Specification Manager – Micro Ingredients

Research & Innovation at Danone

About the job

Nutricia Research Centre for Specialized Nutrition, located in the Utrecht Science Park in the Netherlands, is a state-of-the-art Life Science innovation center for the development of new product concepts for Specialized Nutrition. We create formulas that provide clinically substantiated health benefits to vulnerable consumers – infants, toddlers, elderly and patients.

For the Specialized Nutrition (SN) division, we are looking for a Specification Manager to join the Global Specification Management team.

Your main responsibilities:

• Manage the Micro ingredients (vitamins/premixes/amino acids) dedicated portfolio worldwide, holding specific ingredient expertise and creating the specifications.
• Deliver specifications that support innovation, renovation, productivity, and review cycle management projects, ensuring full compliance with strict SN requirements and quality standards.
• Maintain Food Ingredients specifications from the dedicated portfolio in an efficient manner, in line with technical, food safety, and regulatory requirements.
• Drive specification upgrading process: functional specification, supplier specific (tolerances), new regulatory global requirements, safety risks anticipation.
• Identify opportunities for specification improvement, efficiency, complexity reduction, security of supply and translate those into concrete harmonization projects across factories and suppliers.
• Support and advise Innovation/renovation development projects with new ingredients.
• Ensure new & existing ingredients comply to quality, functional, food safety & regulatory requirements.
• Develop Raw Materials expertise as defined by the team leader, linked to business/stakeholder needs (compliance, innovation, etc).
• Co-build supply strategy by partnering with internal (Purchasing, Regulatory and R&I teams) and external parties (suppliers, technology partners).
• Manage internal (IRO Project Leaders, Regulatory, R&I etc.) and external (ingredient suppliers) stakeholders.

About you

You are a team player who can easily connect with cross-functional departments and are strong in stakeholder management. You have strong communication skills to communicate with all levels and can easily build effective working relationships. For this role, it is important to have a proactive, result-driven attitude with a strong eye for detail.

In addition, you fit this role perfectly because you are/have:

• A Master’s degree or higher in Food Technology, Food or Quality.
• A minimum of 2 years of experience within R&I or similar technical field (Product Development is preferred).
• Fluent in English (French will be an additional asset).
• Punctual, structured, agile and proactive in work and communication.
• Strong in stakeholder management and comfortable working in a non-hierarchical, cross-functional and highly international environment.
• A team player, pragmatic, critical thinker and have a problem-solving mindset.
• Resilience and determination to make things happen.
• SN Category (R&I/ingredient) understanding.
• Professional regarding quality, data, compliance.

About Danone

At Danone we are committed to our mission “bringing health, through food to as many people as possible”. We are working together to make sure that our brands, like Nutricia and Nutrilon, create real benefits for people, communities and the planet. You will be part of one of the largest Certified B Corps™ in the world. Being B Corp means to be part of a select movement of companies verified to be meeting the highest standards of social and environmental criteria and using business as a force for good. One Planet. One Health.

Our state-of-the-art research and innovation center builds bridges between food and science and is global in reach, founded on over 125 years of experience in life & food science, technology and user experience and is at the forefront of pioneering advances in specialized nutrition.

We offer:

All Danoners receive a complete package of benefits. This includes a competitive salary and yearly bonus, a premium free pension, 30 days of annual leave (with the opportunity to purchase more) and you will receive a monthly health care allowance. In addition, you can get discount on your gym membership, and we offer initiatives focused on nutrition, physical, and mental health. We provide continuous learning opportunities through workshops, online courses and training sessions.

We put people at the center of everything we do. Bring your unique perspective, ambitions and ideas to the table – the impact you could make might surprise you.

Need more information? Please contact Joost Rijksen, joost.rijksen@danone.com