SA Innovation Lead EU

Are you the kind of person that is always thinking, sketching, seeking, and adjusting? Who needs to understand how things work and then figure out how they can work better? Are you a passionate, tenacious, solver who loves to work with others who share your drive? Are you positive, constructive, and ingenious?

Are you always solving?

Then we’d like to meet you and bet you’d like to meet us.

Ashland has an exciting opportunity for an Innovation Leader to join our Specialty Additives business at our Research Center (Zwijndrecht, Netherlands). This is a very visible, significant role within the Company and the Specialty Additives Business Unit. This position will report to the Specialty Additives Business Unit CTO.

• Lead a diversified team of experienced and skilled Scientists based in the Ashland Research Center, supporting both R&D and Technical Service in a variety of applications including architectural and industrial coatings. Track record of building a high-performance team through effective hiring, retaining and motivating talent.

• Collaborate closely with Ashland functional teams and BU Specialty Additives Marketing and Commercial teams to support customers, drive continuous improvement, results and successes. Influence decision making and outcomes through strong communication.
• Ability to function at both tactical and strategic levels and become a strategic partner of Business Leaders.
• Long-term recommendations, combined with an entrepreneurial spirit, exploring the new and thinking beyond the status quo.
• Identify new product opportunities along with the commercial management team in the Specialty Additives segments. Responsible for ideation and innovation management and a track record of managing a portfolio of high impact R&D projects through a Stage Gate process, resulting in proven commercial successes with a positive impact on P&L.
• Establish and lead new technology platforms, high impact product development and product improvement projects.
• Responsible for regional Operational and Capex budgets.
• Partner with third parties, suppliers and universities to support innovation.
• Travel Responsibilities – You will get to see the world with a first focus on Europe, build strong relationships with strategic accounts and meet your colleagues up to 25% of the time.

• Actively contribute to the organizational goals by taking initiative, executing on goals and focusing on performance and safety
• Improve the organization capacity and capabilities through building collaborative relationships, optimizing diverse talent and utilizing positive communications and influence with others.

• > 10 yrs working experience in technical roles
• 5 to 10 years experience leading diversified teams
• 1 – 3 years experience in commercial roles and/or in Operations
• Effective technical leader in specialty chemical and polymer industry with specific knowledge of the application and the development of additives for water- based applications. Knowledge of solvent-based systems and additive technology is a pre.
• Ability to function at both tactical and strategic levels and become a strategic partner of Business Leaders.
• Experience working with global teams (technical and commercial) in Asia, Middle East, Europe, Latin America, China.
• Fluent in English

• Demonstrated responsible and ethical behavior at all times.
• The ability to help the company drive greater value through understanding the business, making complex decisions and creating the new and different.

The following skill sets are preferred by the business unit:

• PhD chemistry
• Foreign language skills
• Experience with Change Management

Infinite possibilities

Creating good chemistry isn’t just about what happens when you add the right ingredients together. It’s about what happens when the right people are one of the ingredients. Good chemistry – the kind that can transform a market or a world – is what makes Ashland different and what makes us better.

If you’re passionate about the infinite possibilities created through good chemistry, we have a rewarding and challenging opportunity for you to help us make great things happen every day for our customers, our communities, our investors and our colleagues around the world.