Sensory & Consumer Guidance Scientist

at  Diageo

Job Description :
Location: Bishop’s Stortford, Heartfodshire
Celebrating Life, Every Day, Everywhere
Diageo is proud to be a global leader in beverage alcohol with an outstanding and iconic collection of brands across alcohol and 0.0%, spirits, beer and wine categories. We are a global company, and our products are sold in more than 180 countries around the world. Innovation is critical to our success and our dedicated R&D team focus on crafting new drinks, new formats and technologies and innovating on existing and new to world brands that encourage our customers and consumers across all countries where you can find our products.
The Innovation Research and Development team is a vibrant and creative global team operating out of regional R&D centres. The team are currently looking for a curious and creative Senior Sensory Scientist to join them in driving forward exciting innovation pipelines and developing new beverages and industry leading product and consumer centric innovation that excite and meet consumer and customer needs.
About the Role:
Based in Bishops Stortford, Hertfordshire this is an exciting opportunity for an expert sensory scientist with industry and research experience with a proven track record for bringing significant sensory and consumer insights throughout the product and brand development journey. You will have a senior role within the R&D Sensory and Consumer Guidance team and will have the opportunity to build, shape and craft the world of Diageo sensory while partnering with our Europe & Africa product developers, long term scientists and cross functional Diageo teams where you will be personally responsible for the management and delivery of sensory and consumer mentorship insights to development projects and research platforms within Diageo’s Brand and Innovation agendas. You will use your sensory knowledge, experience and network to bring in evaluation, interpretation and application of sensory and consumer responses to act as a source of technical and creative expertise across a wide range of markets each with different structures, complexities and needs.
Top Accountabilities:
Drive and employ advanced Sensory & Consumer research methods to provide vital data driven insights to the regional and global innovation pipeline delivery, product developers and R&D research platforms.
Strong Internal Partner with R&D, Consumer Insights / Planning, Brand & Innovation Marketing, Breakthrough Innovation, Supply, Packaging, Data Science teams to ensure consumer centricity and human response and behaviours understanding are embedded in the work.
External Relationships: Bring and continue to establish a strong external network through academia, consultants and suppliers which will drive and unlock brand and technical R&D projects looking at now, next and beyond.
Plans and leads multiple research projects with minimal guidance and with the blend of embedding standard process, creativity and curiosity with the consumer centric principle at the core.
Builds capability in junior staff by coaching and mentoring to leverage individuals and the sensory team to bring and leverage business relevant functional knowledge and insights.

Top Critical Skills Requirements:

• Passion for Delivering Sensory & Consumer Insights
• Critical Thinking
• Brilliant Execution
• Creative & Experimental Mentality
• Act Strategically
• Be Externally Curious
• Strong Partner who Collaborates Effectively & Efficiently

Qualifications and Capabilities Required:
Education - Bachelor’s degree in Sensory Science, Food Science / Technology, or Sensory Science related subject area required. Additional certifications including Masters or PhD a plus. Applied Sensory Science Degree or recognized technical equivalent.

Experience-

• Requires 7+ years of relevant project and/or research experience (food or beverage) including doctoral or post-doctoral research. Experienced in leading project teams; proven track record of handling technical projects through to execution.
• Consistent record of supporting the delivery of winning product innovations from ideation and prioritisation to launch, providing input that is rooted in customers/consumers’ needs.
• Ability to turn data into true insights that will drive breakthroughs in product development.
• Proficient in design and activation of analytical sensory techniques (e.g. Discrimination testing, Descriptive Analysis) and quantitative and qualitative consumer research methodologies. Experience in integrating these methodologies to understand the connection between design and consumer loving/behaviour/emotion.
• Experience connecting, collaborating, and leading external research vendors to deliver project objectives, on time and in budget.
• Excellent capabilities and understanding of applied statistical analysis, including design of experiments and multivariate analysis techniques).
• Proficient in the use of Microsoft Office software (ie, Excel, Word, PowerPoint)
• Experience working within the Europe & Africa region is a bonus

Celebrating our inclusive and diverse culture is core to Diageo’s purpose of “celebrating life every day everywhere”. This purpose is, in itself, inclusive in nature, as it values everybody irrespective of background, disability, religion, gender identity, sexuality or ethnicity.
We know that to thrive and for Diageo to realize its ambition, we depend on having diverse talent with a range of backgrounds, skills and capabilities in each of the 180 countries in which we operate and to reflect our broad consumer base. We view diversity as one of the key enablers that helps our business to grow and our values, purpose and standards set the conditions for us to respect the unique contribution each person brings.
Flexibility is key to success in our business and many of our staff work flexibly in many different ways, including part-time, compressed hours, flexible location. Please talk to us about what flexibility means to you and don’t let anything stop you from applying.
Character Is Everything
Worker Type :
Regular
Primary Location:
Bishops Stortford
Additional Locations :
Job Posting Start Date :
2024-04-2

Please refer the Job description for details