At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead and inspire R&D for sweets, driving innovation and team performance.
- Company: Dynamic confectionery company focused on creativity and impact.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, leadership experience, and opportunity to shape products.
- Other info: Fast-paced environment with opportunities for growth and collaboration.
- Why this job: Make a real difference in the sweets industry while leading a passionate team.
- Qualifications: Degree in Food Science and strong R&D leadership experience required.
The predicted salary is between 59576 - 70089 £ per year.
We are looking for an Interim Head of R&D – Sweets to lead, inspire and elevate our innovation and delivery across the portfolio for a minimum of 3 months (looking for somebody to start asap).
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
Location: Low Poppleton Ln, Acomb, York, UK
Employment Type: Full-time
Duration: Minimum 3 months
