Lead and develop the Medical Innovation Group to drive scientific excellence and strategic innovation in Medical Nutrition Therapy. Provide visionary leadership to identify and prioritize global medical trends, unmet clinical/ medical needs, and portfolio gaps. Translate insights into impactful innovation strategies and tangible pipeline initiatives. Shape the long-term scientific agenda in alignment with business goals, fostering cross-functional collaboration and external partnerships. Ensure the group delivers high-quality, evidence-based solutions that advance patient care and reinforce the organization’s leadership in medical nutrition. Your main tasks: Strategic Leadership & Team Development Lead and develop the Medical Innovation Group to deliver high-impact, evidence-based innovations in Medical Nutrition Therapy. Define and drive the innovation strategy, ensuring alignment with business objectives and future clinical needs & trends. Oversee team development, performance, and resource planning, ensuring efficient financial and operational management. Foster a high-performance culture that challenges existing approaches and accelerates innovation excellence. Innovation Governance & Metrics Qualify and add new innovation initiatives for measurable impact to the innovation pipeline Ensure effective scientific due diligence and governance for all innovation initiatives. Define and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) to track innovation impact, team performance, and strategic alignment. Scientific Innovation & Portfolio Advancement Identify unmet clinical needs, novel trends and strategic gaps in the medical nutrition portfolio. Translate scientific insights into differentiated product or therapy concepts, including scientific rationales nutrition profiles, new ingredients, regional insights and novel combinations. Guide the team through the full innovation process — from ideation to feasibility to translational development. Drive the generation and protection of intellectual property, including the creation of patents External Engagement & Thought Leadership Build strong relationships with external stakeholders including healthcare professionals (HCPs), academia, physicians, researchers, and innovation partners. Design and lead insight-driven workshops and advisory boards in collaboration with the Education & Training team, combining didactic methods with scientific content to identify and develop innovative medical concepts, products, and solutions. Represent the organization as a trusted and credible thought leader in medical nutrition innovation, internally and externally Your profile: Advanced degree (PhD, MD, PharmD or equivalent) in Medicine, Nutrition, Life Sciences, or related field, with deep expertise in Medical Nutrition Therapy or relevant therapy area and translational science. 10 years of experience in scientific or medical innovation roles, with a strong track record in driving innovations to market. Proven strategic and people leadership, including budget responsibility, team development, and fostering a culture of scientific excellence and innovation. Strong cross-functional and external collaboration skills, working effectively with business and medical scientific functions Analytical and strategic thinking, with strong problem-solving capabilities Innovative mindset, with the ability to organize, prioritize, and drive complex initiatives Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, fostering collaboration across functions and with external experts Strong organizational and team leadership abilities, with a focus on capability building and performance Self-directed leader with strong decision-making skills and sense of urgency Fluent in written and spoken English; willingness to travel frequently Mindesteingruppierung/Minimum Grading: AT