Process Excellence Lead (Pel) Product & Development Italy +8-10 years of experience Research & [...]

### Process Excellence Lead (Pel) Product & DevelopmentPublicFull-time40 h/weekItalyHybridStart date: As soon as possibleEnd date: No end dateYearly gross base salary80000 - 100000 EUR/y### Job DescriptionPosition: Process Excellence Lead – Product & DevelopmentOverview

The Process Excellence Lead (PEL) – Product & Development is a senior, business-facing transformation and capability leader within a global consumer goods environment. This role integrates process, data, systems, analytics and organizational capabilities across the Product & Development domain to ensure scalable, standardized, and value-driven ways of working across Innovation, Product Development, Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), Industrialisation and related RDQ processes.Working closely with senior P&D and RDQ stakeholders, regional business leaders and cross-functional partners (Supply Chain, Manufacturing, Quality, Regulatory, IT, Data & Analytics and transformation teams), the PEL drives deployment, continuous improvement, governance and capability uplift. The role accelerates innovation, improves development effectiveness, enables successful scale-up and commercialization, and establishes consistent global P&D processes.Key responsibilities* Business partnering & functional leadership

+ Serve as a strategic partner to senior P&D and RDQ leaders, co-owning the transformation and continuous-improvement roadmap.

+ Translate Innovation and Product Development priorities into structured capability, process, data and transformation initiatives.

+ Collaborate across R&D, Product Development, Quality, Regulatory, Supply Chain, Manufacturing, Procurement, Marketing, IT and Data & Analytics.

+ Influence senior stakeholders to align business priorities with enterprise transformation efforts.

+ Act as the connector between product development teams and the broader organization to enable end-to-end delivery from concept to commercialization.* Product & development capability transformation

+ Lead and support transformation initiatives across:

- Product Development & Innovation

- Stage-Gate / innovation governance

- Product Lifecycle Management (PLM)

- Formula, recipe & specification management

- Product & packaging development

- Process and technology development

- Product scale-up & industrialisation

- Commercialization

- Ingredient & raw material management

- Scientific and product data

- Quality & regulatory integration within the development lifecycle

+ Align processes, data, systems, analytics and operating models with business priorities and enterprise standards.

+ Drive simplification and standardization of global Product Development processes while allowing appropriate flexibility for category, market and regulatory needs.* Innovation, product lifecycle & commercialization

+ Improve end-to-end innovation and product development lifecycle performance from concept through development, validation, scale-up, launch and lifecycle management.

+ Identify opportunities to increase speed-to-market, development effectiveness, scalability and innovation productivity.

+ Strengthen integration between P&D, Quality, Regulatory, Supply Chain and Manufacturing for smoother scale-up and commercialization.

+ Ensure integration of product, formula, packaging, specification and regulatory requirements throughout the lifecycle.* Deployment & continuous improvement

+ Lead deployment and transformation activities across the P&D domain.

+ Drive continuous improvement tied to measurable outcomes: innovation speed, time-to-market, development productivity, product quality and operational effectiveness.

+ Ensure stakeholder engagement, change adoption and benefit realization across global and regional teams.

+ Monitor process effectiveness and capability maturity; identify opportunities for simplification, automation and removal of non-value activities.* Digital, data & systems transformation

+ Partner with IT and Data & Analytics to evolve the digital P&D landscape and support adoption of platforms such as PLM, specification management, formula/recipe management, QMS, LIMS, ERP and related R&D systems.

+ Strengthen governance and quality of product, specification, ingredient and scientific data.

+ Champion digital ways of working and the appropriate use of analytics, automation and AI-enabled capabilities.

+ Ensure technology solutions enable standardized processes without adding unnecessary complexity.* Governance & cross-functional integration

+ Own and maintain P&D process standards, templates, data requirements and governance frameworks.

+ Lead governance forums and decision-making processes across P&D, RDQ and enterprise transformation stakeholders.

+ Evaluate enhancements for scalability, consistency and business value.

+ Act as liaison among P&D teams, global process owners, Quality, Regulatory, Supply Chain, Manufacturing, IT and transformation teams.

+ Promote global standardization while balancing category, regional and local requirements.* Capability development & leadership

+ Build and strengthen Process Excellence and P&D capability communities across functions and regions.

+ Foster a culture of innovation, simplification, accountability, collaboration and continuous improvement.

+ Support capability development, knowledge sharing and adoption of global best practices.

+ Coach and influence teams to adopt process-led, data-driven and digitally enabled ways of working.

+ Lead change management to embed new processes, systems and capabilities sustainably.Required experience & qualifications* 10+ years’ experience in FMCG/consumer goods or complex Product Development, R&D or transformation environments.* Strong background in Product Development, R&D and/or Innovation, including experience across the end-to-end lifecycle from concept through industrialisation and commercialization.* Practical experience with PLM and related Product Development systems and processes.* Proven Process Excellence, Continuous Improvement and business transformation experience.* Experience driving global or regional process and capability deployments.* Knowledge of quality, regulatory, specification and product compliance considerations within product development.* Demonstrated business partnering with senior P&D, RDQ and cross-functional stakeholders in matrixed, global organizations.* Strong stakeholder management, governance and influencing skills.* Ability to bridge business, scientific/technical and technology teams effectively.* Experience leading transformation, digitalization or capability deployment programmes.Preferred profile* Senior transformation leader with deep Product Development/R&D and FMCG experience.* Comfortable operating at the intersection of innovation, product development, process, data, systems and organizational change.* Understands the product journey from idea and formulation through development, validation, scale-up and commercialization, including interfaces with Quality, Regulatory, Manufacturing and Supply Chain.* Combines technical and functional credibility with Process Excellence and transformation capabilities and can influence senior leaders across global, matrixed organizations.If you would like, I can tailor this description to a specific hiring grade, shorten it for a job posting, or convert it into an interview brief or competency matrix.Show More...### Required experience8-10 years### Industry experienceFood and Beverage Manufacturing3-5 years of experience### SkillsResearch & Development Operations10+ yearsProduct Development & Innovation10+ yearsQuality Management Systems (Qms)10+ yearsProduct Lifecycle Management (Plm)7-9 yearsRegulatory Affairs & Product Compliance7-9 yearsBusiness Process Transformation & Continuous Improvement7-9 yearsProcess Excellence & Governance10+ yearsBusiness Partnering & Stakeholder Management10+ years### Education* Masters of Data science* Masters of Computer science### LanguagesNative or Professional proficiencyEnglishItalian### Management levelSenior### Contract DetailsType of the employmentFull-timeDirect Employment (Fixed period or permanent)Contract durationStart dateAs soon as possibleEnd dateNo end date### Work LocationMain locationHybridItalymin. 3 days/week at office### Benefits & ExpensesBenefitsPension, Work Phone, Work Laptop, Paid HolidaysAdditional feesBonus scheme #J-18808-Ljbffr