Lead, R&D - Operating Model Excellence Lead

Job description

Manage a team of research and development professionals, overseeing research and development projects and studies in order to investigate relationships, solve technical problems, and develop new solutions for a specific application or within a specific branch of science. ​​Reporting, Insights, & Governance ​Aggregate BU and Central internal R&D capability initiatives into views for R&D leadership and key stakeholders.

Examples include system and process pilots, GBS operating model assessments, people programs, and new technical standards. ​Deliver recurring status reporting that improves transparency, cadence, and decision-making across R&D workstreams. Reporting includes center commitments, technology readiness and transfers, resource utilization, etc. ​Define, build and maintain dashboards that surface R&D-specific KPI health and strategic progress in a practical, decision-oriented format with high confidence in data and insights. ​Support enterprise reporting needs tied to external and internal requirements (e.g., government reporting, tax credit documentation, audit support) by ensuring traceability, completeness, and consistency. ​Strengthen operating model rigor across R&D by supporting clear standards, processes, and governance mechanisms. ​Enable effective R&D forums (e.g., Technical

Review Board, Monthly Business Reviews) with routine audit, established R&D calendar, structured inputs and outputs, decision tracking, and follow-through. ​Serve as a governance partner to leadership, ensuring updates and decisions are captured, communicated, and translated into execution. ​Drive adoption of more disciplined ways of working, improving consistency, readiness, and predictability across the R&D portfolio. ​Apply change management practices to increase adherence to shared standards while balancing practicality for teams executing day-to-day work. ​Anticipate technical pipeline risks to delivery and readiness early, creating simple mechanisms to surface issues and drive action before they escalate.​ ​​Bachelor's degree in a relevant field such as

Engineering, Food Science, Chemistry, Biology, Operations/Supply Chain; Master's degree or MBA highly desired. ​10+ years of experience leading transformation, portfolio, or program work in complex, cross-functional environments (R&D, product development, manufacturing, supply chain, or similar). ​Strong capabilities in portfolio coordination, prioritization, and governance, with the ability to create clarity across multiple stakeholders and competing demands. ​Proven ability to design and implement executive-ready reporting, dashboards, and operational metrics that drive decisions, not just visibility. ​Strong change management and stakeholder leadership skills, including influence without authority and navigating senior leadership expectations. ​High proficiency translating ambiguous needs into structured processes, clear deliverables, and repeatable operating rhythms. ​Excellent written and verbal communication skills; able to synthesize complex work into crisp leadership narratives. ​Experience working with portfolio management tools and/or building operating cadences for stage gates, readiness, and governance highly desired. ​Experience partnering with data/analytics teams to improve reporting automation, data quality, and dashboard usability. ​Background supporting enterprise reporting or compliance-adjacent documentation (e.g., audit support, structured evidence, traceability). ​Familiarity with R&D portfolio contexts (e.g., commercialization workflows, readiness frameworks, cross-function dependencies).​