Associate Director, Technical Services - Snacks

Campbell's

1d • $131,700 - $181,100

About The Position

The Associate Director, Technical Services leads development and deployment of technical capability programs for Campbell’s Snacks. The role advances process health, product design and manufacturability, and consistent product quality to strengthen consumer satisfaction and trust. It leads technical service, industrialization, and/or Quality Engineering team members in scaling up and starting up innovation, business continuity, and Lean Six Sigma projects that support safety, quality, cost, Net Sales, and EBIT objectives. The role works with cross-functional partners to set team objectives and deliverables, establish early risk management and capability-platform direction, and improve processes and outcomes after execution. It also develops program models for technical capability, product excellence, and core process excellence, and builds employee skills through training, coaching, and mentoring while ensuring compliance with company safety, quality, and workplace-conduct policies.

The position sets direction for active-project risk profiles and technical readiness, ensuring transparency and contingency plans are developed with Quality, Manufacturing, and R&D partners. It creates readiness playbooks and systematic standards for product and capital requirements, costing, plant trials, post-launch reviews, loss models, and process-health improvement. It develops technical-role training and capability maturity tools, including benchmarking, diagnostics, trial and validation frameworks, and technical-readiness standards.

The role develops a team whose capabilities align with business needs, leads cross-functional continuous-improvement and process-management work, promotes accountability and teamwork, and supports a safe, sanitary, and continuously improving workplace. It also participates in employment decisions throughout the employee lifecycle and communicates commercialization, industrialization, technical-readiness, project, and business updates to partners and direct reports. The position works with plant and commercialization teams and requires 75% travel.

Requirements

• Bachelor of Arts degree in Food Science, engineering, or a comparable technical discipline.
• At least 10 years of process development, process engineering, manufacturing operations, or project management experience in a manufacturing environment, preferably food manufacturing.
• People-management experience.
• Knowledge of commercialization processes and plant execution requirements.
• Understanding of process development, process scalability, and in-process measurements for technical readiness.
• Ability to overcome resistance to organizational change, influence others, and lead change initiatives.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and prioritize based on business needs.
• Ability to build rapport across organizational levels and work effectively with multiple plant departments and Corporate Senior Management.
• Ability to train diverse groups of salaried and hourly employees and adapt training and presentation styles to the audience.
• Willingness to travel 75%.

Nice To Haves

• Cross-functional experience with a proven record of delivering successful business results.
• Knowledge of OSHA standards, HACCP guidelines, and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs).
• Continuous-improvement focus and ability to lead initiatives that deliver bottom-line results; change-agent mindset.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to develop action plans based on data.
• Six Sigma training.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills and strong training and facilitation skills.
• Proficiency with Windows-based software such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• SAP experience.
• Minitab or statistical-analysis experience.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, team environment.

Responsibilities

• Lead development and deployment of technical capability programs that improve process health, product design and manufacturability, and product quality.
• Lead technical service leads, industrialization leads, and/or Quality Engineers delivering scale-up and vertical start-up for innovation, business continuity, and Lean Six Sigma projects.
• Set team objectives and deliverables with cross-functional partners, including safety, quality, cost, Net Sales, and EBIT targets.
• Set direction for active-project risk profiles and ensure project transparency and contingency plans with Quality, Manufacturing, and R&D partners.
• Manage the technical-readiness process to support early risk management, contingency planning, and on-time innovation launches with successful vertical start-up.
• Develop and manage a technical-readiness playbook and systematic business processes for product and capital requirements, standards costing, and contingency planning.
• Establish operational procedures for trial readiness, including plant-trial success criteria and outcome measures.
• Create post-launch Stage 4 and Stage 5 project scorecards and forums for risk escalation and action planning.
• Develop loss-model standards for new products to pursue innovation margin improvements and address quality concerns.
• Develop technical-role training content and build process-health and problem-solving capabilities through programs such as Defect Elimination and Run to Target.
• Advance technical maturity through capability benchmarking, process diagnostics, trial and validation frameworks, and technical-readiness standards and adoption.
• Set clear team objectives and expectations aligned with business needs; lead cross-functional continuous-improvement and process-management efforts.
• Develop team capabilities through mentoring, training, and coaching, and promote accountability, teamwork, communication, and continuous improvement.
• Enforce safety and sanitary rules and principles and help ensure a safe workplace.
• Participate in employment decisions including hiring, performance evaluation, retention, and employee-relations matters as appropriate.
• Develop and implement communication plans that keep business partners and direct reports informed about commercialization and industrialization, technical readiness, project updates, objectives, results, initiatives, and changes.
• Manage multiple projects and prioritize according to business needs; build rapport across organizational levels and interface with plant functions and Corporate Senior Management.
• Train salaried and hourly employees, adapting programs and presentation style to the audience.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, short- and long-term disability, AD&D, and life insurance, with coverage options for individuals, families, and domestic partners, beginning on day one.
• Matching 401(k) plan, available from the first day of employment with immediate vesting.
• Unlimited sick time, paid time off, and holiday pay.
• Free fitness-center access for employees in WHQ.
• Access to on-site day care operated by Bright Horizons and a company store.
• Employee donations and/or volunteer activity matched up to $1,500 annually through Campbell’s Cares.
• Employee Resource Groups (ERGs).
• Wellness benefits beginning on the first day of employment.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director