus is nestled within 33 acres of beautifully landscaped gardens, offering a welcoming and inspiring environment for all. Chiswick Park is home to both our UK and Global Corporate teams, bringing together diverse teams across the business.

As Director of Innovation & Commercialisation, UK&I you will report to the Chief Marketing Officer and be responsible for driving the UK&I innovation strategy and execution. Your role will focus on delivering innovation financials (P&L) by managing the end‑to‑end innovation process of pladis UK&I, from leading the regional innovation strategy development and ideation process to ensure they are strategically aligned to business ambition to innovation execution to ensure projects are operationally ready, and successfully launched in the market.

• Strategic Leadership: Responsible for overall shape and strength of the long term (3 to 5‑years) innovation pipeline and project readiness in short terms (1‑3 years). Owns the strategic leadership of innovation ideation and project execution process by developing and implementing commercialization strategies aligned with business objectives and growth targets.

• Financial Ownership of Innovation P&L: Responsible for Innovation financials (NS growth, GP) and P&L for operating year and upcoming 3‑5 years. Other KPI’s the role is accountable for include:
  Innovation pipeline shape, sufficiency, readiness, health

• Innovation Strategy and Ideation: Own and develop innovation strategy & own and deliver the annual Compass innovation ideation process, collaborating across the business to generate new white spaces and asset‑out innovation ideas aligned with strategy, and moving through to execution across all demand space areas with speed & competitive advantage

• Cross‑Functional
  
  Collaboration:
  
  Owns cross‑functional coordination for innovation. Act as the operational leader bringing together marketing, R&D, supply chain, commercial functions, finance and regulatory teams to deliver launches on time and within budget.

• Process Ownership: Oversee stage & gate (planview) process, ensuring discipline and visibility across all gates. Aid projects in moving faster & with agility through the funnel, aligning to brand and channel strategies. Foster strong relationships with internal functional business partners in local and global business; harnessing efficiencies through a strong understanding of our asset base, sharing knowledge & making connections to fuel winning white space opportunities and aid the brand teams in delivering projects with agility and speed.
  
  Track and report project status, risks, and compliance to plan, ensuring timely escalation to MLT and UKLT.

• Market Readiness: Assess risks and ensure compliance with quality and regulatory standards.

• Performance Monitoring: Track KPI’s such as readiness, on time delivery, financial performance (shared with commercial finance) and post‑launch reviews to drive continuous improvement. Responsible for innovation financials and P&L in short term and long term (3‑5 years)

• Guide and…