Barilla is an Italian family-owned food company. Established in 1877, it’s now an international Group present in more than 100 countries. A world leader in the markets of pasta and ready–to–use sauces in continental Europe, bakery products in Italy and crispbread in Scandinavia, the Barilla Group is recognized worldwide as a symbol of Italian know–how. “Good for You, Good for the Planet” is Barilla’s purpose and only way each person in the Group works and of which is ambassador. It means caring for the wellbeing of people and the planet in everything Barilla does, from the field to consumption; it also means promoting open and transparent working relationships in the communities Barilla is part of. Job Purpose: Leading the R&D activities for the Canadian Business and US WASA Business to ensure flawless execution of innovation and productivity initiatives. The role will directly contribute to the product development and Innovation pipeline across all categories, with added support from the regional product development team when needed. The Manager will ensure the development of the short/long term customer business development strategies while partnering and influencing the Regional Americas functions such as quality, packaging, industrialization, regulatory, gastronomy, and product development. Key Accountabilitie s: + Support the superior as the point of reference for all the RDQ activities in the country, in alignment with the regional RDQ functions to ensure the governance and management of short and mid-term RDQ + Manage, along with Canadian Marketing and WASA department, the development process of new products pertaining to Canada, collecting information about consumers’ needs and market trends, making proposal for innovative product concepts and participating, as project leader or team member, to the Phase & Gate process for product development projects, defining a broad schedule and a dedicated project team, liaising with other corporate regional units (other GRDQ units, F&A, Supply Chain), according to the guidelines and in compliance with Barilla strategies and procedures . + Ensure the delivery of all initiatives related to product innovation, renovation and productivity for Canada and US WASA (role will act as the key product development personnel for Canada with opportunity to ask for more support), guaranteeing the consumer, shopper and channel connectivity across all the initiatives + Partner with alternative Channel/Clubs business to build and manage customers specific innovation projects + Monitor the development and implementation of the productivity pipeline projects for Canada (close collaboration with the regional Industrialization team who supports the countries business) + Partner with the regional Americas RDQ team to build and manage innovation projects across the region (implement US projects into the Canadian Region) + Oversee the work of product and industrialization indirect reports working on Canadian projects along with providing guidance and mentoring to them as well + Oversee the work of the indirect RDQ reports in the region Americas supporting Canadian project work (Packing, Nutrition, Montreal Plant/Corporate Quality & Food Safety) + Other duties as assigned Additional Information: + Master of Science in Engineering is preferred ( Food or Chemical engineering preferred) + Fluent English written and spoken, French preferred + Deep understanding of research and development of the food segment within the fast-moving consumer product sector + Ability to lead complex projects and build and nurture strong relationships + Good Influencing skills to work properly with indirect support teams for the country + Flexible style to involve different kinds of people and face different problems, keeping ideas and information flowing + Experience working for International Manufacturing Food Company preferred + Good communication skills, to communicate effectively with internal and external stakeholders + Computer skills including MS Office (Word, Excel and PowerPoint); SAP experience preferred + Ability to travel at least 30% (expectation to travel to Toronto or Montreal offices) Barilla is an equal opportunity employer. It is the policy of Barilla to prohibit discrimination and harassment of any type and to afford equal employment opportunities to employees and applicants without regard to characteristics including, but not limited to, age, race, color, culture, ethnicity, nationality, faith, religion, gender, pregnancy, family status, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, genetic information, veteran or protected veteran status, political opinions, health, or disability. The estimated pay range for this role is $130,000 -$136,000