Global Gum and Gum Base Platform Lead

Job Description

Are You Ready to Make It Happen at Mondelēz International?

Leading a team of R&D professionals in product development, you identify and prioritize development activities. You lead teams that deliver R&D activities needed to complete new product development, and that maintain portfolios and/or productivity projects, keeping in mind the goal to create the desired consumer experience.

Join our Mission to Lead the Future of Snacking. Make It With Pride.

Leading a team of R&D professionals in product development, you identify and prioritize development activities. You lead teams that deliver R&D activities needed to complete new product development, and that maintain portfolios and/or productivity projects, keeping in mind the goal to create the desired consumer experience.

How you will contribute

 You will work with a cross-functional partner to define, initiate and lead teams to successfully deliver business goals using technical rigor and best practices while effectively allocating resources and prioritizing workloads. Influencing skills are important in this role because you will use them to educate business stakeholders about technical risks, ensuring clear communication and understanding to allow for effective cross-functional decision making. You will also create and maintain accurate consumer-led specifications. As a technical and people leader, you demonstrate your own high levels of technical rigor and expertise and that of your team by tapping into internal and external resources to stay up to date on the latest best practices and to continuously identify opportunities for improvement, keeping in mind consumers’ wants and needs. As a people leader, you recruit, retain and develop a team of direct and indirect reports to ensure highest team performance, and mentor and coach your team and others to grow capability and support career development.

What you will bring

A desire to drive your future and accelerate your career and the following experience and knowledge:

• Leading teams and coaching and mentoring to foster performance and team effectiveness
• Influencing cross-functional teams and senior stakeholders in decision making
• Delivering results in a fast paced, complex and ambiguous environment
• Handling multiple priorities
• Being a champion of consumer needs
• Succeeding in a fast-moving consumer goods environment

More about this role

This is a pivotal leadership role responsible for shaping and driving the Global Gum and Gum Base Technical Strategy and Platform Team. The Gum category represents a significant business, particularly within developing markets, and holds ambitious growth aspirations. As the Global Leader, you will manage a team of international product subject matter experts, serving as the face of R&D for this critical global category. You will define the technical strategy, ensure robust execution, and foster capability and talent development within the organization.

What you need to know about this position:

Strategic Leadership & Innovation:

• Partner with the commercial team to define strategic innovation territories, conduct research to understand unique consumer needs, and identify the technical platforms required for superior product delivery.
• Develop and champion a comprehensive global Gum strategy global opportunity, defining a clear technical Gum strategy roadmap aligned with key technology vectors.
• Spearhead the discovery, development, and deployment of technical solutions for gum base, driving gum category superiority, growth, and margin improvements.
• Define and drive the global gum base strategy and technology pipeline for the next 5+ years, ensuring a robust and innovative approach to gum base development.

Team Management & Capability Building:

• Assess G&C team technical capabilities and define solutions to fill identified gaps. Implement succession planning strategies to nurture and develop talent to further drive the Gum strategy.

Innovation Excellence & Digital Transformation:

• Champion the adoption of MDLZ Innovation Excellence methodology, strategic foresight capabilities, Digital/AI tools, and open innovation partnerships to drive rigor, focus, relevance, and efficiency in our innovation efforts.

Stakeholder Management & Collaboration:

• Serve as a staff sponsor for Culture Pillar, fostering a collaborative and inclusive environment.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with regional teams to leverage synergies and ensure seamless integration of global strategies into regional I2M funnels.
• Act as the R&D representative in key forums such as cross-functional strategy building sessions, learning plan creation, and execution discussions.
• Manage relationships with commercial, supply chain, and other key stakeholders to drive the global gum agenda forward.
• Represent MDLZ on the ICGA (International Chewing Gum Association) steerco, shaping the industry agenda and ensuring the MDLZ perspective is well-represented.

What You Need to Deliver:

• Portfolio Performance: Achieve portfolio metrics, long-term category growth targets, and strategic innovation/renovation pipeline objectives
• Operational Excellence: Meet capacity and delivery metrics, ensuring efficient and effective execution of R&D initiatives.
• Quality Assurance: Maintain a critical focus on quality, driving spec excellence, global PQB performance, and a holistic superiority journey.
• Innovation & Insights: Embed IP protection, consumer immersion/ tools, outside-in thinking, foresight tools, and a digital culture into the team's approach.
• Mindful Snacking & Sustainability: Remain considerate of the rapidly changing regulatory environment and consumer sentiment, promoting mindful snacking, sustainability, and safety in all aspects of product development.

What extra ingredients you will bring:

Strategic Thought Leadership, Balance of Agility and Rigor, Passion for capability and talent development, Storytelling, Business Acumen, Coaching, Decision Making

Education / Certifications:

BS/MS Food Science, Science Related or Engineering, 10+ years' experience and strong manager/ leadership experience

Job specific requirements:

• 10 or more years of work experience required 
• Experience in the food industry is required 
• Commercialization experience is required 
• Knowledge of confections formulation / processes is a plus 
• Strong technical skills, consumer centric foundation and technical curiosity  
• Collaborative leadership experienced in stakeholder management and communication 
• Strong thought leadership in shaping the future 
• Creative problem solving to overcome challenges and deliver innovative solutions  
• Excellent written and oral communications skills; able to effectively communicate to all levels within the organization.

Travel requirements:

10-15%

Work schedule:

Work schedule: 40 hours/week, hybrid office and work from home with expectation of in EH office 50% of the time.

Salary and Benefits:

The base salary range for this position is $137,300 to $188,825; the exact salary depends on several factors such as experience, skills, education, and budget. In addition to base salary, this position is eligible for participation in a highly competitive bonus program with possibility for overachievement based on performance and company results.

In addition, Mondelez International offers the following benefits: health insurance, wellness and family support programs, life and disability insurance, retirement savings plans, paid leave programs, education related programs, paid holidays and vacation time. Some of these benefits have eligibility requirements. Many of these benefits are subsidized or fully paid for by the company.

Business Unit Summary

The United States is the largest market in the Mondelēz International family with a significant employee and manufacturing footprint. Here, we produce our well-loved household favorites to provide our consumers with the right snack, at the right moment, made the right way. We have corporate offices, sales, manufacturing and distribution locations throughout the U.S. to ensure our iconic brands—including Oreo and  Chips Ahoy! cookies, Ritz, Wheat Thins and Triscuit crackers, and Swedish Fish and Sour Patch Kids confectionery products —are close at hand for our consumers across the country.  

Mondelēz Global LLC is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, protected Veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law. Applicants who require accommodation to participate in the job application process may contact 847-943-5460 for assistance.

For more information about your Federal rights, please see eeopost.pdf; EEO is the Law Poster Supplement; Pay Transparency Nondiscrimination Provision; Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal

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