Section Manager

Nouryon•Bridgewater, NJ

About The Position

Lead part of the Personal Care R&D organization in the development of new products and/or redesign of existing products/processes/services in accordance with business and customer needs. The successful candidate will join the Nouryon team and be responsible for the research, development, and evaluation of sustainable polymers and/or surfactants to provide unique solutions to our personal care segments. This may include the development, modification, and formulation of rheology modifiers, film formers, aesthetic enhancers, and surfactants for various applications such as hair & skin care products, moisturizers, conditioners, sunscreens, hair styling, and personal cleansing systems.

Requirements

PhD in chemistry / chemical engineering with 7 years of experience or Master’s Degree in chemistry / chemical engineering and 10 years+ of experience or Bachelor’s Degree in chemistry / chemical engineering with 15 years+ of experience
People / team leadership & development experience
Project leadership experience
Personal Care technical background (ingredients, test methodology, formulation know-how)
Market and Product Insights
Business & Technical Communication
Technical Improvement & Innovation
Problem Solving
Work/Project Management
Organizational Savvy
Experimental Principles & Design
Knowledge of Intellectual Property Laws and Regulations
Excellent multi-tasking and organizational skills
Solid written & verbal communication skills, with ability to deliver internal and external presentations
Strong interpersonal skills and able to interface internally with the marketing, technical service, and manufacturing groups, and externally with customers to fulfill product needs within targeted home and personal care markets
People leadership skills
Project leadership skills

Nice To Haves

biobased polymer and/or surfactant innovation background a plus
home care technical knowledge a plus

Responsibilities

Providing input to the business/R&D strategy and implementing strategy in own team
Defining the plan and budget for own unit
Attracting, leading, coaching, appraising and developing team members, ensuring short and long term resource planning
Driving engagement and managing talent development and succession planning
Driving knowledge management by keeping up with internal and external developments and ensuring development, transfer and retention of knowledge and information within the organization
Participates in cross-functional teams, issues advice and/or customer at request or at own initiative
Works with the marketing and commercial teams to help establish the company’s long term product development priorities
Oversees key development projects, processes and performance reports, data and analysis
Develops and maintains relations with internal and external suppliers and experts to stay abreast of new technologies which may translate to product development projects
Prioritizes activities in accordance with business needs and optimizes efficiency
Drives best practices for products, processes and ways of working.
Supports platform development, deployment and technology ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements
Is lead R&D contact for customers and attends customer meetings and develops overview and technology presentation
Maintains company safety standards and supports company values.
Will have leadership responsibilities at the site level.
Provide solutions for technical challenges based on scientific knowledge of polymers and surfactants for consumer markets
Conduct research and development of experimental and commercial polymers and/or surfactants in the target home and personal care application areas
Demonstrate knowledge of home & personal care polymers and surfactants to offer formulation and/or application solutions using Nouryon’s ingredients in the target home and personal care application areas
Use, improve, and create new methodologies and tools to link test data to consumer attributes in above market areas
Give input to the business and/or R&D leadership on strategy; translating this strategy into plans and initiatives for the development of own field of expertise
Identify opportunities for technical innovation and translating them to RD&I initiatives
Lead cross-functional product development projects
Works with IP team to generate IP applications to protect research work, analyze 3rd party IP, and formulate responses to Examiner actions
Deliver results for mid to large sized and/or complex projects on time