Consumer Innovation Manager

**A. **JOB SCOPE AND MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES**:
This position reports to the R&D Myopia & Single Vision Category Director, based in the R&D centre in Singapore. The other team members are also Consumer Innovation Managers.

The Myopia & Single Vision Category team’s objective is to create product and service innovation for Myopia and Single Vision. Within this context, the role of the Consumer Innovation Manager is to understand consumer needs and address them by integrating scientific knowledge with technical competencies.

**B. **AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITIES AND RELATED ACTIVITIES**:
The Category Innovation Manager is a key contributor to category innovation. He/She is responsible for all markets, strategy and worldwide category innovation.

The Category Innovation Manager is responsible for
- Building/updating 3years product plan in coordination with R&D, marketing, regions and other key stakeholders
- Conceptualizing and defining technical specifications for products and services and managing the innovation in the Consumer Stage Gate process
- Maximize value creation on product and services all along the value chain

The position involves building partnerships with relevant resources required for the success of the category. This role relies highly on international networks.

**Strategy**
- Define, provide and leverage consumer and market knowledge and trends
- Assess partners and competitors’ products to identify gaps
- Work closely with business units and global marketing to build a high potential 3years plan
- Propose and update a comprehensive structure of the products and services portfolio
- Identify possible rationalization opportunities
- Represent the category for some strategic meetings with executives or regions
- Support the regions by answering / relaying technical questions about products and services

**Stage Gate Lead**
- Anticipate, identify and prioritize new ideas to feed the Consumer Stage Gate
- With R&D expertise, new technical bricks and innovative solutions
- With regions and marketing, new concepts related to consumers or market needs
- Ensure an efficient and timely development of products and solutions in the Consumer Stage Gate
- Give clear picture of maturity level of each concept into the CSG (people desirability, technical feasibility, business viability) and regular updates on the value creation
- Eventually, introduce some concepts in the CSG
- Leading the concept stage through cross functional co-ordination and ensuring a smooth transitioning of the project to the project team
- Managing a product portfolio and all the activities including portfolio extension, product positioning etc

**C. **NETWORK OF INTERACTION**:
**New Product Planning & Development Team (NPPD), R&D colleagues in other regions, Legal (IP), Marketing, Global Engineering, etc
**D. **TECHNICAL SKILLS - PORTRAIT OF A PERFECT CANDIDATE**
- An advanced degree in science, optometry, engineering and/or business discipline with at least 10 years’ experience related to products and/or services.
- Exceptional business acumen, understand the market demand and consumer needs. Comfortable with scientific and technology to develop products and solutions.
- Extensive knowledge of the Group, products and service portfolio
- Project management experience
- Able to manage high level of ambiguity
- Highly motivated with a positive attitude, energy and leadership.
- Extrovert, at least ambivert. Fluent in communication, ability to influence stakeholders and drive projects.
- Able to work with people from diverse backgrounds and disciplines at all levels of the company, including R&D, Marketing, Key Accounts, Sales, Finance, Engineering, Quality, Production, Supply chain, Legal, etc.
- Comfortable in a highly international and multicultural work environment
- Make clear and convincing presentations to the management
- Preferred industry - medical devices

**E. LANGUAGES**:

- To liaise with stakeholders around the word, proficiency in English is a must. Mandarin will be an advantage (but not a must) for business communication purposes with R&D in China.