R&D Life Sciences Nutrition Scientist (12 months FTC)

Overview

PepsiCo is looking for R&D Life Sciences Nutrition Scientist to join on 12 months Fixed Term Contract in one of our R&D sites: Leicester or Reading.

Job Purpose

The Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) Life Sciences function at PepsiCo is seeking a Nutrition Scientist to champion nutrition science expertise with health in mind to help drive Europe sector, consumer centric, sustainable business growth and protect PepsiCo’s freedom to operate.

This position has responsibility for coordination and execution of Life Science related external and internal science communication, activations and partnership programs to help achieve growth by building the credibility of our brand positionings and communicating our corporate PepsiCo Positive (pep+) goals. The role also involves maintaining an external presence and building a network of health care professionals and influencers to amplify the perception of PepsiCo Life Sciences as a science-based organisation.

Responsibilities

• Be a key expert for Nutrition Sciences to support EMEA agenda, liaising with both regional and global partners, as well as the external environment on research to bring the most relevant scientific nutrition expertise to business plans.
• Execute the team’s external engagement strategy and leverage the global Life Sciences category team to foster communication and sharing of best practices from the global function to benefit the local region.
• Lead the continuation/optimization agenda for the UK Health and Nutrition Sciences website and the development of the expansion plan to other EMEA countries.
• Develop the strategy and plan for the EMEA internal education program for equipping cross-functional partners with relevant nutrition knowledge about the PepsiCo portfolio and Life Sciences insights to advance product innovation and to create everyday PepsiCo ambassadors.
• Strong leadership presence and ability to work and communicate effectively in cross functional teams, while aggressively working together to meet timelines.
• Evaluate and translate internal and external nutritional and clinical data to identify market ready opportunities for the business units and advise on the integration of such opportunities in terms of claims and positioning.
• Be on top of movement/changes in public health policy, influential charity/NGO reports and regulation.
• Ability to network internally and influence highly matrix teams to achieve the end goal is a must; key stakeholders will be Corporate Communications, Regulatory, Legal, Public Policy and Government Affairs and business unit leaders.
• Maintain a strong network with the academic community, health care professionals, key influencers, federal and trade organizations, in addition to peers within industry.
• The role involves people management.
  
  

Qualifications

• Post Graduate Qualification in Nutrition Science/dietetics or Public Health Nutrition (PhD ideal but not essential)
• Post Graduate experience, preferably in a corporate environment but may also be from research or academic institute in which case strong business acumen will need to be demonstrated
• An established network in Nutrition Science and a strong track record of external engagement and influence
• Strives for high standards, seeks innovative solutions, drives continuous improvement of products and processes and demonstrates a high degree of intellectual curiosity
• An understanding of the external environment & scientific and regulatory requirements for health claims
• Self-starter, self-motivating: able to balance competing priorities without losing momentum and manage uncertainty and complexity in fast evolving fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) environments
• Ability to work and manage connects in remote locations fostering a positive, inclusive work environment where people feel respected and valued for their contributions, especially capable of working cross culturally
• Strong project management skills to effectively drive a complex project and strong presentation skills (written & verbal) and ability to effectively communicate with senior colleagues
• Great networking / relationship building skills both with other R&D colleagues globally and other functions: Ability to create and use networks to actively seek and take advantage of ideas, best practice and solutions developed elsewhere and proactively share information
• Strong analytical skills to interpret complex data and distil into meaningful information e.g. scientific research, experimental design, statistical inference and interpreting consumer insights and an ability to disseminate to both technical and non-technical audiences.