Team Leader Dairy Applications

Our story goes back more than 150 years, to the chilly southern coast of Scandinavia. From our early success in Sweden and Denmark, we’ve grown into the world’s leading specialist producer of plant-based oils, employing more than 4,000 people across the globe.

We collaborate with our customers to make the products you love even better. The oils we produce go into making your chocolate extra-creamy or putting the crunch into your croissant. And it’s not just food — we work across industries to make products that are higher quality, healthier and better for the planet.

Everything we do is about Making Better Happen™.

About AAK Karlshamn

Site Karlshamn is the largest and most complex site in AAK. It was founded in 1918 and is located at the Baltic Sea coast surrounded by a beautiful archipelago and grand oak- and beech-tree forests perfect for recreational activities. The site has approximately 470 employees working in sales, customer innovation, quality assurance, production etc. and supplies into many industries including chocolate and confectionery, bakery, dairy, plant-based foods, personal care, animal nutrition, infant nutrition, candles, rubber and more.

About the role

AAK is seeking to appoint a Team Leader Dairy Applications to lead the Dairy Application team based at the Customer Innovation Centre in Karlshamn, Sweden.

This role will lead a team of 3 Application Technologists and will have the responsibility for a fully equipped Dairy Application and Analytical laboratory in Karlshamn. The successful candidate will support the delivery of the innovation pipeline in Dairy and Plant Based Dairy applications for Europe, plan and deliver trainings for our customers and colleagues, develop prototypes and be responsible for sample preparations for customer visits, trade and fair shows.

The position will combine leadership responsibilities and hands-on work to apply knowledge of oils and fats chemistry in Dairy and Plant Based solutions and to act as an application technical expert.

Responsibilities

The Team Leader Dairy Applications:

• Creates, motivates, and develops a high performing Dairy Application Team through continuous improvements, coaching and high employee engagement.
• Ensures competencies, knowledge sharing, and utilization of available AAK resources required to drive innovation to support the growth of the business for the European region.
• Supports the execution of the innovation pipeline relevant to the Dairy segment to meet business objectives and drives short to medium-term market driven innovations.
• Partners with European Customer Innovation Managers, Research Scientists, Sales and Product Management teams to support the innovation agenda and pipeline.
• Prioritizes and allocates resources, ensuring timely project execution and delivery.
• Develops a continuous dialogue with Global Innovation teams in the context of implementing global products into the regional strategy through Customer Innovation Networks.
• Plans, hosts and executes customer/partner visits and technical trainings for customers and colleagues, driving best practice and consistency of execution.
• Manages, coaches, and develops the Dairy Application team, building a strong talent pipeline.
• Sets the objectives in the performance management process for the Application team in accordance with AAK goals and strategic direction.
• Establishes strong external networks with key industry stakeholders such as universities, start-ups, ingredient suppliers and research organizations, to position AAK as a knowledge driven organization and global leader of industry solutions.
• Plans, designs, and conducts research projects according to established scientific methods, principles and theories to solve problems and improve or generate new products and solutions in collaboration with Customer Innovation Managers and Research Scientists.
• Assures that the Dairy Application and Analytical laboratories are well organized and maintained, follow best scientific practices and international standards.
• Activities include revising research methods; setting-up laboratory test equipment; developing prototypes; calculating and analyzing test results and preparing detailed reports with recommendations and conclusions.
• Estimates the costs, resources, and time required to conduct a research project and monitor performance to ensure that targets are met.
• Develops and maintains technical expertise on advances and innovations in research and science.

Who are you?
Experience

To be successful in this role you have a university degree (M.Sc. or Ph.D. an advantage) in Food Science and Technology, Chemistry or similar. You have a minimum of 5 years of professional experience in team management roles including developing high performing teams, people development and recruitment. A scientific background with extensive knowledge in Dairy and preferably also Plant Based Dairy, ideally coupled with experience in oils and fats chemistry and applications is required.

We would also like you to have experience working with virtual and/or matrix teams and ability to effectively communicate and collaborate in this environment. Commercially astute with experience in either B2B or B2C environments.

Personal qualities

You are an excellent communicator, eloquent and succinct to interact professionally with a diverse group of stakeholders both internal and external. You have strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills combined with being comfortable with managing risk, complexity and uncertainty. You are comfortable working in an international business environment and are willing to travel (approximately 20%), primarily in Europe and have extensive experience in working with and managing project portfolios.

As a professional you are customer oriented, business focused and have a strong sense of urgency.  You are open for a challenge and willing to drive continuous improvements. Fluency in Swedish and English is prerequisite. Proficiency in other European languages is a strong advantage, as well as holding a valid driving license (B)

In return AAK offers

Join a pioneering company in specialty oils and fats, driving innovation and sustainability. In AAK you can work across 25+ countries, gaining international exposure and collaborating with a diverse team.

AAK invests in your development with training, mentorship, and clear career paths. You will contribute to a greener world with AAK's sustainability-focused approach. Join a diverse and inclusive workplace that values every individual's perspective and talents.

Contacts and Information

AAK is partnering with Maxkompetens for this recruitment process. If you have any questions about the position, please reach out to the recruitment consultant, Josefin Jönsson, at +46 76 501 83 82 or josefin.jonsson@maxkompetens.se.

About AAK

Everything AAK does is about Making Better Happen™. We specialize in plant-based oils that are the value-adding ingredients in many of the products people love to consume. We make these products better tasting, healthier, and more sustainable. At the heart of AAK’s offer is Customer Co-Development, combining our desire to understand what better means for each customer, with the unique flexibility of our production assets, and deep knowledge of many products and industries, including Chocolate and confectionery, Bakery, Dairy, Plant-based Foods, Special Nutrition, Foodservice and Personal Care. Our 4,000 employees support our close collaboration with customers through 25 regional sales offices, 15 dedicated Customer Innovation Centres, and the support of more than 20 production facilities. Listed on Nasdaq Stockholm and with our headquarters in Malmö, Sweden, AAK has been Making Better Happen™ for more than 150 years.