Senior Vice President, Innovation Center of Excellence

Rich’s, also known as Rich Products Corporation, is a family-owned food company dedicated to inspiring possibilities. From cakes and icings to pizza, appetizers and specialty toppings, our products are used in homes, restaurants and bakeries around the world.

Beyond great food, our customers also gain insights to help them stay competitive, no matter their size. Our portfolio includes creative solutions geared at helping food industry professionals compete in foodservice, retail, in-store bakery, deli, and prepared foods, among others.

Working in 100 locations globally, with annual sales exceeding $4 billion, Rich’s is a global leader with a focus on everything that family makes possible.

Rich’s Infinite Possibilities. One Family.

Increase your chances of an interview by reading the following overview of this role before making an application.

Purpose Statement

Rich Products is growing and transforming. We are embracing technology and driving innovation across the enterprise to better empower our associates and provide enhanced services and products to all our customers.

As part of this initiative, our world-class Research & Development team has undergone a significant reorganization and is now known as Research, Innovation & Compliance (RIC).

The RIC team is expanding and we’re currently looking for a Senior Vice President for our Center of Excellence for Innovation.

In this global role, you are a key senior leader within the RIC leadership team and at Rich’s, playing a pivotal role in innovation strategy development, driving global innovation methodology and initiatives across the enterprise organization.

Leading a dynamic Center of Excellence (COE) team of highly talented scientists and engineers, collaborating with key stakeholders, and shaping the innovation strategy, you will drive the reinvention of the product portfolio through the prioritization and successful deployment of differentiated and highly relevant offerings to the market, propelling the company forward in a rapidly evolving landscape.

You will lead the development and management of the Rich’s Enterprise Innovation process and, with your highly technical Center of Excellence team, work together with other functions to explore and champion the use of new and leading-edge innovation approaches and models to drive business growth.

You will lead global teams in the areas of Product and Packaging development, sensory, innovation process development, and design to value.

Each of the teams will be the technical experts in their fields, and this role will be responsible for building and leading the development and implementation of relevant strategies for each of these areas that support the business objectives, facilitate innovation, and improve the performance of our product portfolio.

You will champion and oversee the identification, development, and implementation of enterprise value leadership programs such as Design to Value opportunities and will work closely with procurement, marketing teams, and the BUs to deliver value to the business.

You will own the development and deployment of the enterprise innovation systems, driving best practices for step-changing delivery of leading innovations into the markets.

You will play a critical role in shaping the enterprise innovation strategy leading to the successful delivery of the strategic growth targets enterprise-wide.

You will bring an advanced level of strategic influence, actively building the strategy on how to drive differentiated innovation for the business, ensuring successful deployment of all new systems and methodologies throughout the enterprise, combining strategic thinking, technical know-how, and tactical execution to create and implement strategies to define and execute a portfolio of highly complex projects.

We are happy to consider remote candidates for this role, with expected travel of 50 60%, both domestic and international.

Key Accountabilities and Outcomes

Innovation Strategy :

• Champions and leads development and implementation of the global technical strategic direction for Rich’s innovation, supporting business strategy and long-term plans.
• Works closely with relevant business partners to develop and execute a comprehensive Enterprise Innovation Strategy aligned with Rich’s overall business goals.
• Oversee the development and launch of new products or services, from ideation to market implementation.
• Enterprise SME for Adjacent & Breakthrough Innovation and partner. Works across Markets to build strategy and ensure where possible innovation can be produced at locations around the network.
• Builds, explores, and champions the use of new and leading-edge innovation approaches and models to drive business growth that aligns with customer and consumer needs.
• Provides management, scientific leadership, and creativity in initiating, designing and executing the Enterprise Innovation Strategy.
• Champions and leads development and implementation of the Sensory and Packaging strategy and capabilities to support the long-term innovation strategy of the organization.

Team Leadership :

• Lead, mentor, and manage a diverse team of innovators, providing strategic direction, fostering a culture of creativity, collaboration, continuous learning, and guidance to team members.
• Lead cross-functional teams in new methodologies and design thinking ways of working to deliver new and novel innovation.
• Design and adapt organizational design to meet changing business requirements.
• Drive development and implementation of R&D processes to improve efficiency and effectiveness of function.
• Build a talented team of technical experts, create high levels of Associate engagement, and invest in the career development of RIC team members.

Innovation Process Metrics & Reporting :

• Enable the ongoing development of the one global innovation process, metrics development & reporting of relevant data of global innovation projects, enabling BU teams to consolidate innovation into pipelines, working with RIC BP on resource allocation for innovation.
• Drive speed and reduce complexity by proactively consolidating global ingredients and formulas, documenting standardized processes and owning global DTV and ROC’s programs.

Other :

• Assess and manage risks associated with innovation projects.
• Implement strategies to mitigate potential challenges and ensure successful project outcomes.
• Oversee the protection of intellectual property resulting from innovation activities.
• Work with legal teams to secure patents, trademarks, and other relevant protections.
• Instill and nurture a culture of innovation throughout the organization.
• Encourage Associates at all levels to contribute ideas and participate in innovation efforts.
• Consider global trends and opportunities in the innovation landscape.
• Lead initiatives that position the organization as a global leader in innovation.

Knowledge, Skills, and Experience

Required Skills & Qualifications :

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in a relevant scientific field Food Science, Engineering, Packaging Science, Chemistry, Physics, or related field.
• Proven extensive experience (+10 years) in leadership roles overseeing innovation teams and delivering innovation to market.
• Strong strategic thinking and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills.
• Demonstrated ability to drive organizational change and foster a culture of innovation.
• Proven innovation in the market.
• Knowledge of emerging technologies and their applications in various industries.
• Proven senior leadership roles within R&D Innovation teams.
• Proven experience in the development of Innovation Strategy and deployment.
• Experience in global markets.

Preferred Skills & Qualifications :

• Previous experience leading Sensory and Packaging.
• MBA or experience within Marketing or sales.

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COMPENSATION

In accordance with state law, the rate or range provided is Rich Products Corporation, its subsidiaries and affiliates ("Rich's"), reasonable estimate of the base compensation for this role.

The actual amount may be higher or lower, based on non-discriminatory factors such as experience, knowledge, skills, abilities, shift differential, and location.

Annual Range / Hourly Rate

$252,140.00-$468,260.00

Rich Products Corporation, its subsidiaries and affiliates ( Rich’s ), are committed to a policy of Equal Employment Opportunity and will not discriminate against an applicant or employee on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, national origin or ancestry, sex, age, physical or mental disability, veteran or military status, genetic information, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status or any other legally recognized protected basis under federal, state, or local law.

The information collected by this application is solely to determine suitability for employment, verify identity, and maintain employment statistics on applicants.

Applicants with disabilities may be entitled to reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act and certain state or local laws.

A reasonable accommodation is a change in the way things are normally done which will ensure an equal employment opportunity without imposing undue hardship on Rich’s.

Please contact Rich’s Human Resources department at [email protected] if you need assistance completing this application or to otherwise participate in the application process.

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