Research, Innovation & Development Platform Director KIRI _BOURSIN_OOH (W/M)

Research, Innovation & Development Platform Director KIRI _BOURSIN_OOH (W/M)

Bel Group is a leading provider in the food industry, known for its brand portfolio including The Laughing Cow®, Kiri®, Babybel®, Boursin® and others.

Job Location: Suresnes, France

Contract Type: Permanent (Unlimited-term)

Start Date: Immediately available

Location & Start Date

Suresnes - France. The role requires frequent international trips to markets and factories.

Mission & Responsibilities

The Radical Innovation and Development (RID) team works with the Brands, Operations, Finance, and Quality teams to turn market signals into successful business projects that drive sustainable and profitable growth. You will translate stakeholder insights into decisive projects and manage financial and extra‑financial KPI delivery.

Accountability

• Lead, direct, and inspire the Kiri, Boursin & OOH teams
• Define the innovation/renovation/CSR roadmap with key stakeholders
• Manage the portfolio of projects to achieve market win with relevant KPIs (innovation net sales, productivity, CSR…) and lead the decision‑making process (CODEV Brands & OOH)
• Identify and mobilise required resources to deliver on time and in full
• Manage and grow people, fostering a culture of openness, learning, experimentation, and diversity, equality and inclusion
• Contribute to the Research, Innovation and Development strategy through participation in the RID Management Committee

Responsibilities

• Drive execution excellence by adhering to set plans and making necessary trade‑offs to fulfil short‑term and long‑term commitments
• Ensure prioritisation and resource allocation aligned with the business strategy to maximise global impact
• Mobilise cross‑platform resources (Packaging Excellence Centre, Research, pilots & labs…) to support deliverables
• Build up the skills of a team of around twenty people spread over 4 geographic areas to drive and land innovation, renovation and CSR projects for products and packaging
• Drive engagement to achieve results
• Manage your budget (overhead, CAPEX, OPEX)

Profile

Required skills to perform in the job:

• Ability to shape a strategy with key stakeholders
• Excellent communication and influence skills to drive collaboratively your agenda
• Pragmatism, agility, simplicity to work efficiently
• Team leadership to grow, engage and transform
• Commitment to deliver results engaging all stakeholders (marketing, sales, supply chain, procurement, quality, finance…)
• Strong business acumen (finance, end‑to‑end innovation/renovation/cost‑saving process)
• Action‑oriented and decision‑oriented

Required background and/or level of professional experience:

• Advanced degree in Food Technology or Food Science, knowledge of the dairy industry a plus
• Minimum 15 years of experience in an FMCG company
• Experience in management (transversal or hierarchic) in a multi‑cultural environment
• Technical know‑how from development to production (product, process and pack)
• User‑oriented mindset (user tests, sensory tools, design thinking …)
• Fluent English