The Coca-Cola Company is constantly evolving – we develop new products, acquire great brands and pioneer new ways of doing things. We sell four of the world's top five non-alcoholic sparkling drinks (Coke, Coke light, Sprite and Fanta) and 3,600+ products in over 200 countries, including water, juices, energy drinks, and even tea and coffee. Altogether, that adds up to more than 1.9 billion drinks around the globe every day.

POSITION : Product Design & Innovation Manager

Job Summary

• The Product Design & Innovation Manager is the Product Development subject matter expert. The job holder must drive and monitor the process of all Product Innovation projects at an operational level, as pre-defined by the Business Plan.
• For timely project planning and execution, he/ she will be required to help identify and deliver specific tasks in product development ensuring that from product briefing to approval of formulas are carried through the Common innovation framework (CIF) - including all stage and gate routines.
• For timely project planning and execution, he/ she will be required to help identify and deliver specific tasks in product development.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

• Assumes overall responsibility for product formulation, optimization and compliance initiatives for the Business Unit (BU).
• Responsible for crafting product development brief in liaison with respective Strategic Marketing Managers
• Acts as the principal sole point of contact between BU and designated Research & Development facilities working on new formulation development for all BU NPD projects
• Drives formulation prototype design, manufacture and screening in conjunction with R&D and in compliance with BU and company research protocols.
• Is the PAR process owner in Picasso (the company’s formula database), coordinating the creation, submission, approval, issuing and maintenance of Formulas.
• Responsible for formula optimization initiatives, (COGs reduction, Ingredients standardization/substitution, Renew the Category Growth) in conjunction with Scientific Regulatory Affairs, Brand teams, Knowledge & Insights, R&D & CPS.
• Mapping BU technical capability and establishment of possible / optimal product formulations relating to this technical capability.
• Identifies new ingredients suppliers and takes them through the Approval process in conjunction with R&D, CPS and Procurement.
• Manage the communication and effective flow of information and approval systems associated with the Technical Commercialization Process.
• Establish, communicate and enforce policies and processes regarding formula and regulatory issues, thereby ensuring efficient stewardship of all product related activities including all Technical, Marketing and legal approvals.
• Develop, share and ensure effective use of Best Practice and Common Platforms relevant to Product Innovation.
• Explore and assess potential relationships with R&D and CPS partners (e.g. cross BU partners) for the purpose of sharing investment/risk, or enhancing business through new brands, technologies and processes.

Communication Complexities:
Internal/External Contact:

• Corporate/ Global Juice Community
• Corporate Formula Governance Team
• Europe, Eurasia, Middle East & Africa R&D and CPS
• Strategic Marketing Managers
• Knowledge & Insights Manager
• Government Agencies/ Bodies (31 Countries)
• Professional Bodies

Nature and Purpose of Communication:

• Best Practice and Information sharing
• Fast tracking of Product Innovation work stream.
• Providing Product Innovation expertise.
• Samples tests and trials supervision.
• Seeking advice on regulatory, technical and legal issues.

Analysis:

• A vast geography (31 Markets, 55 Bottling Plants, 4 International languages – English, French, Portuguese, Spanish)
• Technical Communication to Non-technical Audience
• Advanced Regulatory Knowledge – expertise on regulatory and political landscape affecting foods and beverages
• Cross cultural and language barriers

Judgement and Decision Making:

• Understands the external environment (competitive and market) and identifies new sources of opportunity.
• Interrogates data to identify core business levers.
• Balances facts with intuition to distil complex opportunities into compelling business cases.
• Leverages analytical rigor to prioritize and allocate resources effectively.
• Anticipates future trends to engage and delight consumers
• Joint responsibility with Team members to create and execute projects as set in Annual Business Plan
• See key duties/responsibilities

Innovations:

• Come up with new processes by challenging the status quo.
• Evaluate feasibility of new products by pre-product testing
• Validation of key product/pack/price innovations across channels
• Crafts a vision for what the brand/category/market could be
• Demonstrates judgement to define a compelling core creative idea
• Pursues innovation and change with a mind-set of continuous improvement
• New Packaging development, approval and execution
• New formula creation, approval and issuing and CPS management

Supervisory Responsibilities:

• Direct Reports ( Position Titles, not names): N/A
• Supporting Service: BU and Franchise Technical & Marketing Teams

Qualifications / Competencies / Skills

• Leader of Self

Technical Skills:

• Project Management
• Commercialization Process, CIF, CokeWorks
• New Product Development Procedures
• Strategic Innovation Planning
• Juice & Carbonated Soft Drinks  Manufacture
• Understanding Brand Essentials
• System and Bottler Economics
• Concentrate Plant Supply Processes
• Regulatory Stewardship
• Research and Development
• Packaging and Print Technology
• Innovation Business cases
• Brand and Portfolio Strategy
• System and Bottler Economics
• Production Planning and Control

Generic Competencies:

• Act like an Owner
• Inspire Others
• Develop Self and Others
• Collaborative with the system, Customers and Key Stakeholders
• Drive Innovation

Required Experience

• 8-10 years’ experience in Product Development, exposure to beverage manufacturing will be an advantage
• Bilingual skills (English & French)

Educational Requirements
Education required:

• University/Bachelor's degree

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree (Chemistry, Biology, Food Science, etc.). Professional certifications in Beverage Product R&D and/or Commercialization expertise will be an added advantage.

Cultural Diversity:

• Need to understand cultural differences in different markets to translate data into meaningful business insights. Has worked most of his/her career in a collaborative working situation, in which different viewpoints from a range of stakeholders needed to be taken into account to arrive at a productive solution.
• Has worked most of his/her career in a collaborative working situation, in which different viewpoints from a range of stakeholders needed to be taken into account to arrive at a productive solution

Working Conditions:

• As per the assigned geography.

Travel Requirements:

• Significant travel may be required within and outside the BU – 50%

Additional Informations

• West Africa Business Unit (WABU) is a multi-Country Business Unit with a myriad of projects constantly running.
• This role, reporting into the BU Commercialization & Innovations Manager, will be key in ensuring Innovations delivery within time and cost constraints.
• Due to the sheer size of the BU and the peculiarities of each market, substantive travel and use of alternative communication technology is required.