Competitor Intelligence Scientist

Role Overview

BAT is evolving at pace into a global multi-category business. Our purpose is to create a Better Tomorrow™ by Building a Smokeless World. To achieve our ambition, we are looking for colleagues who are ready to join us on this journey! Tomorrow can’t wait, let’s shape it together! British American Tobacco UK has an exciting opportunity for a Competitor Intelligence Scientist in Southampton.

The aim of the role is to deliver business relevant competitor product intelligence and insights in a timely and sustainable way, supported by public domain information and in line with the objectives of our business strategy, to enable decision-making related to the product innovation pipeline.

The role requires a self‑starter and great teammate to support and drive findings across the multi-category platforms. This includes demonstrating complex technical details and using advanced searches to uncover competitor intelligence externally. The candidate requires the ability to communicate effectively to different collaborator levels in both written and presentation form, supported by strong analytical skills, product development knowledge and ideally cross‑category experience within BAT or other industries.

The role involves managing, planning, supporting, and advising product intelligence activities to execute information to the Competitor Intelligence Managers and Head of SIRA.

This aim of this role is to keep the business up to date with the developments within the fast‑changing competitive landscape. Supporting the wider team to ensure fast delivery to our key partners and driving true collaboration across the business.

• Deliver consistent and current product analysis covering fast‑paced innovation categories, ensuring key product developers and senior managers have the product and business facts around competitor portfolios.
• Design, develop and coordinate the process for intelligence generation. Ensure that the principles and governance are followed and communicated to deliver the insights as part of the Product Intelligence Framework, such as category meetings.
• Drive actionable product insights relating to agreed product categories in a sustainable way and in line with the objectives of our Marketing and Product Strategy.
• Develop and maintain the competitor landscape across product categories, to identify key new product launches. Ensure timely and relevant fact‑based reporting of launch intelligence as well as appropriate level product competitor analysis post launch, to support collaborator decision making.
• Plan, coordinate, and communicate across multi‑category platforms to support fast deliverables to key partners.
• Produce quarterly strategic reports, to include product attributes, information updates for competitor products, competitor innovations updates, market information updates and propose recommendations.

• Experience of working in an FMCG organisation or food/flavour industry, as well as good working knowledge of product development in device and/or consumable/ formulation understanding.
• Advanced analytical and problem‑solving skills, critical thinking with high attention to detail, taking a logical approach to data and reporting.
• Ability to collaborate effectively in a global organisation and across multiple functions and categories, as well as ability to work independently using own initiative, and the ability to collaborate effectively as part of a team.
• Excellent presentation skills and ability to brief key collaborators with business relevant information.
• Adaptable and flexible, solution‑driven and confident to work in a fast‑paced, dynamic, and ambiguous environment.
• Ability to influence senior collaborators cross‑functionally and present complex information clearly.
• Effectively manage knowledge, promote cross‑functional communication, and build effective relationships both internally and externall
• Degree in engineering, marketing, or science, or equivalent experience.

• Experience working with commercial partners or with partnerships
• Project Management Experience