R&D Sr Director

Responsibilities

PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion times a day
in more than ‎200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated
more than $‎79 billion in net revenue in ‎2021, driven by a complementary
beverage and convenient foods portfolio that includes Lay 's, Doritos,
Cheetos, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Mountain Dew, Quaker, and SodaStream. PepsiCo's
product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages,
including many iconic brands that generate more than $‎1 billion each in
estimated annual retail sales.

Guiding PepsiCo is our vision to Be the Global Leader in Beverages and
Convenient Foods by Winning with PepsiCo Positive (pep+). pep+ is our
strategic end-to-end transformation that puts sustainability and human capital
at the center of how we will create value and growth by operating within
planetary boundaries and inspiring positive change for planet and people. For
more information, visit www.pepsico.com .

Position Location: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Main Purpose:
At PepsiCo, innovation takes center stage. In a fast-moving consumer
environment, our Research & Development capability is crucial to provide a
fresh twist to our favorite brands as well as create new healthy choices that
we need to succeed in the market. Focusing our Research & Development on
meeting the latest consumer needs - whether nutrition, refreshment, or
indulgence -will drive our growth both now and in the future.
Under the Power of One (Po1) charter, this role integrates all R&D disciplines
(all Foods Categories, TDC and Life Sciences) into one R&D voice to deliver
well-aligned & unified R&D view to the Business. As a member of the BU ExCom,
this position reports operationally to ‎3 different BU GMs in MENAPAK geography
while interacting and influencing Business Peers & EXCO members. This role
sets the technical agenda of the organization under the Faster, Stronger &
Better pillars - while making strategic and tactical trade-offs as & where
necessary in support of the business.

Key Accountabilities:
* Lead and drive a business aligned MENAPAK Snacks R &D agenda to deliver short- & long-term business success. Key aspects of this agenda include but are not limited to:
* Consumer-centric innovation to drive topline & share of market
* Portfolio transformation to ensure we offer positive product choices for our consumers [e.g., sodium and saturated fat reduction]
* Productivity to enable cost savings to fuel reinvestments in our business
* Technical brand stewardship to ensure business continuity & to mitigate any external challenges like regulations. This role is ACCOUNTABLE for all of the above.
* Lead and drive the Gulf & Levant Foods BU Office Of Sustainability agenda in its entirety [i.e., all pillars of PepsiCo Positive agenda - Positive Agriculture, Positive Value Chain & Positive Choices]. This role is fully accountable for this agenda.
* Work in close partnership & alignment with business by acting as the R&D single point of contact for MENAPAK Snacks senior executive stakeholders including BU General Managers, Marketing Vice Presidents/Directors, Insights Sr. Director, Supply Chain Vice Presidents/Directors & Commercialization Directors. This role is directly accountable for this action.
* Work in close & effective partnership with Global Foods R&D senior executive stakeholders in Plano, Texas including SVP Global Foods R&D, Functional Capabilities Vice Presidents and Platform Sr. Directors. This role is directly accountable for this action.
* Drive alignment across sector R&D verticals such as Product Development, Packaging, Technical Insights, Digital Solutions & Compliance (TDC) & Life Sciences to develop, align & articulate one R&D point of view to the business. This role is directly accountable for this action.
* Drive MENAPAK Snacks R&D organizational capability & talent development to ensure a robust, long-term pipeline of capable, diverse talent in the sector. This role is directly accountable for this action.
* Additionally, this role also has the responsibility for:
* BU Office of Sustainability: Lead the BU Office of Sustainability for the Gulf & Levant BU. This includes leading & driving the PepsiCo Positive agenda in its entirety for the BU
* "RCL" R&D Site Leadership: R&D site leadership for the newly established Riyadh-Cairo-Lahore (RCL) R&D site cluster - with population of ‎30 R&D associates. Establish a sense of "R&D Community & Culture" and drive Organizational Health as well as Environmental Health & Safety across these R&D sites.
* Leadership of "Innovation Hub" in Saudi Arabia: In response to business aspiration to position Saudi Arabia as one of the key anchor-points of innovation and topline growth through ‎2025, formulate the strategy & planning to upgrade the Riyadh R&D location from a "Tier-‎3" site to a "Tier-‎2" site. This primarily includes the setup of Riyadh as a "Innovation Hub" for Saudi Arabia and Middle East at large and entails the addition of R&D headcount resources (capacity) and laboratory infrastructure investment (capability) in Riyadh in ‎2 phases, during ‎2022 & ‎2023.

Measures:
* Gain/Hold share in top markets
* Innovation Revenue as a Percentage of NR
* Productivity
* Sodium & Saturated Fat Reduction Targets

LI - EXEC

Qualifications

Key Skills/Experience:
Required:
* Higher degree in Food Science, Food Chemistry, Microbiology, Chemical Engineering, or equivalent with ‎20+ years ' experience in related consumer goods field (preferably in the FMCG/CPG segment)
* Experience in leading sizeable product development teams
* Experience with navigating & operating in a large/matrixed organization
* Experience in the development and execution of complex programs
* Experience in product development, processing & manufacturing processes
* Sound knowledge of food safety requirements & regulations
* Solid program management skills and ability to articulate issues or requirements
* Fluency in English is a must; ability to speak Arabic would be a plus
* Good interpersonal skills with ability to influence vertically & horizontally
* Strong talent development skills
* Cultural sensitivity/flexibility in responding to different cultures

Desired:
* Proven track record in leadership, agenda setting, organizational savvy and program management
* Proven track record in delivering impactful innovations to the marketplace
* Experience with beverage packaging processes & platforms
* Solid industry network
* Proven track record of maintaining strong working relationship with business partners (BU General Managers, Marketing & Supply Chain VPs etc.)
* Experience of operationalizing plans in a large company / blue chip corporation
* Ability to manage multiple projects and adapt to changing priorities in commercial environment
* Creative and innovative thinking to facilitate ideas generation cross functionally
* Experience in translating ideas to plans and technology trends into operational capability
* Advanced presentation skills (written & verbal).
* Strong ability in business case development and execution
* Self-starter, self-motivating, able to deal with uncertainty and complexity.
* Striving for high standards, seeking innovative solutions, driving continuous improvement of products, processes or methods and demonstrating a high degree of intellectual curiosity
Other:
* Strong liaison / connectivity to the US may need flexibility in working hours due to time-zone differences.
* Field travel will be required (domestic & international). Estimated ‎20%.

Behavior Attributes/Skills:
* Strong leadership skills demonstrating strategic thinking & clear agenda setting
* Cross functional influencing and ability to working closely with business partners - translating from vision (marketing) into execution (operations)
* Strong skills in talent development & organizational capability development
* Excellent communication, interpersonal, influencing and persuasion skills in a multi-cultural environment
* Strong project management and data interpretation/ analysis skills
* Ability to cross-reference and benchmark trends & patterns

Apply now and our recruitment team will be in contact!
Our Commitment is to deliver Sustained Growth through Empowered People acting
with Responsibility and Trust.