Job Title: Business & Innovation Officer (R&D)
Job Location: Lagos
Job Details:
Role Information
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- The Manager, Business & Innovation will play a leadership role in guiding the new product development on our core businesses as well as driving new category innovation
- This role will ensure R&D activities drive to achieve strategic objectives, improve market position, and optimize profitability
- Through close partnership with the marketing, sales and supply chain teams he/she will lead the development and commercialization new core products, optimization of current offerings and identification and execution of cost savings initiatives.
Job Description
- Collaborate with Marketing, Sales and Engineering to develop innovation plans.
- Leverage consumer insights and emerging technologies to guide product innovation and renovation plans
- Leverage internal and external resources to identify emerging technologies and translate these into new product ideas that are aligned with the business strategy.
- Lead product development, process development and ingredient technology efforts to develop and commercialize new and improved products, cost optimization and quality improvement
- Manage a complex and dynamic project portfolio to ensure attainment of business goals, including prioritization and execution strategy.
- Ensure robust experimentation/design principles and commercialization processes to achieve project objectives and commercial requirements (development efficiency, stability, shelf life).
- Manage R&D personnel, including priority setting, coaching and skill development
- Develop and lead annual cost optimization plans
- Develop and manage R&D Department budget, ensuring efficient utilization of resources and achievement of annual business plan.
- Collaborate with key customers as required to drive customer-specific innovation
- Ensure ongoing evaluation of the competitive landscape and competitive innovation.
- Meeting with business management, marketing, and the R&D team to discuss product ideas.
- Conducting market research and evaluating similar products and their functions.
- Collaborating with the engineering and marketing department on product feasibility.
- Redesigning existing products to enhance functionality or reduce costs.
- Creating design projects and specification sheets.
- Presenting product designs to management and stakeholders.
- Overseeing the engineering of product prototypes.
- Testing prototype products for functionality, ease-of-use, and longevity
- Overseeing the production process.
Education / Experience
- B.Sc in Business or Science and Engineering. Advanced Business Degree or Ph.D
- 10+ years technology and business experience
- Excellent understanding of the product development process and innovation stage gate principle
- Demonstrated ability to develop and execute technology strategy that delivers on business need
- Strong project management skills and excellent communication, both oral and written
- People leadership skills and the ability to manage, mentor and develop others
Competencies Required:
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills with strong customer focus.
- Excellent organizational and follow up skills with strong attention to detail.
- Ability to adapt to a changing environment.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
- Highly motivated with the ability to work independently.
- Strong business acumen and ability to translate technology to potential business impacts.
- Exhibits a curious mind.
- Demonstrated ability to get to the essence of a new concept quickly.
- Knowledge of front end of innovation tools and processes
- Demonstrated success with creating a technology platform or new business development
- Demonstrated success in more than one industry
- Coaching and developing others
- Ability to meet time-sensitive deadlines.
- Strong innovation and/or networking skills.
- Demonstrated success in more than one industry
- Negotiation and persuasion skills.
- Demonstrated success with creating a technology platform or new business development
- Knowledge of front end of innovation tools and processes.
- Strong business and technical acumen.
- Would prefer candidate to be multilingual – not a must.
- Demonstrated ability to make things happen – this is an important characteristic.
How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should send their CV to: [email protected] using the Job Title as the subject of the email.
Deadline: January 22, 2021
Job Features
Job Category | Business Development Management, Consulting / Business Strategy/ Planning |