Director of Research & Development

Who we are

Skjodt-Barrett is a world-class manufacturer of food solutions and custom ingredients for North Americas most beloved and trusted brands. We take pride in working closely with our customers to understand their unique needs and create innovative individualized solutions that deliver joy to their customers.

A family-founded company started over 40 years ago we are backed by the investment company Axel Johnson Inc (AJI). With their investment and support we are well-positioned to foster growth and explore new opportunities.

Our customers blue-chip international brands and mid-sized producers alike are why we exist. Our teams of innovators communicators and managers are the people who meet their needs build trust and exceed their expectations.

Who we need

Reporting to the Chief Revenue Officer we are looking for a leader to join us as a Director of Research & Development (12 months contract). This is an opportunity to bring your food science knowledge and passion for nurturing teams together to introduce processes and lead a team of 15 people. You will provide strategic direction decision-making and leadership for new product development customer facing communication processing commercialization and current product optimizations.

This is a hybrid role working 3 days per week onsite at our cutting-edge facility in Brampton Ontario.

Who you are

You are an experienced consultant or Director in Product Development or R&D at a food ingredient or beverage company looking for a 12 months contract term. You are ready to take on the accountabilities of a Director role where you can bring your insights best practices and industry knowledge to make an impact on an evolving team through growth and transformation.

Whats in it for you

Impact. You want to lead a team. You want to bring your passion for growing teams and building technical capabilities of individuals at a place where you can apply your insights design and implement new processes and measure the change you are making. You will have the autonomy to determine how the work is done. You will shape your role and team to fit how the business is operating today and in the future.

Influence. This is a truly unique opportunity as you connect with leaders and teams cross-functionally to gain a deep understanding of business needs from customer requirements to supply procurement to plant operational setup. You will play a critical role in distilling the information to prioritize make decisions and set product development into motion.

How you will make an impact:

• Drive the product innovation strategy. You will drive our product development strategy in alignment with business objectives and market trends. You will work closely with customer service sales procurement operations and quality assurance to meet product innovation demands. You will prioritize projects based on customer demand ingredient availability and technical feasibility. You will build partnerships with customers and suppliers.
• Lead develop and optimize processes. You will develop implement and monitor effective systems and procedures to manage multiple projects in the sales and innovation pipeline. You will guide the team in meeting operational standards for quality cost food safety and sustainability. You will lead cross-functional teams in the technical aspects of product development through the investigation planning execution evaluation and reporting phases. You will continuously improve product development processes and incorporate best practices including overseeing the safe operation of a pilot plant environment to test and validate new products.
• Oversee the team. You will manage teach and mentor the research and development team identifying gaps in skills and working closely with individuals to build their strengths. You will share knowledge and expertise with the team and foster a culture of learning and growth. You will nurture in-team and cross-functional collaboration. You will lead the change management process to encourage adopting and engaging with new operating processes and best practices in product development. You will manage timelines and work priorities by allocating resources to meet the assigned timelines and goals.
• Integrate the latest food technologies in products for the market. You will lead new ingredient research and technological advancements. You will stay informed about market trends and emerging ingredients to guide the development of innovative products. This may include clean or transparent labelling green functional or alternative ingredients. You will ensure all new and existing products meet regulatory requirements quality standards and customer specifications.
• Partner with customers to deliver successful product solutions. You will collaborate with sales and customer-facing teams to support customer discussions technical reviews and product presentations. You will translate customer needs and feedback into product development opportunities and guide the team in delivering solutions that meet both customer expectations and manufacturing capabilities. You will support product trials evaluations and commercialization efforts with key customers while maintaining alignment with quality regulatory and operational standards.

What you bring to the role:

• The experience. You have a background in Food Science and experience in the food processing industry specifically in product design and development. Or you have worked in a similarly complex high-speed industrial product development environment. You have led cross-functional teams creating and implementing product development strategies and overseeing the execution of multiple complex deliverables simultaneously. You come with resilient scalable processes and best practices to introduce efficiency and reduce waste (time energy resources money). You are comfortable participating in trials and working in a high-speed manufacturing facility.
• The technical knowledge. You have a high-level understanding of product formulation and ingredient functionality. You have the business and industry knowledge to guide a product team as they evaluate ingredient effectiveness (flavour colour consistency stability etc.) availability and costs to fit budgets timelines and demand. You have an understanding of the product innovation and renovation process from concept through commercialization. You recognize how product formulations are processed in ERP systems (i.e. D365 or SAP) to contribute to driving material demands and production planning and the importance of data integrity.
• The people leadership. You can build and nurture trusting relationships fostering a collaborative continuous learning and innovation culture. You are passionate about developing and supporting the individuals on your team and can teach new skills from the basic to the complex. You can navigate conflict remove barriers and prioritize communication. You lead by example and can influence with and without authority. You have proven success in change management implementing new processes and creating engagement.
• The interpersonal skills. You have exceptional verbal and written communication skills including creating documentation generating reports and making presentations. You are a strong collaborator who is able to work cross-functionally with internal and external stakeholders. You genuinely appreciate diverse experiences and backgrounds and are interested in understanding others hearing their perspectives and addressing their concerns.
• The customer-facing capability. You are comfortable engaging directly with customers and commercial partners to understand product needs technical requirements and feedback. You can translate customer insights into actionable product development strategies and communicate complex technical information in a clear accessible way. You have experience supporting customer presentations product demonstrations or technical discussions and can confidently represent the product development team while aligning customer expectations with manufacturing capabilities quality standards and business objectives.

Why join

Weve got great taste. We care deeply about fostering a culture of transparency responsibility and integrity. Its what drives us to make great-tasting convenient and healthy ingredients and finished products that our customers depend on. With a focus on nurturing and growing our employees careers and professional satisfaction we believe in open communication idea sharing and knowledge building. Skjodt-Barrett is committed to building an inclusive culture that helps to create longevity growth and innovation in the food industry.

We are working towards a sustainable future. We believe that whats good for people and the planet is good for profit. It is everyones responsibility to do their part. We recognize the growing need to prioritize sustainability in manufacturing and we continue to take steps to evolve. We strive to accelerate the adoption of sustainable packaging and food products to be a responsible partner for our customers and for the greater good. We take our role as a supply chain partner to heart and adhere to a strict Supplier Code of Conduct to ensure that our vendors uphold the integrity and values we live by.

We believe actions speak louder than words. Every day we come together to exceed the expectations of our customers each other and ourselves inspired by our values:

• We care. About family honesty and respect.
• We communicate. Across every level often effectively and clearly.
• We Empower. With trust integrity and accountability.
• We Deliver. Every time through teamwork innovation and results.

We support and care for our employees and their families.

The expected base pay range for this role is $140K -$160K.

Final compensation will be determined based on the successful candidates experience qualifications and internal equity.

Apply now.

At Skjodt-Barrett we aim for diversity equality accessibility and inclusion in all of our operations and interactions. We welcome and appreciate candidates with a range of backgrounds and experiences. If you have 70% of the qualifications we are looking for and want to play an integral role in delivering innovative food product solutions apply to express your interest.

What you can expect from our interview process:

1. A virtual interview with a Talent Advisor discussing your interest in the role and the conversation will be recorded using BrightHire an AI-powered video interview tool. More details will be shared when you are invited to interview.
2. An in-person with the current Director of Research and Development to discuss your experience as a people process and product development leader.
3. An onsite final interview with the Chief Financial Officer to discuss how your role aligns with the needs of the team and the opportunity to ask questions.

Skjodt-Barrett welcomes and encourages applications from people with disabilities. Please let us know what accommodations you require across the selection process.

Please note that we use recruitment technology that may incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) as part of our hiring process. All hiring decisions are made by our

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