Director, IT Business Partner, R&D, Food Safety, Quality, Sustainability

Job Summary

The IT Business Partner, Director, IT Business Partner, R&D, Food Safety, Quality, Sustainability, reports to the VP IT Enterprise Functions. This role will be a partner with Rich’s Research,  Innovation, Compliance (RIC) and Generations of Good (Sustainability) leadership team to drive our digital capabilities at Rich's. This role is responsible for managing the relationship between the IT department and the business units it serves; integrating demand, relationship and performance management into the technology strategy of the future. This includes understanding and influencing the business needs and goals, developing and implementing IT strategies to support those goals, and ensuring effective communication and collaboration between IT and the business. This role also oversees the development and management of the ideation, intake and prioritization stages of IT projects and initiatives and partners with the IT delivery organization to deliver capabilities, ensuring they align with the overall business strategy and deliver value to the organization. Additionally, this role may be responsible for managing a team of IT professionals and ensuring they have the necessary skills and resources to support the business.

Key Accountabilities and Outcomes

•    Lead R&D Technology strategy across Product Lifecycle Management, Labs Systems, Quality Management Systems (QMS), Safety, Environmental Management Systems, Sustainability, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations, company policies and operating procedures, and other regulatory requirements.
•    Develop and maintain an R&D governance model that holds key metrics accountable and demonstrates alignment between all organizational functions and resources.
•    Together with the Enterprise Architecture team, harmonizes and determines best practices for RIC/GOG business systems (design controls, lean methodology, knowledge management, etc.) that will facilitate a best-in-class application framework.
•    Provide technical support across the sites and to customers. Resolve issues by assuming ownership of significant technical problems, influencing affected stakeholders, and helping to select and implement solutions that meet the overall team’s goal.
•    Collaborates with colleagues across the organization and drives standard policies and practices across RIC, GOG and IT groups; collaborates cross-functionally to ensure achievement of strategic imperatives for the Product Category and site and function metrics.
•    Drive the creation and execution of strategic technology roadmaps, including responsibility for all technology initiatives supporting the strategic RIC/GOG business plan. Works closely with other departments to ensure proper implementation. Create a strategic technology roadmap that permits the RIC/GOG team to unleash its full potential.
•    Ensure the timely completion and proper prioritization of RIC/GOG initiatives on budget.
•    Assist in developing a high-performance RIC/GOG technology team that thinks, acts, and influences the organization by utilizing a common process and working toward a common goal.
•    Provide technical input to the Strategic Growth Teams identifying technology trends and market dynamics, technology roadmap, and manufacturing strategies.

Knowledge, Experience and Skills

• Minimum Education: Bachelor’s degree in engineering or related discipline. A master’s degree in business or additional class work in business management is desirable.
• Minimum Experience: 12+ years of experience in a technical management role in an R&D environment with a minimum of 10 years related to leveraging technology.
• Experience in food industry or pharmaceuticals,  which includes substantial experience in R&D, New Product Development, Product Commercialization, Project Management and/or product/process improvement experience.
• Ability to interact with and influence senior executives. Ability to partner with cross-functional organizations to drive the technology strategy successfully. Proven experience evaluating new technology.
• Excellent communication skills, internal and external (customer-focused).
• Excellent leadership, interpersonal, communication, presentation, and collaborative team-building skills. Ability to plan and make technological judgments and decisions.
• Demonstrated creative thinker; ability to see the "big picture" and synthesize and communicate innovation strategies delivering on company goals.
• Proven ability to manage complex projects and cross-functional teams and deliver results in a fast-paced, deadline-oriented environment.
• Experience in product life cycle management system implementations required

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