About Us
Kleenex®. Cottonelle®. Scott®. Huggies®. Kotex®. Poise®. Depend®. Kimberly-Clark Professional®. You already know our legendary brands—and so does the rest of the world. In fact, millions of people use Kimberly-Clark products every day. We know these amazing Kimberly-Clark products wouldn’t exist without talented professionals, like you.
At Kimberly-Clark, you’ll be part of the best team committed to driving innovation, growth and impact. We’re founded on more than 150 years of market leadership, and we’re always looking for new and better ways to perform – so there’s your open door of opportunity. It’s all here for you at Kimberly-Clark.
Led by Purpose. Driven by You.
We’re out to create Better Care for a Better World, and that takes leaders and teams who care about making a difference. In your Senior Director, Research and Development – Adult & Feminine Care North America role, you’ll apply your professional expertise, talent, and drive to building and managing our portfolio of iconic, ground-breaking brands to help us deliver better care for billions of people around the world. It starts with YOU.
What You’ll Do (Role Purpose)
The Senior Director, Research and Development – Adult & Feminine Care North America (AFC, NA) provides leadership for Adult and Feminine Care development and commercialization teams in support of the Personal Care business. The incumbent is accountable for leading and directing R&D teams to develop innovation strategies and a pipeline of high performing and consumer-preferred products. This includes front-end-innovation through development and commercialization, quality, asset strategy, and some life-cycle-maximization efforts. They will partner closely with cross-functional peers managing Central Research, International Personal Care, GMs, Brand Growth & Innovation (BG&I), Supply Chain and Regional and Global Procurement teams to achieve business objectives.
This leader is the Personal Care R&D representative on the AFC President’s Business Unit Senior Leadership Team and champions bringing the right resources from the Personal Care Front End Innovation and BizCon teams, as well as the OneR&D organization in support of the Kimberly-Clark North America (KCNA) AFC business.
The Senior Director, Research and Development – AFC NA will direct highly collaborative, cohesive, and high-performing R&D teams and inspire and energize teams to raise the bar on performance, develop new skills and turn-around declining market share and product acceptance relative to competition.
This role reports to the VP, R&D NA Personal Care and Global Sustainability Technology Development.
The Impact You Can Make
The Senior Director, R&D – AFC NA will/is:
Lead the development of the AFC category technology and IP strategies, based on a deep understanding of the competitive advantages and gaps of KC relative to branded and unbranded competitors. Fully leverages KCNA, Global and enterprise-wide capabilities and learning to outperform competition.
Guide technical leaders and managers to develop and execute robust technology development and consumer learning plans to achieve innovation goals.
Develop deep understanding of consumer needs, insights, and opportunities to develop consumer-winning concepts and products.
Develop aggressive new technology learning plans, with appropriate use of technical fundamentals, modeling and rapid screening tests balanced with good technical judgment.
Lead short through long-term personal care Materials innovation strategies, working closely with KC Global and external partners.
Develop new products that meet consumer performance and financial targets based on deep understanding of category dynamics, market and customer needs and opportunities.
Create and execute strategies, partnering with key stakeholders to take action that will advance shared interests and business goals.
Obtain information and identify key issues and relationships relevant to achieving a long-range goal or visions; committing to a course of action to accomplish a long-range goal or visions after developing alternatives based on logical assumptions, facts, available resources, constraints, and organizational values.
Partner with Strategy & Innovation, BG&I and Marketing colleagues to help create product portfolios and new concepts to deliver brand strategies and deliver market share growth.
Partner with both the Regional and Global Supply Chain teams to support asset strategies, and technology application to current assets.
Provide exceptional coaching and mentoring to support and develop team to continuously develop their skills, expand knowledge and reach full potential.
Encourage diverse perspectives, experiences and backgrounds that enable our winning culture.
Lead and direct R&D teams to develop innovation strategies and a pipeline of high performing and consumer-preferred products. Deeply accountable to deliver these new products meeting all objectives, on-time and with quality.
Influence and manage external vendor relationships and continue raise the performance of our products through innovative new materials providing superior consumer benefits.
Influence and manage internal Supply Chain and external OEM relationships to continue to raise the performance of our products through highly efficient processes that deliver stretching innovation goals.
About You
You’re driven to perform at the highest level possible, and you appreciate a performance culture fueled by authentic caring. You want to be part of a company actively dedicated to sustainability, inclusion, wellbeing, and career development.
Experiences We’re Looking For
The Senior Director, R&D – AFC NA will have demonstrated the following key skills:
Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Research or related discipline required.
Minimum of 15 years of R&D experience, with at least 10 years of management experience. Ability to point to a track record of increasing responsibility and proven success leading teams that successfully drive innovation forward.
Proven ability to create an innovation pipeline and new product designs, deeply grounded in consumer need states and full leveraging all internal and external resources.
Ability to engage and influence people at all levels of the organization.
Demonstrated personal credibility through strong communication skills, achieving results, and trusted relationships.
Demonstrated contagious positive energy to influence, inspire and dive deep to understand product challenges and opportunities to drive results.
Core Competencies
Strategic Vision: must have strong strategic abilities, having been an outstanding performer in a dynamic, consumer-driven organization regarded for superior products/services. Strategic, analytical and intellectual.
Collaboration: demonstrated ability to be quickly recognized as a partner and resource to senior executives and business leaders. Skilled at working across both global and functional boundaries, and gaining the support and involvement of key internal constituencies. Ability to influence internal and external stakeholders, using a thoughtful communication plan to align people or groups.
Results Orientation: decisive and action-oriented, with a demonstrated record of getting things done in an organization where partnering and collaboration are valued skills. Openness and willing to try different, creative ways to deal with business challenges and opportunities.
Inspirational Team Leadership: capable of creating direction for the business through developing talent and inspirational team leadership. A leader who can create a high-performing, dynamic team with proven success empowering teams to identify and solve problems. Proven ability to attract, develop, and retain talent which will be critical in taking the capability of the business to new levels.
Learning Agility & Cultural Acuity: superior intellectual curiosity and pure passion to learn. This leader will rapidly understand new situations and business problems and will have developed techniques to find creative solutions to address these issues.
Ways of Working and Leadership Competencies We Value
Focus on Consumers. We keep the needs of customers and consumers at the center of our work. Building strong customer relationships and delivering consumer-centric solutions. Seeing ahead to future possibilities and translating them into breakthrough strategies that delight our consumers.
Play to Win. We aim high, measure our results, and live our values because winning with integrity matters. Setting aggressive goals and consistently achieving results, even under tough circumstances. Pushing past status quo to create new and better ways to solve problems and win.
Move Fast. We turn decisions into action, remove barriers and seek progress over perfection. Stepping up to champion ideas, address difficult issues and say what needs to be said. Tackling challenges with a sense of urgency, seizing new opportunities and scaling winning solutions.
Grow our People. We champion inclusion and encourage our people to ideate, innovate and contribute to their growth. Encouraging diverse perspectives, experiences and backgrounds that enable our winning culture. Placing a high priority on developing self and others to meet career goals and the organization’s goals.
Total Benefits
Here are a few of the benefits you’d enjoy. For a complete overview, see www.mykcbenefits.com.
Great support for good health with medical, dental, and vision coverage options. No waiting periods or pre-existing condition restrictions. Access to an on-site fitness center, occupational health nurse, and allowances for high-quality safety equipment.
Flexible Savings and spending accounts to maximize health care options and stretch dollars when caring for yourself or dependents.
Diverse income protection insurance options to protect yourself and your family in case of illness, injury, or other unexpected events.
Additional programs and support to continue your education, adopt a child, relocate, or even find temporary childcare.
To Be Considered
Click the Apply button and complete the online application process. A member of our recruiting team will review your application and follow up if you seem like a great fit for this role.
In the meantime, please check out the careers website.
And finally, the fine print….
For Kimberly-Clark to grow and prosper, we must be an inclusive organization that applies the diverse experiences and passions of its team members to brands that make life better for people all around the world. We actively seek to build a workforce that reflects the experiences of our consumers. When you bring your original thinking to Kimberly-Clark, you fuel the continued success of our enterprise. We are a committed equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, pregnancy, genetic information, citizenship status, or any other characteristic protected by law.
The statements above are intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed by employees assigned to this classification. Statements are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities and skills required for this position.
Employment is subject to verification of pre-screening tests, which may include drug screening, background check, and DMV check.
Veterans and members of the Reserve and Guard are highly encouraged to apply.
Kimberly-Clark will support in-country relocation for the chosen candidate. The benefits provided will be per the terms of Kimberly-Clark’s applicable mobility policies. The benefits/policy provided will decided in Kimberly-Clark’s sole discretion.
#LI-Hybrid
Salary Range: 215,900 – 279,100 USDAt Kimberly-Clark, pay is just one aspect of our total rewards package, which also includes a variety of benefits and opportunities to achieve, thrive and grow. Along with base pay, this position offers eligibility for a target bonus and a comprehensive benefits suite, including our 401(k) and Profit Sharing plan. The anticipated base pay range for this role is provided above for a fully qualified hire. Actual pay will depend on several factors, such as location, role, skills, performance, and experience. Please note that the stated pay range applies to US locations only.Primary LocationUSA-WI-NeenahAdditional LocationsUSA-GA-Atlanta-RoswellWorker TypeEmployeeWorker Sub-TypeRegularTime TypeFull time