Director, Food Service & Freestyle Innovation

The Global Development and Innovation (GDI) center is pivotal to The Coca‐Cola Company's innovation in beverages across multiple categories (such as sparkling, tea and hydration) focused on product development, packaging & equipment development.

As a Director, Food Service & Freestyle Innovation you will lead a program of projects across various categories, contributing to our portfolio’s growth by developing new or enhancing existing beverages. You will support the development of Food Service & Freestyle strategy for the department. This role offers a unique blend of local and global impact, demanding technical expertise, creativity, and an eye for future trends. Strong digital and collaboration skills are needed to leverage Coca-Cola global network of expertise.

Key Responsibilities

Act as the Director/Technical Leader: Provide advanced technical leadership and expertise in the formulation, processing, and optimization of new and existing products to ensure excellence in product quality and performance. Work as part of a cross-functional team (regulatory affairs, quality, global subject matter experts(SMEs), marketing, procurement, manufacturing, and commercial) to build the annual business plan while leading a program of projects to deliver product enhancements, technologies, and innovations.

Strategy Development and Decision Making: Lead and develop the overarching Research & Development (R&D) strategy for the Food Service and Freestyle segments in North America, aligning with the overall company vision and objectives. Contribute to and influence the product portfolio strategy in collaboration with the network. Capture information, assess it, and make recommendations to Company management (e.g., senior Technical Innovation & Supply Chain (TISC), Food Service & Freestyle management) or give the The Coca-Cola Company (KO) system information about emerging business opportunities, technology capabilities, or scientific breakthroughs to offer solutions to technical problems and/or affect the Company's strategic direction.

Project Execution and Decision Making: Oversee multiple R&D projects, ensuring timely execution, adherence to budget, and achievement of project goals and milestones. Bringing together all technical resources required to execute new recipe development or adaptations ensuring projects meet quality, timing, budget targets, and alignment within the Food Service & Freestyle strategy. Employ a 'design to value' and end to end (E2E) approach to incorporate an innovative mindset with a focus on consumer-centric design, sustainability, regulatory requirements, and supply chain considerations from the start. Regularly takes high-quality and effective decisions drawing on broad work experience and technical knowledge.

Innovation Project Management: Drive the ideation, development, and implementation of innovative product solutions, ensuring a robust pipeline of new product launches that meet consumer needs and market trends. Develop and/or supervise development of lab-scale prototypes, conduct sensory tests, and facilitate pilot-scale productions and the scale up trial run in bottler/manufacturing plants. Apply statistical methods and design of experiments to enhance product development efficiency and learning. Leverage digital tools to document formulas and mixing instructions. Be aware of new approaches, track performance of innovation/renovation launched leveraging tools, to prioritize and communicate efficiently drive the implementation of change when needed.

Technical Communication and Collaboration: Collaborate with Marketing, Supply Chain, Quality Assurance, and Regulatory teams to ensure seamless product development and commercialization processes. Communicate with business leadership utilizing effective communication approaches on complex topics of significant business impact. Elevate project outcomes, share learnings, provide technical leadership in cross-functional teams, and provide insights and data to guide decisions and innovations. Your effective storytelling and technical communication will bridge technical recommendations with strategic business objectives.

System and Market Understanding: In-depth understanding of Coca-Cola’s North America system dynamics, from bottling operations to global supply chains, and translate trends and the science of taste into compelling product propositions. Strong knowledge of North America Supply Chain capabilities.

Sustainability and Technology: Integrate sustainability principles and digital tools (e.g., AI, digital prototyping) early in the development process to map impacts and accelerate innovation. Your digital acumen will enable you to leverage data and technology in product development and risk management as well as contribute to unlocking future opportunities.

New Risk Awareness: Stay informed about emerging risks, especially those related to agricultural ingredient selection and product design, to ensure safety. This includes managing allergens, microbial risks, and sensitivities of products and raw materials, as well as process recommendations.

External Focus and Innovation: Ability to identify and pilot novel propositions that can give our brands, products & our customers a competitive edge. Identify new technologies and ingredients and evaluate their potential for our purposes, co-creating the innovation pipeline.

Market Insights and Competitor Awareness: Maintain a strong interest in the activities and strategies of our competitors, consumer & customer needs as well as overall market trends. This involves not just understanding what exists but imagining new possibilities and translating them into technically feasible solutions. Ability to use this information to shape & drive Food Service & Freestyle strategy.

Digital Savviness for Innovation: Harness digital tools, technologies, and platforms to gather insights for product development, such as market trends, consumer preferences, and social media information. Use artificial intelligence to aid in ideation and concept development, accelerate the creation of new ideas, and utilize digital prototyping to speed up innovation and enhance product quality. Employ data and software tools for managing sustainability from the design phase and assessing risks more effectively. Propose and drive continuous improvement for the category/department.

Qualifications & Requirements

At least 12 years successful product development experience in the beverages industry or 6-8 successful experience in the food industry.

Bachelor's, Master’s, or Post-Graduate degree in food science, chemistry, or related field.

Fluent in English, with proficiency in an additional language preferred.

Willing to travel up to 20% annually.

Desired Skills And Competencies

• Strong knowledge of beverage development, ingredient knowledge, and industry standards.
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and project management abilities.
• Agility, resilience, and creativity to navigate new product development projects.
• Digital literacy: Advanced digital skills to employ data analytics, AI, and digital prototyping in innovation. Data integrity and cybersecurity awareness.
• Commitment to sustainability and familiarity with science-based targets for eco-design and supply chain (e.g., tracking ingredient sourcing and lifecycle impacts, and foundational knowledge on circular economy).
• Drive holistic strategy and implement business agendas.
• Stakeholder management, innovation leadership, and strategic decision-making.
• Drive continuous process improvement and identify opportunities for enhancements.
• Interpret data to drive decision-making and communicate with business leadership on complex topics.
• Proficiency in statistical analysis and experimental design.
• Team Leadership and Development: Mentor and develop a high-performing R&D team, fostering a culture of innovation, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Proficiency to navigate within diverse ways of working. Embodying empathy and adeptness in conflict resolution.
  
  

Our Purpose And Growth Culture

We are taking deliberate action to nurture an inclusive culture that is grounded in our company purpose, to refresh the world and make a difference. We act with a growth mindset, take an expansive approach to what is possible and believe in continuous learning to improve our business and ourselves. We focus on four key behaviors – curious, empowered, inclusive and agile – and value how we work as much as what we achieve. We believe that our culture is one of the reasons our company continues to thrive after 130+ years. Visit Our Purpose and Vision to learn more about these behaviors and how you can bring them to life in your next role at Coca-Cola.

Skills

Chemistry; Product Development; Continual Improvement Process; Research and Development Operations; Environmental Science; Microbiology Testing; Project Management; Food Sciences; Food Technology; Communication; Food Safety and Sanitation; Laboratory Testing; Data Compilation; Quality Control (QC); Green Solutions; Sensory Testing