Global Head of Consumer Science

Opella – About UsOpella is the self‑care challenger with the purest and third‑largest portfolio in the Over‑The‑Counter (OTC) & Vitamins, Minerals & Supplements (VMS) market globally. Our mission is to bring health in people’s hands by making self‑care as simple as it should be for half a billion consumers worldwide – and counting.At the core of this mission is our 100 loved brands, our 11,000‑strong global team, our 13 best‑in‑class manufacturing sites and four specialized science and innovation development centers. Headquartered in France, Opella is the proud maker of many of the world’s most loved brands, including Allegra, Buscopan, Doliprane, Dulcolax, Enterogermina, Essentiale and Mucosolvan.About the JobThe Consumer Science Head is a pivotal leader in shaping Opella’s ambitions to be consumer‑centric in making health as simple as it should be and delivering outstanding consumer experiences that support self‑care. This role defines and implements the overall consumer science strategy, ensuring that technical consumer insight and true product reasons to believe are built throughout our product development cycle. The successful candidate will drive the creation of superior consumer experiences through building a consumer‑centric culture across R&D, developing new approaches to unlocking technical product insights, and supporting teams to deliver outstanding consumer experiences making self‑care easier for consumers across the science that supports our brands.ResponsibilitiesStrategic Leadership for the Consumer Science function:Lead the global consumer science work program and engage the full consumer science team in driving the consumer science strategy forward.Collaborate closely with Opella’s CXI team, Development Centers, and key functions including Public Relations, Regulatory, Manufacturing & Supply, Procurement and Quality.Build a high‑performing team across the science hub: establish objectives and development goals, develop a talent pipeline, foster a culture of learning, build leadership capabilities, and promote professional growth.Build strong relationships with key transversal partners within the Science Hub, Growth Hub, and Regions to elevate the role of product research to ensure it is a key driver for innovation and Brand growth.Insight, Strategy & Capability Development:Oversee all aspects of Sensory Testing, ensuring consumer‑centric product development and gaining consumer input on product and packaging prototypes.Oversee Consumer and Product research including competitor products, product acceptance, repeatability, market intelligence, competitive intelligence, and behaviour science.Co‑own the relationship with Flavor Houses (together with Procurement) to bring the latest technologies and trends into consumer experiences.Identify new technologies and consumer engagement methods to allow agility in how Opella tests and engages new technical product insight generation (Formula & Packaging).Accountable for the consumer‑centricity program to ensure everyone in R&D has the right level of consumer empathy and understands the needs and preferences of our consumers.Innovation & Roadmap Integration:Actively engage with Opella’s broader innovation community to understand, support, and guide the current and future direction of new product and solution offerings, focusing on ensuring teams drive best insight identification to superior product experience.Continuously scout the external environment for cutting‑edge consumer science approaches and leverage a strong external network to bring a broad range of external science opportunities.Work closely with external technology scouts to direct them to opportunities for our platforms.Development and Implementation of the Consumer Science Vision & Strategy:Operationalize Consumer Science by engaging with consumers to inform product design (Formula & Packaging).Lead the development of all consumer/product research that informs product development and improvement for launch and life‑cycle management of our products.Effectively manage the consumer science budget and vendor relationships.Consumer Science Capability Build & Growth:Collaborate with CXI to develop core deliverables such as situational analyses that strengthen Opella’s understanding of the CHC markets based on consumer and technical product insights.Use qualitative and quantitative research methodology to inform key development and business decisions.Drive a consumer‑centric culture for the entire R&D organisation by building engagement and training programs.Fundamentals & Key Working Relationships:Drive digital evolution for the consumer science team, supporting consistent reporting & data consolidation.Follow industry and pre‑defined standards to ensure legal and ethical approaches to Consumer Science.Nurture key working relationships with Innovation Teams, Development Centres, CXI, Regulatory and Medical, Regional Science Hub leaders and teams, Brand R&D leads and Innovation leads.QualificationsBachelor’s Degree or Master’s in a relevant field.Strong leadership expertise and experience leading teams and matrix organizations.10+ years of Product Research experience, ideally with a leading FMCG or Consumer Health company.Experience in conducting Sensory tests and managing Consumer and Expert Panels with a leading company.Experience in leading the technical evaluation of products versus competition, including development and validation of consumer‑relevant test methodologies and translation of differences into supportable claims and visualizations.Knowledge of qualitative & quantitative research methodologies.Knowledge of the advantages and limitations of different analytical/quantitative approaches.Knowledge of insight approaches – including market monitoring, surveillance, competitive pipelines and readiness workshops.Location & Language SkillsLocation: France (Paris) or USA (Morristown).Fluent spoken and written English.Additional language capability, particularly French, is desirable.Why us?At Opella, you will enjoy challenging, purposeful work, empower to develop consumer brands with passion and creativity. This is your chance to grow new skills and be part of a bold, collaborative, and inclusive culture where people can thrive and be at their best every day.Equal Opportunity EmployerOpella and its U.S. affiliates are Equal Opportunity and affirmative action employers committed to a culturally diverse workforce. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, age, ancestry, nationality, marital status, domestic partnership or civil union status, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, disability, veteran or military status, domestic violence victim status, atypical cellular or blood trait, genetic information (including refusal to submit to genetic testing) or any other characteristic protected by law.Salary Range88,800 – 132,900All compensation will be determined commensurate with demonstrated experience. Employees may be eligible to participate in company employee benefit programs. Additional benefits information can be found through the LINK. #J-18808-Ljbffr