Key Skills

Job Description

About The Job Utrecht/Hybrid Are you a packaging leader with deep expertise in fibre and flexible packaging? Do you combine technical credibility with the ability to inspire teams, influence senior stakeholders, and drive strategic decisions? If so, join Danone Specialized Nutrition as our next Senior Team Leader Packaging - Fibre & Flexibles and play a key role in shaping our packaging strategy, strengthening our technical capabilities, and developing a high-performing team. At our Nutricia Research Center in Utrecht, you'll have the opportunity to influence the future of sustainable packaging innovation while working closely with business leaders, manufacturing sites, and technical experts across the globe. Your Role As Senior Team Leader Packaging - Fibre & Flexibles, you will shape the future of packaging at Danone Specialized Nutrition, balancing breakthrough innovation with operational excellence to ensure solutions are safe, compliant, and market-ready today while building a more sustainable and circular portfolio for tomorrow. Co-creating the global packaging pipeline with business teams, you will lead end-to-end development from concept to launch, translating consumer insights and market needs into high-performing, cost-effective, and sustainable packaging solutions. As a key leader within our R&I center, you will drive innovation, build capabilities, and influence stakeholders globally, ensuring we stay ahead through cutting-edge technologies, strong partnerships, and a high-performing, future-ready team. Key Responsibilities Strategic & Business Leadership Define and execute the fibre and flexible packaging strategy for Specialized Nutrition. Shape and deliver the global packaging innovation pipeline. Influence senior stakeholders across R&I, Operations, Quality, Procurement, and Business teams. Drive capability building and strengthen Danone's long-term competitive advantage in packaging. Technical & Manufacturing Leadership Act as a senior technical leader for fibre and flexible packaging technologies. Guide technical decisions, challenge assumptions, and support teams in solving complex packaging challenges. Maintain close partnerships with manufacturing sites to ensure successful implementation and scale-up of packaging solutions. Drive improvements in packaging performance, sustainability, quality, and cost. People Leadership Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing team of packaging experts. Foster a culture of innovation, collaboration, accountability, and continuous learning. Build future capabilities and support talent development within the team. You will report to the R&I Specialized Nutrition Director of Packaging Innovation & Medical Device. About You You are a leader who combines deep packaging expertise with strategic thinking and strong people leadership. You bring the credibility to engage technical experts, the influence to guide senior stakeholders, and the leadership to build high-performing teams. You enjoy staying close to both innovation and execution and are motivated by creating lasting business impact. What You'll Bring Degree in Packaging, Materials Science, Engineering, or a related field. Significant experience in packaging innovation, development, or materials technologies. Deep expertise in fibre and flexible packaging technologies. Strong understanding of packaging development, industrialization, and manufacturing environments. Proven experience leading technical or innovation teams. Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills within complex organizations. Ability to translate technical complexity into clear business decisions. Passion for innovation, sustainability, and people development. Fluent in English. About us At Danone we are committed to our mission “bringing health, through food to as many people as possible”. We are working together to make sure that our brands, like Nutricia and Nutrilon, create real benefits for people, communities and the planet. You will be part of one of the largest Certified B Corps™ in the world. Being B Corp means to be part of a select movement of companies verified to be meeting the highest standards of social and environmental criteria and using business as a force for good. One Planet. One Health. Our state-of-the-art research and innovation center builds bridges between food and science and is global in reach, founded on over 125 years of experience in life & food science, technology and user experience and is at the forefront of pioneering advances in specialized nutrition. We offer All Danoners receive a complete package of benefits. This includes a competitive salary and yearly bonus, a premium free pension, 30 days of annual leave (with the opportunity to purchase more) and you will receive a monthly health care allowance. In addition, you can get discount on your gym membership, and we offer initiatives focused on nutrition, physical, and mental health. We provide continuous learning opportunities through workshops, online courses and training sessions. We put people at the center of everything we do. Bring your unique perspective, ambitions and ideas to the table – the impact you could make might surprise you. We are committed to embrace diversity, nurturing an inclusive workplace where every individual is valued; Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) is deeply embedded in Danone's DNA. What's Next It’s simple – hit the “apply” button. In order to comply with GDPR we can’t process your personal data without your given consent, so please apply directly via this website. Good luck! We can’t wait to meet you. Need more information? Please contact Camila Grosso, Talent Manager via [email protected] All applications will be considered for a vacancy without discrimination based on ethnicity, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Core Responsibilities

Define and deliver the fibre and flexible packaging strategy and global innovation pipeline, leading packaging development from concept through launch while ensuring solutions are safe, compliant, sustainable, cost-effective, and ready for manufacturing. Lead and develop a high-performing team, guide technical decisions and scale-up with manufacturing sites, and influence stakeholders across R&I, Operations, Quality, Procurement, and business teams.

Requirements

A degree in Packaging, Materials Science, Engineering, or a related field is required, along with significant experience in packaging innovation, development, or materials technologies and deep expertise in fibre and flexible packaging. Candidates should have experience with packaging development and manufacturing, a record of leading technical or innovation teams, strong stakeholder influence and communication skills, and a passion for innovation, sustainability, and people development; fluency in English is required.

Benefits

• Competitive Salary
• Yearly Bonus
• Premium-Free Pension
• Annual Leave
• Monthly Healthcare Allowance
• Gym Membership Discount
• Wellness Initiatives
• Learning And Development Opportunities