Sensory and Consumer Science Research Director

Who we are

We are the leading international sensory and consumer research company specializing in food, beverages, cosmetics, personal care, and other consumer products. We have 19 proprietary state-of-the-art facilities across France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, United Kingdom, Morocco, China and the USA, and cover more than 65 countries through our network of approved partners.

SAM provides tailor-made solutions, delivering actionable guidelines to make our clients’ brands and products memorable.

SAM is a great place to work.

Join SAM to work with the most competent, creative, and fun team in the industry and let your work, opinions and ideas contribute to the future of sensory and consumer research.

Become your most extraordinary self with support and development throughout your career.

Best in class

Join our very diverse team of sensory scientists, food technologists, statisticians, psychologists, sociologists, strategic thinkers, marketeers, field managers, technicians and other sensory and research experienced colleagues.

We're proud to be part of the Eurofins Group

World-leader in Testing for Life. With about 61 000 employees, Eurofins is a global leader in testing services and over the last 20 years has been one of the fastest growing companies in the world, thanks to its innovation in technology and service.

Job Description

Research Director is responsible for overseeing multiple teams and ensuring alignment with strategic and financial planning of the cluster, while driving innovation in research approaches.

Responsibilities:

1. Client Management:

Responsible for multiple accounts in the cluster and the business development

2. Strategy:

a. Define team objectives and growth opportunities

b. Responsible for ensuring alignment with the organization's goals and objectives

c. Work closely with other departments and other clusters to identify needs and opportunities, and constantly improve internal collaboration

3. Revenue:

a. Ensure that the accounts deliver the expected revenue target and profitability

b. Responsible for the overall revenue amounting to minimum ~ 2 m+

4. Project Management:

a. Supervises the Research team to ensure the projects are delivered on time and with high standards of quality

b. Provide support to the Research teams during clients’ meetings and for complex/ strategic research proposals or tenders

5. People:

a. Manages a minimum of 5 team members directly or indirectly

b. Mentor teams in research skills and their career development

c. Manage team budget and resources

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years of higher education with knowledge in market research and/or sensory research
• Knowledge of food and/or cosmetic products, quantitative consumer research methodologies, sensory methodologies and statistics.
• Significant experience in a Research manager role at SAM or in other companies
• Experience in leading and mentoring research teams
• Skills in managing budgets
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English and the local language
• Proficiency in MS Office: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc
• Strong leadership abilities to manage teams and oversee large-scale research initiatives
• Good organisational and problem-solving skills
• Rigorous, responsive and proactive