Category Manager - Dairy & Beverage

Job Purpose and Impact

The Category Manager - Dairy & Beverage will focus on innovation and product development to support new product development initiatives and will focus on sensory driven innovation to help move ingredients from concept to commercialization. You will collaborate with other technical and business teams including the sensory group and you will work on research efforts which involve multifunctional interaction with commercial and technical service teams and customers which will require flexibility to assist with other application team projects and shorter term projects including the use of other ingredients.

Key Accountabilities

• Proactively identify project opportunities and develop a strong project pipeline to deliver target project commercialization.
• Focus on Dairy & Beverage category solution development and commercialization.
• Strong collaboration with across R&D job families and cross functional teams: Go To Market and category teams.
• Develop resonating value propositions with Cargill solutions.
• Work with key customers and business partners to identify and deliver on dedicated project opportunities.
• Partner with marketing and sales to meet customer needs and make technical presentations to customers.
• Run product demonstrations and serve as the expert during these meetings.
• Lead product issues, report data to product development teams and monitor scientific reports or datasheets detailing the organization's products and their applications.
• Independently handle complex issues with minimal supervision, while escalating only the most complex issues to appropriate staff.
• Other duties as assigned

• Bachelor's degree in a related field or equivalent experience
• Comprehensive knowledge of ingredient functionality and its effects on sensory attributes and overall product acceptability
• Strong Dairy & Beverage Application experience.
• Knowledge of ingredients, sweeteners, and sugar reduction solutions etc.
• Customer-facing experience with the ability to identify opportunities and drive commercialization.

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Advanced techniques in sensory science following current trends and developments
• Experience using novel and/or non-GRAS food ingredients
• Experience working in beverage food science formulation