Global Head of Consumer Technical Insights

Want to help us bring happiness to the world? Want to join an ambitious and fast growing global biscuits and confectionery business investing heavily in iconic global brands, infrastructure and people? Then this is the place for you.

As proud bakers and chocolatiers and custodians of iconic global brands, we don’t compromise on the quality of ingredients in our products or on the people we hire. We are looking for entrepreneurial spirits who share our passion for bringing happiness to our consumers and who embody our Winning Traits.

To succeed at pladis you need to be purpose-led, resilient and positive to succeed here because we expect pace and agility, we insist on collaboration and demand accountability. If that is your thing, then pladis offers global ambition, a clear Vision and roadmap for success, challenge, and unrivalled opportunities to learn and make an impact

Click “Apply” to get started.

Our purpose is to bring happiness with every bite. It’s a commitment shared by every pladis colleague, all around the world.

Role Title: Global Head of Consumer Technical Insights Lead

Line Manager: VP Global Innovation & Technology

Location: Chiswick

Recruiter: Rachel Deman

Our story

Family and ideas have always been our ingredients. Our founding families believed biscuits and chocolates could bring moments of happiness to the world. Their ideas have stood the test of time. Their spirit continues to inspire our future. It’s in the care and the craft we bake into biscuits and chocolates that have been loved for generations. And it’s in the fresh ideas, the new twists, flavours and textures we add to old and new favourites.

A global community

Our 16,000 colleagues, in every corner of the world, bring their own experience of happiness to pladis. Each of us is unique but coming together as one family of bakers and chocolatiers working hard, with pride and with purpose. Because after all these years, we still believe biscuits and chocolates bring people together. We are pladis. We bake happiness. Happiness with every bite.

Inspired by you

Our founders didn’t follow rules and recipes, they created them. We’re looking for fresh thinkers to help us create the next chapter for pladis.

pladis succeeds because of people like you. People who wake up in the morning excited to get to work. Who believe in themselves and their potential. Who want to grow as part of a global community of like-minded colleagues.

Because growth is our oxygen and our fuel. And it’s our deep and abiding belief that growth comes from working together, helping each other out, always passionate about our purpose to bring happiness with every bite.

pladis colleagues care deeply about being the best. About winning, staying the course and never giving up. Whichever part of the world we’re in, whatever our role. Whether we’re baking, working in HR, finance, marketing or many other areas - we win as one pladis team.

And while we’re all unique, we share something in common. It’s the code by which we live and work. We call it our ‘Winning Traits & Behaviours’: Purpose Led, Agile, Collaborative, Positive and Resilient. Five aspects of pladis life that define who we are, how we interact and get things done.

Why join our team?

pladis works in highly competitive, fast moving markets where it is crucial to maintain and extend market share through profitable branded growth. It also has an exciting growth plan for emerging markets where offering the right value proposition is critical Innovation through product development, continuous value improvement and consumer perceived Quality superiority v competition are critical and key to delivering the business targets. This role will challenge and push the boundaries of conventional development to deliver differentiated product ideas.

We have an exciting and unique opportunity within our R&D function for a Consumer Technical Insights (CTI) Lead. Reporting into VP of R&D, you will manage consumer assessment and qualification of all UK & Ireland (UK&I) innovation, renovations, brand stewardship, productivity, and future proofing initiatives - defining consumer success criteria, claims opportunities, consumer co-creation, product design support and developing and performing learning plan to drive business growth.

This role is based at Chiswick Business Park, Chiswick

What will this role achieve?

The role demands strong technical and interpersonal capabilities to:

- Build and manage sensory capabilities globally
- Be the first among equals with the CTI lead UK & CTI Lead Turkey
- Set the agenda within R&D to raise the consumer research profile
- Secure global alignment to consumer success criteria and research principles/design and global findings plans
- Deliver consumer science learning plan in support of global innovation projects and the smaller regions who do not have their own CTO capability., which represent significant financial opportunities for pladis

What