Director Global Sensory and User Experience

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Position Title: Director Global Sensory and User Experience

Position Type: Regular
– Full-Time ​

Position Location: Oakbrook Terrace

Requisition ID: 14765

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The Director, Global Sensory and User Experience (UX) is working cross-functionally with key stakeholders at all levels to build a cohesive sensory team and evolve the group into the McCain Global Sensory & UX Center of Excellence (CoE).

The position provides sensory and user experience leadership globally and includes the development of McCain’s sensory protocols, best practices, and environments for innovation as well as manufacturing quality related sensory standards in coordination with other functional leads.

Under the leadership of this position, the Global Sensory & UX CoE provides scientific sensory input for product development, commercialization, and manufacturing.

The position collaborates with the global network of chefs to provide guidance for customer facing projects.

This position serves as the overall leader for sensory across the company with accountabilities that impact R&D design-thinking, the development and scale up of new products, and the sustained performance of sensorial product quality in manufacturing.

The Director, Global Sensory and UX drives consumer-centric thinking, emotional understanding, competitive knowledge and intuition, and research solutions throughout the entire R&D development process to deliver winning experiences and enable transformational innovations.

The position has an advanced understanding of consumer products and usage, test methodologies as well as the strategic fit within the overall business and identifies the impact when recommending innovative solutions.

The Director, Global Sensory and UX also drives sensory standards and capabilities in Quality and Manufacturing to assure products meet and sustain the launch criteria.

The Director creates the standards for product evaluations at the regional and plant levels assuring clear protocols are followed, training is provided, calibrations are in place and data are treated effectively.

The position brings data and consumer focus to daily product reviews and regional product cuttings.

The position interacts closely with Product Development, Marketing, Consumer Insights, and Quality Assurance/Manufacturing to provide guidance and partnership in all stages of the stage-gate process.

The position also provides oversight and coordination of effective test plans to ensure optimized product design and appropriate testing to monitor manufacturing’s product quality.

In addition, this role provides input into Research and Development’s strategic pipeline plans as appropriate.

The Director, Global COE Sensory & UX develops and oversees a global network of internal and external sensory experts who are specialized in areas that strategically align with McCain’s Innovation and QA initiatives.

This role is responsible for R&D’s global sensory team (approx.

18 people) with

dotted line responsibility for the global QA sensory team.

Core Accountabilities/Outcomes :

1.

Drive the overall development of sensory capabilities within McCain with direct accountability to ‘build and sustain’.

Assure the latest approaches and appropriate practices are employed through design, scale-up and production of products that help maximize McCain’s competitive advantage.

Drive a deeper understanding of consumer needs and desired key product attributes to functional groups and key stakeholders.

2.

Provide input supported by scientific data on sensory attributes and product differentiation throughout the development and commercialization stages of the NPD (new product development) process, ensuring innovative new ingredients will make our food taste extraordinary.

3.