Senior Director NA Brand R&D Lead

You’ve built experience, now use it where bold ideas meet real impact. At Opella, we’re challenging how self-care works for millions of people and need leaders and experts ready to shape what’s next. As a Senior Director NA Brand R&D Lead , you’ll bring your skill, your curiosity and your drive to make health simpler, smarter and more human.

About the job:

Lead initiatives that advance our brands and strengthen our reputation worldwide.

Mentor and uplift emerging talent while pushing your own growth and influence.

Put purpose into practice — embedding sustainability, access and social impact into every decision.

Model the challenger mindset: question complexity, act with integrity and make things radically simple.

Help shape a culture that’s ambitious, collaborative and serious about recognition and belonging.

Drive the end-to-end R&D strategy, innovation pipeline, and execution for North America Allergy and Sleep brands by translating science and technology into consumer-focused products, partnering with Marketing, Sales, Regulatory, and Medical to deliver business growth and successful product launches.

Lead the long-term brand portfolio and innovation roadmap (1–5 years), using consumer insights, scientific expertise, and external partnerships to develop differentiated products, support patent strategy, ensure on-time project execution, and align with sustainability and regulatory priorities.

Main Responsibilities:

Lead the R&D innovation pipeline for assigned brands, delivering new products and innovations that meet growth and sales objectives while ensuring consistent execution across the portfolio.

Drive short-, medium-, and long-term product development projects, including new formulations, claims, clinical studies, packaging innovations, and sustainability initiatives, while accelerating decision-making and execution.

Partner closely with Marketing, Sales, Consumer Science, and Project Management to develop larger, consumer-driven innovation projects and ensure successful, on-time product launches.

Develop and execute patent strategies and leverage external technology partnerships to create differentiated products and strengthen the long-term innovation pipeline.

Collaborate cross-functionally with Development, Packaging, Finance, Regulatory, and other key stakeholders to build strong business cases, manage project risks, and deliver high-impact innovation.

Prioritize and lead base business protection projects to maintain product quality, compliance, and supply continuity while balancing business risk.

Inspire and lead cross-functional teams by fostering innovation, encouraging bold decision-making, and driving accountability to achieve business and R&D objectives.

About you:

Bachelor's degree in a scientific discipline required;
Master's or Ph.D. preferred, with 10+ years of R&D experience leading innovation pipelines and delivering successful product development for consumer health brands.

Proven experience developing OTC and NDA products, supporting FDA submissions, and managing multiple brands across various regulatory pathways while driving innovation and business growth.

Strong ability to translate consumer insights into brand strategies, communicate complex science to diverse stakeholders, and influence business decisions through effective storytelling.

Demonstrated leadership in building and coaching cross-functional technical teams, allocating resources, managing budgets, identifying risks, and driving innovation projects from concept through commercial launch.

Experience establishing external partnerships with suppliers, research organizations, and key opinion leaders while staying ahead of industry trends to identify new technologies, ingredients, formulations, claims, and sustainable product opportunities.

Proven ability to lead a diverse innovation portfolio, including business development opportunities, new product development, clinical programs, novel formulation technologies, and sustainability initiatives.

Strong strategic mindset with experience partnering across R&D, Regulatory, Marketing, Project Management, and Commercial teams to deliver high-impact innovation and long-term…