European Product Management & Sustainability Director in Alloa

To be the leading producer of glass bottles and jars worldwide you need passion, commitment and innovation baked into the very fabric of a business and its people. For more than 120 years, our glass makers have honed their craft—channeling their creativity into more than 1,800 patents held today. When you join O-I you become part of that story. O-I has more than a century of experience crafting pure, sustainable, brand‑building glass packaging for many of the world’s best‑known food and beverage brands. We are proud to provide high quality glass packaging for beer, wine, spirits, food, non‑alcoholic beverages, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. We are dedicated to make what matters to shape a healthier, more sustainable and more exciting world. We transform the industry to make glass more relevant and more accessible to more people.

The European Product Management & Sustainability Director will be responsible for overseeing a department that will refine the existing product portfolio to be the most efficient, profitable and relevant to market demands, as well as assess and control the addition of prospective new products and new product capabilities to support O-I’s sales growth, profitability and fit to win objectives. Working across multiple European markets, the role will develop a portfolio strategy, based on detailed market analysis of where to play (WTP) and how to win (HTW) to assess sales opportunities requiring new products to be developed, recommending which opportunities be approved, as well as overseeing the execution of approved NPD. The role will also be responsible for interpreting the WTP/HTW market analysis to identify strategic gaps in O-I’s European product capabilities and recommending strategies to fill them.

On the sustainability side, the role will create and manage a vital commercial sustainability capability, integrating current and future market, customer, and O‑I sustainability strategies into O‑I Europe’s way of working, adapting the product range around key trends such as light weighting, positioning O‑I as a leading expert in packaging impact initiatives like returnable/reusable bottles, and coordinating customer sustainability reporting requirements such as supply chain energy/carbon reduction initiatives.

Key Responsibilities

• Portfolio Performance: Maximise the fit, profit and operational efficiency of the existing product portfolio.
• NPD Driven Growth: Assess and recommend business strategy and/or sales team generated new product opportunities based on strategic fit, operational capability/complexity and profit mix improvement to support the growth objectives of the European business.
• Commercial Sustainability market leadership: Establish O-I as the customer’s preferred advisor and commercial partner in meeting their sustainability obligations/objectives by consolidating, organising and integrating the various existing and emerging workstreams into a structured commercial COE.
• Team Management: Coach and inspire a high‑performing team, instilling a strong understanding of the end‑to‑end business processes that embed them in the business’ way of working and holding them accountable for delivering the expected results.
• Market Intelligence: Continuously scan the market for trends, competitor activity, and customer needs to inform sales strategy and uncover new growth avenues.
• Cross‑functional Collaboration: Establish strong cross‑functional relationships with Sales, Marketing, Finance, Global Accounts and especially Supply Chain to understand operational capability, capacity and cost to serve in order to deliver seamless portfolio recommendation execution.
• Performance Management: Set clear KPIs such as % reduction in product portfolio, volume of appropriate new products launched from the gap‑closing pipeline, % increase in PPT/GMPT from improving product mix vs available capacity, % improvement in PTP due to simplified product portfolio NPD pipeline efficiency. Monitor progress and adjust tactics to stay ahead of targets.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in Commercial/Economic/Engineering field (MBA desired)
• Deep end‑to‑end business knowledge, insight and a solution‑driven mindset
• Strong negotiation, leadership, strategy development and change management skills
• Strong record of developing and executing product strategies that deliver both commercial success and measurable sustainability outcomes
• Proven senior leadership experience in product management, product strategy or sustainability within an international or multi‑market environment
• Skilled in leading and developing teams across diverse European or regional markets
• Experience managing complex product portfolios across multiple regions and coordinating diverse cross‑functional teams
• Ability to balance innovation, profitability and environmental responsibility
• Deep understanding of sustainability frameworks including lifecycle assessment, product carbon footprint and circular economy principles
• Knowledge of European sustainability regulations
• Demonstrated ability to translate sustainability goals into practical, scalable business and product initiatives
• English – written and oral professional proficiency, multilingual would be well considered

Experience

• Minimum 10 years in senior business leadership/product management role within the packaging sector/B2B (preferably glass) with proven experience in departmental leadership and business strategy contribution

Additional Information

Location: Flexible within Europe. If you are smart, passionate, innovative, culturally open, curious and collaborative, we’d like to hear from you. O-I is committed to fostering an inclusive environment that attracts and embraces the brightest minds and creates a culture that welcomes a diversity of ideas and perspectives while encouraging growth and rewarding performance. Apply through the “I’m interested” button today! All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.