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Position Title: Sr. Director, R&D Global Operational Excellence

Position Type: Regular - Full-Time ​

Requisition ID: 39349 

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In every role, McCainers are ambitious, curious, and passionate about creating exceptional work experiences - together. With a customer-first mindset, we make doing business with McCain easy.

About the role.

McCain Foods is seeking a forward-thinking, results-driven Sr. Director, R&D Global Operational Excellence to provide enterprise leadership and operational excellence across our Global Research & Development organization. This role is central to enabling innovation, driving strategic transformation, and strengthening global capabilities within R&D.

The Sr. Director will oversee global specification management, program and portfolio management of strategic initiatives, and functional excellence platforms, while also serving as Chief of Staff to Global R&D. This highly visible leadership role ensures that R&D is set up to deliver on McCain’s 2030 Strategy and long-term growth agenda by building capabilities, optimizing processes, and ensuring cross-functional alignment.  The role will have a purvey over the holistic R&D agenda and will be responsible for ensuring the R&D, as a function, delivers on our commitments including Global Innovation Platforms, Core Product Stewardship, and Cost Savings by embedding a Design to Value approach.  This role will have responsibility for change management and capability building working closely with the R&D Leadership Team.  The incumbent will drive operational priorities, transformational initiatives and capability building programs to advance R&D performance globally. 

The candidate must be hands-on, demonstrate strong intellect and superior skills in communication, combined with a strong knowledge of R&D processes and capabilities and a strong bias for action to drive results.  Leads team total team of 8 senior R&D associates driving R&D systems, capability development and R&D global program management.

What you’ll be doing.

The R&D Global Operations Lead is responsible for the following areas:  1) Strategic Program and Portfolio Management, 2) R&D’s digital and AI strategy, 3) R&D Capability Building and Functional Excellence, and 4) R&D Chief of Staff 

Strategic Program & Portfolio Management

• Lead the program management of major global R&D initiatives, including Quality by Design & Value Engineering, ensuring clarity of priorities, effective resource allocation, rigorous progress tracking, and impactful delivery
• Oversee design and creation of tools and templates to facilitate prioritization and resource management
• Core Product Quality: Leverage Design to Value principles to optimize and deliver competitive advantage across potato and appetizer portfolios globally.  Partner with Product Development, Sensory UX, and Sensory Quality to manage a robust and standardized process across 3 phases: landscape assessment, product design and specification updates, and ongoing quality monitoring
• Value Engineering/SCA: Deliver aligned yearly target and build multi-year project pipeline, partnering with R&D Science & Technology, Procurement, Manufacturing and Agriculture Teams to identify and frame relevant global cost savings programs.  Drive standardization and rigor in project management and initiative tracking, leveraging global dashboards and Compass as key portfolio management tools. 

R&D Digital and AI Strategy,

• Shape and advance R&D’s digital and AI strategy in partnership with IT to modernize systems, strengthen data integrity, and enable smarter product development.
• Establish global data governance and integration frameworks, ensuring enterprise-wide accuracy, transparency, and digital connectivity across SAP and R&D systems.
• Provide enterprise leadership for global specification management across existing systems aimed at establishing global standards and ways of working, in partnership with Digital Technology
• Provide system integration support across product lifecycle, partnering with Global Data Governance Team, Global Sustainability, Global Nutrition Programs & Marketing/Commercial

Chief of Staff—Global R&D

• Serve as the operational leader for the Global R&D Leadership Team, oversee the evolution of the R&D strategy ensuring that it is aligned with McCain 2030 strategy and has a robust 5 year execution plan
• Enable the execution of the strategy, through the definition of actions and metric tracking, creating global scorecards to manage R&D progress
• Manage R&D LT meetings, global Town Halls, bi-annual offsites, and internal communications to enhance engagement and effectiveness
• Lead the annual budget and planning process, partnering with Global Finance, and prepare narrative and justification for any incremental R&D investments, aligned with R&D strategy and 2030 goals

Functional Excellence & Capability Building

• Lead the Global Functional Excellence Team to build and sustain critical R&D capability development programs.  Partner with Global Learning and Development to build a multi-year roadmap balancing focus on current and future state R&D technical and leadership competencies
• Oversee management and continuous improvement of the McCain Innovation Management System to accelerate innovation delivery and knowledge sharing.  Manage PowerBI dashboard reports and data quality to ensure accuracy and innovation portfolio health

What you’ll need to be successful.

• Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Engineering, Business, or related field; Advanced degree preferred.
• Minimum 10 years of progressive leadership experience in R&D, innovation, or operations within food, CPG, or manufacturing industries.
• Demonstrated expertise in portfolio and program management, specification management, and digital systems (particularly PLM).
• Proven ability to lead global transformation initiatives, influence senior stakeholders, and drive results across complex, matrixed environments.
• Strong financial acumen with experience managing large global budgets.
• Exceptional strategic thinking, problem-solving, and relationship-building skills.
• Experience as Chief of Staff or in a similar executive support/operations role strongly preferred.

About McCain.

Click Here to learn more about McCain and how we provide you with opportunities to make an impact that matters.

Leadership principles.

At McCain, our leadership principles guide how we engage with customers, collaborate as a team, and achieve success. We focus on understanding customer needs, driving innovation, empowering people, and taking ownership to clear obstacles and deliver results.

The McCain experience.

We are McCain. This statement is a testament to our collective strength and our individual value. Your contributions play a vital role in our success. Our winning culture is rooted in authenticity and trust, empowering us to bring out the best in one another. Here, you’ll find opportunities to learn, grow, and thrive. Join us and experience why we’re better together.

Compensation Package: $165,000.00 - $220,000.00 . USD annually + Bonus eligibility + Long-term incentive eligibility

The above reflects the target compensation range for the position at the time of posting. Hiring compensation will be determined based on experience, skill set, education and training, and other organizational needs.

Benefits: At McCain, we’re on a mission to create a winning culture that puts employee safety and well-being at the heart of what we do, every day. We understand and appreciate that each person’s needs are unique and ensure our benefits & well-being programs reflect that. Employees are eligible for the following benefits: health coverage (medical, dental, vision, prescription drug), retirement savings benefits, and leave support including medical, family and bereavement. Well-being programs include vacation and holidays, company-supported volunteering time, and mental health resources. Coverages are aligned with country, provincial and state governing plans and can vary by work level, location and nature of the role. Additional benefit detail available during the application process.

Your well-being matters to us, and we’re here to provide you with the necessary resources to support you in being your best self at work — and at home.

McCain Foods is an equal opportunity employer. As a global family-owned company, we strive to be the employer of choice in the diverse communities around the world in which we live and work. We recognize that inclusion drives our creativity, resilience, and success and makes our business stronger. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, age, veteran status, disability, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.
 
McCain is an accessible employer. If you require an accommodation throughout the recruitment process (including alternate formats of materials or accessible meeting rooms), please let us know and we will work with you to find appropriate solutions. 
 

Your privacy is important to us. By submitting personal data or information to us, you agree that this will be handled in accordance with McCain’s Global Privacy Policy and  Global Employee Privacy Policy, as applicable. You can understand how your personal information is being handled here.
 

Job Family: Research & Development      
Location(s): US - United States of America : Illinois : Oakbrook Terrace 

Company: McCain Foods USA, Inc.