Director, Sustaining Research and Development

Position Overview:

The Director, Sustaining Research & Development is a senior leader within the Ostomy Care Research and Development team, accountable for a wide portfolio of projects aimed at sustaining the vitality of the Ostomy Care portfolio through product line extensions and design improvements, maintaining quality, driving cost and efficiency optimizations, and improving resilience.  The scope encompasses all Convatec Ostomy Care’s on-market pouching systems and accessories, as well as the Flexi-Seal fecal management system. 

This individual is charged with building and managing an effective team responsible for product design and verification/validation in compliance with medical device design controls.  As the line manager for the Ostomy Care Lifecycle Management team, the Director, Sustaining R&D develops and drives a talent strategy, defines performance expectations and ways of working, allocates resources, and guides the team to deliver on a sizeable project portfolio.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead a team to deliver on a portfolio of projects aimed at sustaining the on-market Ostomy Care product range, including: - raw material changes and qualifications driven by discontinuation, cost reduction, or supply chain resilience strategy; - maintenance or remediation of technical documentation for regulatory compliance; - Corrective and Preventive Actions (CAPAs) relating to product design; product or packaging design changes to improve usability, maintain quality or reduce cost; - new or improved test method development; - extending product ranges to fill critical portfolio gaps; and supporting design transfer of new products into plant operations (NPI).
• Lead a team to provide in-market support of existing products by supporting design complaint investigations and customer inquiries regarding product composition.
• Evaluate new projects’ resource requirements; estimate realistic times to completion.
• Prioritize resource deployment in alignment with stakeholders’ priorities and overall business impacts.
• Represent Technology & Innovation for Ostomy Care in the change control (CCR) and CAPA processes.
• Develop, communicate, and hold the team accountable to high standards of timeliness and quality of work.
• Develop annual budgets and talent strategies and manage within them.
• Develop clear and concise reporting of the team’s activities, priorities, and project statuses, and develop a cadence of regular communication to stakeholders.
• Ensure all required feasibility work, analysis, validation, testing and trials are performed on time and to the required Quality and Regulatory standards, as well as in line with Convatec procedures and processes.
• Maintain a working technical knowledge of a broad range of manufacturing processes and materials areas relevant to the Ostomy Care product range.
• Ensure project activities are carried out within a Design Controls Framework in accordance with ISO 13485 & 21CFR820 Quality Systems.
• Actively partner, influence, advocate and engage the wider business functions such as Regulatory Affairs, Clinical, Marketing, Quality and Operations etc. at both peer and senior level to enable the effective delivery of projects.
• Maintain compliance with company Health and Safety policies and ensure that direct reports are compliant.
• Ensure that Quality standards are maintained via compliance with systems and SOPs, particularly in relation to Design Control.
• To ensure compliance with the legislative and internal requirements of the EHS and to participate in the fulfilment of the company's targets in the EHS area.

Employee perks, benefits: 

• Annual global incentive plan-bonus
• Company car
• Large corporation with representation and manufacturing plants in the world
• Stable employer for Michalovce city and its surroundings
• Corporate culture – Underpinning everything we do are our values: 

- Improve care 

- Deliver results 

- Grow together 

- Own it 

- Do what´s right 

• Home office possibilities
• Flexible working hours
• Introduction program according to company standards
• Development trainings
• Career opportunities for internal employees
• Recognition program
• Meals in the amount of 0,44 Eur per one meal unit / day
• Supplementary pension plan after the trial period with the employer's contribution
• Social fund (various support and perks for employees)
• Various events / team building activities for employees
• Various employee discounts by vendors within Michalovce city