Associate Director, Technical Services - Meals & Beverages

Since 1869, we've connected people through food they love. We’re proud to be stewards of amazing brands that people trust. Our portfolio includes the iconic Campbell’s brand, as well as Cape Cod, Chunky, Goldfish, Kettle Brand, Lance, Late July, Pacific Foods, Pepperidge Farm, Prego, Pace, Rao’s Homemade, Snack Factory, Snyder’s of Hanover. Swanson, and V8. 

Here, you will make a difference every day. You will be supported to build a rewarding career with opportunities to grow, innovate and inspire. Make history with us.

Why Campbell’s…

• Benefits begin on day one and include medical, dental, short and long-term disability, AD&D, and life insurance (for individual, families, and domestic partners).
• Employees are eligible for our matching 401(k) plan and can enroll on the first day of employment with immediate vesting.
• Campbell’s offers unlimited sick time along with paid time off and holiday pay.
• If in WHQ – free access to the fitness center. Access to on-site day care (operated by Bright Horizons) and company store.
• Giving back to the communities where our employees work and live is very important to Campbell’s.   Our “Campbell’s Cares” program matches employee donations and/or volunteer activity up to $1,500 annually.
• Campbell’s has a variety of Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) to support employees.

How you will make history here...

Leads the development and deployment of technical capability programs that improve process health, advance product design and manufacturability, and deliver consistent product quality that enhances consumer satisfaction and trust in Campbell's Meals & Beverages brands. Lead a team of technical service leads, industrialization leads and/or Quality Engineers to deliver successful scale up/vertical start-up on innovation projects, enabler/business continuity projects, lean six sigma projects that deliver in areas of safety, quality and cost – directly impacting Net Sales and EBIT targets. Drives objectives and deliverables for the team in collaboration with cross functional partners.  Sets direction for early risk management, strategic outlook for capability platforms to inform innovation guardrails, continuously improving processes and outcomes post execution.  Sets execution plans for strategic deliverables of the team around improving consumer acceptance and cost deliverables. Delivers program models and execution in support of technical capability development product and process excellence for core platform processes. Develops the capabilities and competencies of employees through ongoing training, coaching, and mentoring; promotes employee engagement, empowerment, and teamwork. Ensures full compliance with Company policies and standards related to safety, quality and workplace conduct.

What you will do...

60% - Sets direction and aligns risk profiles for active projects. Ensures full transparency and contingency plans are built collaboratively with Quality, Manufacturing, and R&D partners.

• Manages technical readiness process to drive early risk management and solutions mind-set/contingency planning effort to ensure innovation is on time with a successful vertical start-up.
• Develop and manage a technical readiness playbook for transparency and planning against critical business plans
• Ensures systematic business processes in place to deliver consistent and repeatable results – product capital requirements, standards costing, contingency planning
• Ensures systematic operational procedures for trial readiness, inclusive of standards for plant trial alignment of success criteria and measures of outcomes
• Create standard for post launch project score carding Stage 4 and Stage 5 and forum for risk elevation and action planning
• Develop loss model standards for new products to aggressively pursue margin roadmap for innovation and attack quality concerns with urgency
• Content development & training building blocks for critical technical roles
• Build and execute model for process health delivering against consumer expectations and cost – Defect Elimination/Run to Target Program to advance problem solving capability
• Advance building blocks for technical maturity - Capability benchmark model, Process diagnostic program, Trial & validation framework, Technical Readiness process standard and adoption

20% - Develop team and ensure capability is aligned with business needs

• Ensure clear objectives and expectations with team in alignment with business needs
• Lead cross-functional teams focused on results delivery through continuous improvement and process management programs.
• Promote a culture of accountability and teamwork.  Develop capabilities of team leadership through mentoring, training, and coaching.
• Ensure that behaviors, practices and the work environment support a safe workplace by enforcing safety and sanitary rules and principles.
• Create, develop, and sustain a "can-do" climate and high levels of frequent communication, cooperation, rewards and recognition, training, and mutual support among departments. Ensure there is a culture of continuous improvement to drive to "set the standard"
• Perform in a variety of capacities related to employment decisions throughout the employment life cycle, i.e., hiring, performance evaluation, retention, employee relations issues as appropriate, etc.

20% - Develops and implements effective communication plans to keep business partner and direct reports well-informed regarding commercialization/industrialization activities, tech readiness and project updates, business objectives, results, initiatives, changes, etc. 

Job Complexity / Scope

• Must have knowledge of commercialization process and execution requirements in plant
• Must have solid understanding of process development concepts, process scalability and targeted in process measurements to drive comprehensive technical readiness
• Must possess the ability to overcome resistance to organizational change, influencing others, and leading the change initiative.
• Must be able to manage multiple projects simultaneously and prioritize based on business needs.
• Must develop and maintain rapport with employees at all levels of the organization to drive results.  Must interface effectively with multiple departments / functions in the plant, as well as Corporate Senior Management.
• Must possess the ability to train a diverse group of salaried and hourly employees, adapting training programs and presentation style to fit the audience.    

Who you will work with...

You will work with the plant and commercialization teams.

What you bring to the table (must haves)...

• B.A. degree in Food Science, engineering or comparable technical degree required
• Minimum of ten (10) years of process development/process engineering/manufacturing operations/project management experience in a manufacturing environment (preferably food), including people management experience. 
• 75% travel required.

It would be great if you have (nice to haves)...

• Cross-functional experience with a proven track record of delivering successful business results
• Comprehensive knowledge of OSHA standards, HACCP guidelines, Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs), etc.
• Ongoing passion to identify continuous improvement opportunities and lead initiatives to deliver bottom-line results.  Must be a change agent.
• Outstanding analytical, problem-solving skills and able to formulate action plans based on real data. Six sigma training preferred.
• Excellent communication skills (both verbal and written).  Must possess strong training/facilitation skills.
• Computer proficiency in Windows-based software applications (i.e., Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.).  SAP experience is a plus. Minitab or statistical analysis experience a plus.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, team environment. 

Compensation and Benefits:

The target base salary range for this full-time, salaried position is between 

Individual base pay depends on work location and additional factors such as experience, job-related skills, and relevant education or training. Total pay may include other forms of compensation. In addition, we offer competitive health, dental, 401k and wellness benefits beginning on the first day of employment. Please ask your Talent Acquisition Partner for more information about our total rewards package.

The Company is committed to providing equal opportunity for employees and qualified applicants in all aspects of the employment relationship, including consideration for employment, without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, citizenship, marital status, protected veteran status, disability, age, religion, or any other classification protected by law.