Senior Team Leader, Hair Care R&D

Are you the kind of person that is always thinking, sketching, seeking, and adjusting? Who needs to understand how things work and then figure out how they can work better? Are you a passionate, tenacious, solver who loves to work with others who share your drive? Are you positive, constructive, and ingenious?

Are you always solving?

Then we would like to meet you and bet you would like to meet us.

Ashland has an exciting opportunity for a Senior Team leader, Hair Care Innovation to join the Personal Care business unit at our Zwijndrecht innovation center. This is a central, visible, and significant role within the Personal Care team and at the R&D function at Ashland. This position will report to the Global Hair Care R&D Manager and will be based at our Zwijndrecht (NL) site.

The Senior Team leader, Hair Care Innovation, will be responsible for implementing, executing the Hair Care R&D strategy and leading our Hair Care R&D team in Zwijndrecht. This position will be accountable for ensuring the delivery of R&D initiatives in support of the Hair Care division in Personal Care.

The Senior Team leader, Hair Care Innovation, will provide oversight for decision-making to prioritize project delivery, including agility in efficient use of resources across the network to meet business goals. The individual will work closely with the global and regional Hair Care Marketing teams to execute growth strategies and work closely with Central R&D in developing new technologies. This position will be responsible for building talent and capabilities in Zwijndrecht across the segment to ensure the current and future health of the Personal Care organization in EMEA collaborating cross-functionally and delivering a high level of performance.

• Serve as a key member of the Global Hair Care R&D team and share responsibility for division-wide business priorities.

• Provide leadership and direction to a team of 5 researchers in Zwijndrecht.

• Support the selection and development of talent and succession within the organization to ensure an effective, sustainable model and talent pipeline.

• Partner with global teams in Manufacturing, Supply Chain and Regulatory to bring new products from development to commercialization.

• Contribute to competitive portfolio analysis and creation of differentiated portfolio strategies.

• Work closely with central R&D functions as applied research and process development to drive development of new chemistries and products

• Develop the product pipeline in close collaboration with the regional marketing and tech. service teams, foster development of regional launch packages.

• Ph.D. in chemistry, chemical engineering, biology, physics, or related scientific/technical discipline required.

• Strong Hair Care background with experience working in the ingredients and formulation spaces.

• In depth understanding of hair care chemistry and the mode of action of ingredients in all fields of hair care.

• Proven track record of successful new product launches.

• Leadership skills, as evidenced by a track record of hiring, retaining, developing, and motivating top-tier scientific talent.

• Proven track record of driving accountability and fostering problem-solving within the team

• Strategic & analytical thinking skills and a pleasant and engaging style.

Infinite possibilities

Creating good chemistry isn’t just about what happens when you add the right ingredients together. It’s about what happens when the right people are one of the ingredients. Good chemistry – the kind that can transform a market or a world – is what makes Ashland different and what makes us better.

If you’re passionate about the infinite possibilities created through good chemistry, we have a rewarding and challenging opportunity for you to help us make great things happen every day for our customers, our communities, our investors and our colleagues around the world.