Group R&D Director

This is a chance to join a company with an increasingly rare commitment to UK based product R&D operations, as Group R&D Director, you will the "global agenda" for R&D driving engineering and product innovation through an established department with strong technical leadership in place.

The Group R&D Director is tasked with taking a strategic view towards embedding best practice within the R&D departments and the broader business R&D processes, as well as facilitating strong links with parent company operations as appropraite with the intention of providing a robust platform to sustain the company's ongoing innovation and investment journey in their sector.

Our client are a global leader with enviable market share benefiting from strong commercial backing whilst enjoying an agile and responsive culture more akin to SME operations.

Role Overview:

As the Group R&D Director, you will hold strategic oversight of all R&D activities, deploying world-class methodologies and optimising processes to enhance departmental operations. You will focus on offering strategic guidance, challenging existing processes, driving collaboration, and providing strong technical leadership across the organisation.

You will be responsible for the delivery methodology of all new products, working closely with established and knowledgeable Technology Group leadership teams. By working "on the process, not in it," you will ensure that all projects are delivered on time, in full, and within budget, adhering to specifications and optimising the utilisation of company resources.

Your ability to foster strong collaborative relationships with key stakeholders, both in the UK and internationally, will be crucial in aligning expectations and adopting best practice across the board

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Key

Responsibilities:

• Challenge and improve existing working practices to enhance efficiency, reduce time to market, maintain traceability, and minimise risk.
• Steer the R&D function to deliver agreed technology programmes on time, within budget, and to specification, in accordance with company policies and industry regulations.
• Build and coordinate collaboration across group R&D functions, leading the delivery of inter-business projects.
• Set and align technical strategies with overall business goals, facilitating group-wide collaboration where necessary.
• Innovate and implement new processes and adopt technologies to maintain a competitive advantage and advance departmental capabilities.
• Utilise stakeholder feedback to identify and drive areas for improvement.
• Develop strong partnerships with suppliers to support collaborative project delivery.
• Develop and implement ongoing training programmes to enhance staff skills and knowledge.

The Ideal Candidate:

• Proven experience in a leadership role driving R&D operations at a strategic level.
• Demonstrated success in driving departmental change through project management methodologies and IT systems that enhance R&D delivery.
• Strong understanding of fast-paced R&D design processes, ongoing engineering changes, and new product introduction (NPI), with a solid grasp of fundamental engineering principles.
• Commercial acumen, with the ability to balance priorities for maximum impact and alignment with broader business needs.
• Strong analytical, critical reasoning, and effective decision-making skills.
• Excellent collaborator with experience managing stakeholders across domestic and international operations.
• Engaging and motivating team player with exceptional communication, networking, and influencing skills.

What Else Should I know:

You will be working with a highly aligned leadership team within a company that values a strong culture and boasts high retention rates. This is a rare and exciting opportunity to make a significant impact in a well-funded organisation with a robust product roadmap and strong technical knowledge within their R&D operations.

Consortium Professional Recruitment Ltd are a professional level recruitment consultancy specialising in the delivery of high relevance recruitment services on behalf of our clients across the UK. We regularly receive large responses to our advertising which can make providing individual feedback to every applicant challenging. If you haven’t received a reply from us within 14 day of your application, we regret to say your application has been unsuccessful on this occasion. We have a policy of retaining your details for future vacancies unless you request otherwise. To learn more about our services, please visit www.consortiumrecruitment.co.uk