INNOVATION PROJECT MANAGER

MISSION Design, plan, coordinate, and execute Innovation projects with the aim of developing and designing new products and processes to ensure service, competitiveness, specialization and customer satisfaction.
OBJECTIVES Innovation products sales (€) Innovation gross margin (%) Number of successful product launch % of success between sub & confirmed launches New Products Execution of projects assigned RESPONSABILITIES - Encourage the creative potential of work teams focused on new raw materials, challenges, or ideas.
Apply management decisions with an innovative approach, illustrating the practicality of tools and instruments to the work team.
- Lead the technological surveillance and innovation system of the company, focused on generating knowledge, new products, processes, and strategic and tactical challenges of the company.
Develop comprehensive project plans, outlining goals, timelines, resource requirements, and key milestones.
Execute and oversee innovation projects, ensuring alignment with business objectives.
- Design and coordinate Innovation projects, study of nutritional properties, improvement of food safety and new technologies for the generation of Know-how and support the development of new products and processes.
Conduct tests for Innovation projects, including laboratory prototypes and scaled-up studies in pilot and industrial plants.
Innovate and improve product and process by defining and adjusting process instructions (process parameters and lines) for new products.
- Generate, contribute, and manage scientific-technical information for the development of new products or improvements in product, process, projects.
- Assess the technical feasibility of customer requests and oversee the planning and execution of Innovation project experiments.
Analyze the data obtained to develop prototypes that fulfill external and internal requirements.
Monitor design-related aspects through consumer visits, product shelf analysis, and complaint follow-ups to ensure consistent defined quality.
Collaborate with clients and sales to communicate the development status and address potential issues.
Manage the creative presentation of prototypes for customer interactions and exhibitions.
Analyze the critical path of the project in the design stage, analyzing MOQ and availability (raw materials, packaging and production orders), lead time and price.
- Manage the resources of the project guaranteeing project result at the lowest possible cost.
Search and select new ingredients and raw materials, by scouting new suppliers, considering the physic, chemical and microbiologic characteristics and legal aspects applicable, defining and validating the new specifications - Supervise Laboratory tasks - Follow up the projects from technical point of view with the technicians and Product developers of the customers - Analyze consumer behavior using trend studies, benchmarks, and blind test results to define technical parameters for designing new products.
Direct selection, training, and calibration tests for an internal tasting panel, and oversee the dynamics of the internal consumer group to refine prototypes and assess acceptance and competitive positioning - Participate and alert the Crisis Committee to assess signs and possibilities of food crises, as well as guide customers, end consumers, and internal clients.
- Comply with internal and external regulations, including customer policies - Optimize resource utilization while maintaining high-quality standards - Assure the coordination, compliance with internal and external regulations, and the elaboration and control of the management plan, within the scope of their area, in order to achieve maximum efficiency and profitability - Process data and conduct statistical analysis to contribute to the decision-making of the organization - Utilize data-driven insights to inform decision-making and project direction - Ensure product traceability