Research & Innovation Research & Innovation User Experience Leader UKI & ALPRO EU User Experience lead

This User Experience leader role, based in Chiswick, is an exciting opportunity to join the Danone Research & Insights Europe team. The opportunities of this exciting role lie in the ability to interface daily with an exciting and growing global business with world leading brands from the Danone portfolio. You will be an active member of the dynamic User Experience community (more than 90 collaborators across the world), with sensory design and consumer understanding expertise, supporting product and packaging development teams to create consumer relevant product experiences at CBU and Regional levels. Key Activities You will be part of the Research & Insights UKI team (reporting to the R&I UKI director), who is responsible (Dairy, Plant-Based and Waters categories) for:

• Preparing the future of the cluster by fueling the innovation, renovation, reformulation pipeline in line with consumer expectations, business opportunities and brand strategy
• Ensuring the excellence of user centric product briefs for a superior, profitable, and sustainable product experience, in the context of the EU R&I strategy
Your scope of responsibilities dedicated to UKI + ALPRO User Experience brand lead at European level You will have 1 direct report Your key accountabilities will consist of: 1. Deep understanding of consumer needs, product usages & competition to uncover relevant and powerful insights 2. Ensuring awesome user experience in every product we launch, by identifying user experience drivers and their translation into sensory attributes 3. Guiding the sensory design of our products, with definition of sensory signatures and targets 4. Fueling and enabling innovation / renovation pipeline locally for the brands you will oversee All the above focused on contributing to business growth and building competitive advantage for Danone This role requires the individual to interface with multi-disciplinary teams and key capabilities in R&I, and to be a genuine business partner to the Strategy & Insights and marketing teams. Given this, the applicant should bring with him experience in consumer and sensory research together with a passion for bringing the consumer voice into the business, and ability to influence and lead the change with key business partners.

We would like you to demonstrate your following key skills:
• This role requires the individual to interface with multi-disciplinary teams and key capabilities in R&I, and to be a genuine business partner to the Strategy & Insights and marketing teams. Given this, the applicant should bring with him experience in consumer and sensory research together with a passion for bringing the consumer voice into the business, and ability to influence and lead the change with key business partners.
• Collaborative working skills (incl. with cross-functional teams), with strong leadership (incl. in complex matrix environment) and inter-personal skills for dealing with and influencing a variety of people (profile and seniority level)
• Business and results oriented, demonstrating insight mindset (ability to integrate various source of data, connect the dots and bring meaning, make data actionable)
• Curious and ability to voice data-based convictions, and drive the right discussion - constructively challenging the status quo
• Self-starter, able to quickly understand objectives and independently manage the delivery of recommendations
• Flexibility & quick adaptation
• Passion for food product, formulation, and pack, and for bringing consumer voice into the business
• People development and Project management skills in a matrix operating environment
Desired (Not essential)
• Food engineer degree or master's degree in Consumer & Sensory related sciences
• Extensive experience in UX roles or equivalent (Agency, FMCG, Flavors-fragrance business
• Strong knowledge in consumer (qualitative and quantitative) & sensory approach and tools
• Consumer / Sensory applied statistics knowledge
  
  Dedicated to bringing health through food to as many people as possible, we are a leading global food & beverage company built on four businesses: Essential Dairy and Plant-Based Products, Waters, Early Life Nutrition and Medical Nutrition.