Director of Research Development

Join us as R&D Director
, where you will lead and shape a high‑impact R&D function supporting our Paints, Sealants, and Waterproofing portfolio across EMEA. In this senior leadership role, you will be responsible for driving innovation, technical excellence, and regulatory compliance while ensuring R&D activity is tightly aligned to business strategy and commercial priorities.

You will lead a team of experienced technical professionals, own the innovation pipeline and technology roadmap, and act as the organisation’s senior technical authority. Working closely with Marketing, Sales, Operations, Manufacturing, Quality, Legal, and external partners, you will translate market needs and emerging technology into differentiated, scalable, and compliant products.

As a visible and trusted leader, you will guide strategic decision‑making, mentor technical talent, and represent the business externally across industry bodies, universities, and innovation networks.

• Lead, manage, and develop the R&D organisation, supporting 17 employees with 2 direct reports.
• Align, track, and report R&D KPIs in line with business objectives.
• Ensure projects are delivered on time, to agreed specifications, and in line with business expectations.
• Act as a coach and mentor to direct reports and as a recognised technical expert across the business.
• Ensure the smooth, safe, and compliant operation of the R&D laboratory.

• Monitor the wider coatings market for trends, innovations, and competitive activity.
• Maintain awareness of developments across competitors, suppliers, conferences, industry bodies (CEPE, BCF, RSC), and technical literature.
• Stay up to date with the evolving regulatory landscape and translate changes into clear technical and business actions.

• Build and own technical pipelines, innovation roadmaps, and formulation platforms.
• Lead innovation scouting activities based on market and customer understanding.
• Leverage global technology platforms to maximise scale, speed, and margin.
• Partner closely with Marketing and regional stakeholders to implement new technologies, accelerate time‑to‑market, and deliver competitive advantage.

• Provide technical training and support to non‑technical Sales, Marketing, and Customer Service teams.
• Deliver technical presentations and respond to complex technical questions from internal teams and customers.
• Act as a trusted technical authority supporting customer engagement and issue resolution.

• Act as the main contact for government funding and grant opportunities.
• Lead and manage collaborations with universities and research institutions.
• Work with Legal and wider stakeholders to develop, protect, and optimise the intellectual property portfolio, supporting both local and global technology platforms.

• Support manufacturing optimisation using expert formulation knowledge and tools such as DOE.
• Optimise formulations for efficient manufacture, robustness, and lowest total cost.
• Support quality investigations and root‑cause analysis in partnership with Operations and Quality teams.

• Maintain company property and records securely.
• Adhere to all company policies, including Health & Safety.
• Complete all mandatory training and represent the company professionally.

We’re seeking an experienced and credible R&D leader with deep coatings expertise, strong people leadership skills, and the ability to translate science into commercial impact.

• Required:
  
  BSc in Chemistry or BEng in Chemical Engineering.
• Preferred:
  Higher degree with experience in polymers and coatings.
• Required:
  
  Minimum 10 years’ experience within the coatings industry.
• Preferred:
  Experience in water‑based architectural coatings or water‑based wood coatings.

• Water‑based polymer and resin design.
• Deep understanding of coatings raw materials.
• Six Sigma methodology.
• Preferred:
  Adhesives formulation or…