High-impact role at the intersection of science and technology within a leading global innovator in nutrition, health, and beauty, offering significant strategic influence.
Opportunity to build a digital capability 'from the ground up' and shape the future of R&D and laboratory operations on a global scale.
Exposure to managing a substantial budget (>€25M) and complex supplier ecosystems, providing excellent commercial and operational experience.
Company culture emphasizes sustainability, innovation, collaboration, and offers a flexible work environment.
Managing a large, hybrid team (80+ people) across different locations and cultures requires exceptional leadership, communication, and stakeholder management skills.
Balancing the delivery of a complex, high-value portfolio with the need to drive cultural change towards agile and product-centric methodologies can be demanding.
The role requires navigating the specific needs of scientific teams while delivering scalable digital solutions, which can involve managing competing priorities.
This position is ideal for an experienced leader with a strong background in both the life sciences domain and digital technology, who thrives on building teams, driving strategic change, and delivering tangible business value in a complex, global environment.
缺点 / 挑战
暂无明显挑战项
角色解读
This role is a senior leadership position with significant strategic impact. Successful performance can lead to broader executive roles within the Digital & Technology function or general management positions overseeing larger business units.
The experience gained in transforming a core R&D function at a global life sciences leader is highly valuable and can open doors to C-level technology or innovation roles in similar industries.
Lead a large, hybrid team of internal and external professionals to drive digital transformation within the Science, Innovation & Labs organization.
Oversee the delivery of a multi-million euro portfolio of digital solutions for R&D and laboratory platforms, ensuring alignment with business goals and value creation.
Develop and execute the digital roadmap, manage strategic supplier relationships, and champion agile, product-centric ways of working.
Deep domain expertise in science, innovation, and labs, coupled with a strong conceptual understanding of digital technologies, FAIR data principles, and scientific software development.
Proven leadership and people management skills, specifically in developing other leaders and managing large, globally distributed teams.
Strong strategic and commercial acumen, including experience in portfolio management, budgeting, and managing multi-million euro contracts and supplier partnerships.
申请策略
Research dsm-firmenich's recent innovations and sustainability initiatives to understand their strategic direction and how this role contributes to it.
Prepare to articulate your vision for building a digital capability from scratch and how you would foster a culture of collaboration between scientists and technologists.
Quantify your leadership impact: highlight the size of teams you've led, the value of portfolios/budgets managed, and specific outcomes of digital transformation projects you've delivered.
Demonstrate your dual-domain expertise: clearly outline your experience in science/R&D/labs AND your track record in leading digital initiatives, software development, or IT delivery.
Showcase strategic and commercial achievements: detail experience with supplier management, contract negotiation, M&A integration, or developing and executing multi-year roadmaps.
If lacking, deepen your knowledge of modern scientific data management (FAIR principles) and trends in laboratory digitization (e.g., Lab 4.0, ELN/LIMS).
Brush up on advanced agile and product management frameworks suitable for large-scale enterprise transformations, beyond basic Scrum or Kanban.
面试指南
Use the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) method to structure your answers, focusing on quantifiable results and your specific leadership actions.
Frame your answers to show you balance strategic thinking with operational execution, and people leadership with business acumen.
Connect your past experiences directly to the responsibilities and challenges outlined in this specific job description.
Describe a time you led a digital transformation initiative in a scientific or R&D environment. What was your strategy, and what were the key challenges and outcomes?
How would you approach building and leading a high-performing hybrid team of 80+ internal and external members across different geographies?
Walk us through your experience in managing a multi-million euro portfolio. How do you prioritize initiatives and ensure value delivery?
Tell us about a complex supplier or partnership you managed. How did you ensure alignment and drive performance?
How do you translate high-level business strategy into actionable digital outcomes for technical teams and scientific stakeholders?