Head of R&D

Job Description

As we continue to grow (including across Central & Eastern Europe and new acquisitions), we’re looking for a Head of R&D – Sweets to lead, inspire and elevate our innovation and delivery across the portfolio.

This is a high-impact, highly visible leadership role, one that blends strategy, delivery, and people leadership. If you thrive in a fast-paced environment and love turning ideas into products that consumers love, you’ll feel right at home here.

This is a broad, high-impact leadership role across all confectionery R&D, covering both Valeo brands and retailer brands, in the UK and CEE.

At its heart, your role is simple: set the standard, drive delivery, lead innovation, and build a brilliant team.

In practice, that means you’ll:

• Set the tone for R&D – bringing the right balance of creativity, rigour and discipline
• Keep the pipeline moving – ensuring innovation, renovation and productivity projects land on time and with pace
• Own the innovation agenda – shaping the sweets strategy and weaving ESG into everything we do
• Lead and grow the team – building capability, coaching talent, and creating a high-performing environment

Alongside that, you’ll:

• Work closely with Brand, Marketing and Commercial teams to bring great ideas to life
• Partner with customers and stakeholders to stay ahead of changing needs
• Strengthen how we deliver projects through clear, structured governance
• Make sure new launches work not just on paper, but in our factories
• Stay plugged into the outside world, spotting trends, technologies and new ideas worth exploring

Qualifications

We’re looking for someone who combines technical depth, commercial thinking and inspiring leadership.

You’ll likely bring:

• A degree in Food Science or a related discipline
• Strong experience across the full R&D lifecycle, from insight to delivery and measurement
• A proven track record of leading teams and delivering tangible business results
• Experience working cross-functionally and influencing senior stakeholders 
• A background in food or confectionery R&D, ideally within a fast-paced environment

And just as importantly, you are:

• A leader who can align, motivate and challenge
• Commercially minded, able to connect data with real-world business impact
• Comfortable operating at both strategic and hands-on levels
• A natural collaborator who can say what needs to be said—and bring people with you
• Someone who thrives on change, pace and continuous improvement
• Passionate about building teams that are better tomorrow than today

Additional Information

This is a chance to step into a true leadership role with breadth, visibility and influence—where you’ll shape not just products, but how we work as a business.

You’ll join a company that’s growing, evolving, and full of opportunity, with the backing to bring big ideas to life.