R&E Sr. Manager – Front End Innovation - Kimberly-Clark Corporation
Neenah, WI 54956
About the Job
Job Description
You’re not the person who will settle for just any role. Neither are we. Because we’re out to create Better Care for a Better World, and that takes a certain kind of person and teams who care about making a difference. Here, you’ll bring your professional expertise, talent, and drive to building and managing our portfolio of iconic, ground-breaking brands. In this role, you’ll help us deliver better care for billions of people around the world. It starts with YOU.
As the R&E Senior Manager you will create and drive technical strategies that fuse technology, powerful insights and creative design to shape groundbreaking solutions. You will lead the North America Front End Innovation Research and Engineering team to develop, prioritize, and transform insights for the Family Care Professional Category into innovative consumer solutions and focuses on both internal and external opportunities to fuel the innovation pipeline for the next 3+ years, including strategic investments in global re-application and partnerships.
In this role, you will:
Develop and execute innovation strategies for Family Care Professional brands and products.
Build an assertive, proactive, results-oriented team passionate about winning through teamwork. Provide ongoing coaching and feedback and create opportunities for growth and development.
Lead a team of senior-level engineers/scientists/technical experts with unique R&E skills to fuel the innovation strategy.
Lead cross-functional teams to drive initiatives and strategy development. Collaborate with R&E leadership, marketing team members, and product developers to align on brand and category-specific goals.
Serve as the North American R&E liaison to global teams, involving other relevant team members as needed.
Ensure alignment between brand-specific programs and provide consumer-focused guidance for long-term pipeline efforts and domain opportunities.
Develop and guide long-term innovation pipeline opportunities, focusing on a 3+ year horizon. Manage Brand, Category, and Technology Innovation Pathways in close collaboration with cross-functional partners.
Connect technology platforms to powerful, consumer-centric solutions.
Ensure connectivity between brand/consumer pipeline initiatives and long-term technology development teams and corporate research initiatives.
Foster a culture of open and end-to-end innovation across the organization, introducing new ways of working. Build a culture of bringing the outside in, speed/agility, and experimentation.
Maintain technical and scientific expertise in relevant areas and communicate the impact of developments on Kimberly-Clark. Implement strategies to protect novel technology solutions to sustain identified advantages in the market.
About Us
Huggies®. Kleenex®. Cottonelle®. Scott®. Kotex®. Poise®. Depend®. Kimberly-Clark Professional®. You already know our legendary brands—and so does the rest of the world. In fact, millions of people use Kimberly-Clark products every day. We know these amazing Kimberly-Clark products wouldn’t exist without talented professionals, like you.
At Kimberly-Clark, you’ll be part of the best team committed to driving innovation, growth and impact. We’re founded on more than 150 years of market leadership, and we’re always looking for new and better ways to perform – so there’s your open door of opportunity. It’s all here for you at Kimberly-Clark.
Led by Purpose. Driven by You.
About You
You perform at the highest level possible, and you appreciate a performance culture fueled by authentic caring. You want to be part of a company actively dedicated to sustainability, inclusion, wellbeing, and career development.
You love what you do, especially when the work you do makes a difference. At Kimberly-Clark, we’re constantly exploring new ideas on how, when, and where we can best achieve results. When you join our team, you’ll experience Flex That Works: flexible (hybrid) work arrangements that empower you to have purposeful time in the office and partner with your leader to make flexibility work for both you and the business.
In one of our professional roles, you’ll focus on winning with consumers and the market, while putting safety, mutual respect, and human dignity at the center. To succeed in this role, you will need the following qualifications:
Bachelor’s degree in a science or engineering discipline and 10 years or more industrial experience or another equivalent combination of education and experience
Demonstrated evidence of a solid background of technical knowledge and experience combined with the proven ability to successfully direct people and projects.
Experience with incubation, in market experimentation and open innovation
Ability to drive tough, informed decisions
Subject matter expertise in tissue manufacturing technologies, mechanical design, development, and commercialization of process and ancillary system capability.
Experience with Lean management practices and tools
Preferred (not essential, but desired):
Prior experience with Family Care brands and/or tissue technology
Knowledge of Quality Management Systems and processes (Design Control, Change Control, Test Method Validation, etc.)
Proven ability to collaborate across functions/departments to drive balanced business decisions
Experience working closely with the brand team members to ensure projects align with both short- and long-term brand strategies
Experience with key process and tools including Agile, IMF, LEAN Problem Solving ·
Product attributes/quality and testing
Business unit communications / partnering
Strong understanding of KC technologies
Total Benefits
Here are just a few of the benefits you’d enjoy working in this role for Kimberly-Clark. For a complete overview, see www.mykcbenefits.com.
Great support for good health with medical, dental, and vision coverage options with no waiting periods or pre-existing condition restrictions. Access to an on-site fitness center, occupational health nurse, and allowances for high-quality safety equipment.
Flexible Savings and spending accounts to maximize health care options and stretch dollars when caring for yourself or dependents.
Diverse income protection insurance options to protect yourself and your family in case of illness, injury, or other unexpected events.
Additional programs and support to continue your education, adopt a child, relocate, or even find temporary childcare.
To Be Considered
Click the Apply button and complete the online application process. A member of our recruiting team will review your application and follow up if you seem like a great fit for this role.
In the meantime, please check out the careers website.
And finally, the fine print….
For Kimberly-Clark to grow and prosper, we must be an inclusive organization that applies the diverse experiences and passions of its team members to brands that make life better for people all around the world. We actively seek to build a workforce that reflects the experiences of our consumers. When you bring your original thinking to Kimberly-Clark, you fuel the continued success of our enterprise. We are a committed equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, pregnancy, genetic information, citizenship status, or any other characteristic protected by law.
The statements above are intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed by employees assigned to this classification. Statements are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities and skills required for this position.
Employment is subject to verification of pre-screening tests, which may include drug screening, background check, and DMV check.
Additional information about the compensation and benefits for this role are available upon request. You may contact 866-444-4516 – when prompted for employee ID, say “OTHER CALLER” - or kcchrprod@service-now.com for assistance. You must include the six-digit Job # with your request.
Veterans and members of the Reserve and Guard are highly encouraged to apply.
Kimberly-Clark will support in-country relocation for the chosen candidate for the role. The benefits provided will be per the terms of Kimberly-Clark’s applicable mobility policies. The benefits/policy provided will be decided at Kimberly-Clark’s sole discretion.
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