At Danone, we aim to “Excel in Quality everywhere, every day, to deliver our promise to consumers, customers and patients” making us Trusted, Preferred, Efficient and Proud of what we do.

In this context, the mission of the Quality & Food Safety (QFS) function at common level is to:

• Provide standards and expertise to secure license to operate and ensure consumer trust
• Evolve the expertise by category & risk anticipation
• Build capabilities for superior consumer experiences
• Foster a strong and shared culture of quality
• Assure the governance of the overall company QFS performance.

This role is instrumental in compliance of new products and processes for the Plant based category. Ensuring that they are designed to meet relevant regulatory and food safety criteria and enabling the European led design strategy by providing QFS expertise, evaluations, advice and risk assessment and management.

 The purpose of the QFS in Design Director (QiD) is to:

• ensure products for the Plant Based category are designed with consumers needs in mind and that end user experience is fully integrated into the design stage
• collaborate with cross-functional teams to integrate quality principles into the design process, conducting thorough evaluations, and implementing improvements to enhance product performance and reliability.
• contribute to all the Innovation, Renovation, Fuel 4 Growth (F4G) projects of the Plant Based category with the mission to make the QFS function an undisputable key contributor.  This is achieved by identifying and mitigation QFS risks and opportunities early in the design process (Go Define stage), to make our products and services trusted and preferred.
• Ensure right first time is delivered in new projects
• Manage multiple interfaces with Food Safety teams, Research & Innovation (R&I), CBUs, Operations to collect, evaluate and mitigate risks to consider in product design.
• Connect Quality in Design and CBUs (country/cluster business units) QFS to ensure the right local QFS market requirements and risks are considered before, during and after launch.
• To create a well-connected QiD category community including transversal animation of Factories and CBUs.
• Ensure that the CBUs experience and voice is represented in QiD processes, standards and ways of working to ease the information flow and create a collaborative mindset.
• Develop a high-performing team to secure products conformity and superiority from its conception to its release from supply points and co-manufacturers
• Work openly and proactively with zone QFS teams and categories to drive overall performance in the Europe zone

Key internal stakeholders: Innovation Productivity and Realisation Office (IPRO), Operations, Manufacturing, R&I, QFS, Cycles & Procurement (C&P), General Secretary (Regulatory).

Reporting line: EU QFS Category lead Director, Quality & Food Safety Europe.

Key deliverables of the job

• Strategic vision and risk mitigation plans for projects
• Performance roadmap and priorities
• Team organization and governance
• QFS excellence in projects evaluation managed by IPRO portfolio for the category
• Team development plan

We are looking for a leader that has a successful track record within Quality & Food Safety, at the same time understands the innovation cycle, in order to manage success launch and post launch reviews.  This experience will have been gained within  a comparable complex manufacturing business within the food & drink sectors.

• Strategic vision and superior contribution to business strategy.
• Advanced stakeholder management.
• Problem-solving, negotiation, influencing, conflict management, and continuous improvement.
• Maturity in dealing with ambiguity while adhering to Danone’s values and high standards.
• People and system management, organizational development, change management, and team empowerment.
• Knowledge of product and process technologies, food science, and food safety basics.
• Holistic business acumen and contextualized thinking.

• Confidence in strategic project delivery, with the ability to challenge and implement

Education & Experience:

• Master’s degree in Food Technology, Engineering, or Quality Management.
• 15 years plus of relevant experience

Working here you’ll need to enjoy a fast-pace and complexity. But it’s packed with opportunities. You’ll work with some of the best-known brands in the world, such as Alpro. Be innovative and entrepreneurial and the impact you could make might just amaze you.

We are proud to be an equal employer. We are convinced our differences make the difference and that an inclusive working environment will drive our growth as a business, as teams and as individuals. We will therefore consider all applicants for employment* fostering an inclusive working culture that is accessible for all.