Job Summary

Key Responsibilities

• Innovation, Management and Strategy
• Proactive and autonomous understanding of area of responsibility (geographic area, category, or entity), competitive analysis and identification of gaps and opportunities in knowledge and capabilities
• People management experience, ability to manage 1-3 direct reports 
• Harvest, funnel and disseminate knowledge and insights from both internal and external sources.
• Actively support pilots of new PX capabilities within the team
• Train internal stakeholders and team members, and coach direct reports on capabilities, expertise, and knowledge relative to the area of responsibility
• Ambassador of internal and external recognition of IFF expertise in sensory, consumer and cognitive science
• Work in close collaboration with Sales partners and Category Marketing to identify how PX can impact business performance.
• Projects and Customers
• Influence the generation of business-relevant projects internally and at customers.
• Proactively screen project pipeline, screen/challenge reactive requests for support, manage competing priorities, engage with stakeholders to align on the approach and allocate resources accordingly.
• Identify the relevant sensory, consumer or cognitive methodology to best match project objectives.
• Execute or drive the execution of sensory, consumer or cognitive science research to generate quality and relevant data.
• Analyze the data based on best practices and extract actionable insights for the project
• Work in close collaboration with IC&D partner to transfer the insights and guide product design, formulation and development
• Be responsible for communicating and presenting in an impactful way the approach and/or insights at various stages to stakeholders - project team, customers, leadership.
• Timely documentation and system management: ensuring all necessary documents are archived, tasks managing system is updated, databases are filled.

About You: 
 To be successful in this role, you must have 8-12 years of experience in the field of sensory and consumer research, preferably in the food and beverage industry as well as experience in cross functional team management. You must be willing to take risks, collaborate with diverse teams to find solutions. Work closely with PX regional and globally community to learn and grow. You are strategic and insightful while being pragmatic and results oriented. More than anything, you are passionate about the profession and want to make difference.

 As a Product Experience Lead, you will… 
•    Work with cross functional teams (category leaders, commercial, marketing, innovation, creation, and design teams) and effectively design and implement sensory & consumer insights methods for product development and formulation for the creation of products people love. 
•    Be the voice of the consumer and create product experience insights to bring to customers. 
•    Generate sensory and consumer data through: 
o    Effective use of discriminative and descriptive sensory methods 
o    Design of quantitative consumer tests 
o    Execution of qualitative consumer research (from creating moderator guides to moderating, assimilating results, and reporting) 
•    Analyze complex consumer and sensory data using statistical models, textual analysis, etc.; translate effectively raw data into insights and actionable recommendations that support the development and design of products.  
•    Supported the development and implementation of new research tools and models to provide future in-depth insights to products and consumer behavior.  
•    Present findings to internal stakeholders and customers to guide development and display consumer understanding in the products developed.  
•    Collaborate with regional and global Product Experience Team  
•    Coach and mentor junior team members
Required Skills: 
•    High level Expertise in qualitative and quantitative methodologies and related data analysis; being at ease and working independently with statistical programs such as R, SPSS, JMP, Alstadt 
•    Moderate level of expertise and works independently on data analysis and interpretation. Knowledge of data analysis concepts such as regression, clustering, regularization.
•    Strategic thinking, learning agility “rolling up sleeves” to drive for results, creativity, problem solving and strong business acumen. 
•    Strong people skills and an effective collaborator and coaching skills 
•    Influencing and networking skills 
•    Ability to craft a compelling story driven by data to deliver insights. 
•    Demonstrating inclusive leadership within cross-functional teams 
•    Able to work autonomously with minimal supervision by manager.  
•    Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English    
 
Required Experience: 
•    Minimum 8 years of experience in qualitative and quantitative consumer research, preferably within food and beverage manufacturing 
•    Masters and or PhD in Sensory Science, Experimental Psychology, Neuroscience, Food Science or related area  

Preferred Experience: 
•    Good understanding of sensory and consumer methodologies and statistical analysis
•    Trained in qualitative, quantitative research methods.
•    Knowledge and fluency in French and Arabic 

 Temporary Commercial Account Manger Responsibility 
Duration up to 6 months and not exceeding 1 year 

These additional responsibilities are in constructive collaboration with PX role responsibilities. Learnings from both roles can be leveraged for building customer intimacy

Account Manager Responsibilities:
1.    Assist on project execution for local follow up 
2.    Develop further customer intimacy owning an important part on the customer relationship.
Following responsibilities not included: (1) price negotiation (2)supply chain management (3)core listing process (4)TSR loading on Salesforce

Culture Principles 
•    ACT AS AN OWNER – We take ownership and work with passion and integrity. Our teams are empowered to make decisions and help the entire organization thrive. 
•    ADAPTABILITY- We are celebrating our successes and learn from our failures. You are willing to take chances and adapt to IFF work culture. Be ready to ‘roll up your sleeves’ to develop and grow the region and yourself.
•    BE AGILE – We constantly push for progress and respond to the needs of our customers and the world with speed, skill, and creativity. 
•    COLLABORATE AND WIN TOGETHER – Our bond with our customers and colleagues will power innovation and our shared success. 
•    BE INCLUSIVE – We have a proud history of honoring and fostering diversity and inclusion. Our commitment is to embrace diversity of thought, enhance the feeling of inclusion for all employees and transform our future.  Your Uniqueness Unleash Our Potential! 

We are a global leader in taste, scent, and nutrition, offering our customers a broader range of natural solutions and accelerating our growth strategy. At IFF, we believe that your uniqueness unleashes our potential. We value the diverse mosaic of the ethnicity, national origin, race, age, sex, or veteran status. We strive for an inclusive workplace that allows each of our colleagues to bring their authentic self to work regardless of their religion, gender identity & expression, sexual orientation, or disability.

Visit IFF.com/careers/workplace-diversity-and-inclusion to learn more