Company: This privately owned, global specialty ingredients business operates across multiple international markets, supplying high-quality, bio-based solutions to leading manufacturers within food, beverage and personal care.

With a strong heritage and long-term ownership structure, the company combines technical expertise with a clear focus on sustainability, reliability and innovation. The organisation continues to invest in strengthening its strategic marketing capabilities, with a particular focus on better connecting innovation pipelines to market needs and commercial execution.

As part of this development, the business is expanding its Strategic Marketing function within the Texturants category, supporting continued growth across key application areas including dairy, beverage, and sauces & dressings, as well as selected personal care segments.

Role: The Strategic Marketing Manager – Texturants will play a central role in shaping innovation direction, driving market intelligence, and supporting the execution of category strategy.

Reporting into Senior Strategic Marketing, this role sits at the intersection of R&D, sales and communication, acting as a key link between technical development and market-facing activities.

This is not a purely strategic or purely operational position. It requires a balanced profile, combining structured thinking with a hands-on, proactive approach. The successful candidate will take ownership of innovation projects, translate market insights into actionable strategies, and support the development of clear product positioning and commercial narratives.

Given the evolving nature of the function, this role offers strong visibility and the opportunity to contribute to building structure, processes and ways of working within the team.

Main Responsibilities

• Own and manage innovation projects within the Texturants category, ensuring alignment with governance processes and strategic objectives.
• Drive the innovation pipeline, coordinating cross-functional stakeholders and ensuring timely execution from concept through to commercialisation.
• Develop and contribute to longer-term category roadmaps, supporting the definition of future innovation direction and strategic priorities.
• Collect, analyse and translate market intelligence, customer insights and industry trends into actionable recommendations for the business.
• Identify growth opportunities across key application areas, linking market needs to internal capabilities and product development efforts.
• Act as a key interface between R&D, sales and communication teams, ensuring alignment between technical development and market positioning.
• Support the development of product positioning, value propositions and go-to-market strategies based on customer and market insights.
• Create and deliver impactful marketing content and sales tools to support commercial teams in customer engagement.
• Work closely with technical teams to ensure innovation outputs are relevant, differentiated and aligned with customer expectations.
• Contribute to building structure within the Strategic Marketing function, supporting the development of processes and best practices.
• Engage with internal stakeholders across multiple regions, maintaining strong collaboration within a highly international environment.

Key Requirements

• Bachelor’s or master’s degree in Marketing, Business Administration, Food Science, or a related field.  ?
• Minimum 5 years of experience within strategic marketing, product management, or related functions in food ingredients, personal care ingredients, or specialty chemicals.
• Strong project management experience, with the ability to manage multiple initiatives and drive progress in a structured way.
• Experience within texturants, hydrocolloids, or related ingredient systems preferred; candidates from broader ingredient categories will also be considered.
• Good understanding of key application areas such as dairy, beverage, sauces & dressings, or personal care formulations.
• Strong analytical mindset, with the ability to translate complex data and market insights into clear strategic direction.
• Experience working cross-functionally with R&D, sales and marketing teams within a matrix organisation.
• Hands-on, proactive approach with a “can-do” mindset and the ability to operate with a high level of ownership.
• Strong communication and presentation skills, with the ability to influence stakeholders across different functions and levels.
• Collaborative personality, able to build relationships and operate effectively within an international team environment.