Gr 6 / PG 40 – R&D - Chief of Staff – US – Summit, NJ

The Director, R&D Chief of Staff & Operational Excellence serves as a trusted advisor to the CRDO and R&D Leadership Team (RDLT), helping leaders make informed decisions and deliver R&D priorities. Working across a global matrix, this leader identifies delivery risks and organizational gaps, brings external insight into R&D priorities, and mobilizes accountable owners to take action.

Job Posting Title:

Gr 6 / PG 40 – R&D - Chief of Staff – US – Summit, NJ

Job Description

• Role: R&D - Chief of Staff
• Reporting to: Mayra Goncalves
• Country: United States of America
• Location: Summit, NJ
• Pay Grade: Gr 6 / PG 40

The Director, R&D Chief of Staff & Operational Excellence serves as a trusted advisor to the CRDO and R&D Leadership Team (RDLT), helping leaders make informed decisions and deliver R&D priorities. The role drives leadership team effectiveness and OGSM delivery through disciplined planning, executive communication and follow-through on decisions.

Working across a global matrix, this leader identifies delivery risks and organizational gaps, brings external insight into R&D priorities, and mobilizes accountable owners to take action. The role coordinates delivery and recommends improvements within established decision rights, with the VP and RDLT retaining decision authority.

Key responsibilities

• Advise and prepare R&D leadership. Provide candid counsel to the CRDO and RDLT. Anticipate meeting and decision needs, bringing relevant context, analysis and market insight to support informed discussions.

• Drive leadership team effectiveness. Own the RDLT agenda and decision cadence in alignment with the CRDO. Facilitate RDLT Connect and Performance & Execution meetings, with clear decisions and follow-through.

• Monitor strategic delivery and readiness. Assess OGSM progress, technical readiness and risk at both project and aggregate levels. Integrate inputs from Strategy, PPM and functional teams to identify dependencies, areas requiring attention and escalation needs.

• Diagnose and address delivery gaps. Lead focused reviews with accountable owners to understand systemic causes of delivery challenges. Recommend corrective action and track agreed decisions and actions through closure.

• Lead executive communication and reporting. Develop presentations, briefings and management reporting for senior leadership reviews under the CRDO’s direction. Translate complex information into clear materials that support decisions.

• Bring external perspectives into R&D priorities. Use benchmarking and market intelligence to identify opportunity areas and inform strategic thinking, prioritization and organizational focus.

• Support organizational alignment and engagement. Identify and elevate organizational issues, represent the R&D perspective, and work with leaders to resolve gaps. Partner with Communications on leadership alignment, updates and town halls.

• Coordinate priority initiatives. Act as PMO for R&D priority workstreams and strategic initiatives, tracking milestones and dependencies, managing visibility of risks, and ensuring follow-through on open actions.

Qualifications and experience

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering or science, with experience in consumer goods and/or R&D.

• 8–10+ years of business experience, including leadership of complex initiatives in a global matrix organization.

• Director-level ability to lead through influence and secure action from accountable owners.

• Strong analytical judgment and business insight, including the ability to interpret market intelligence and diagnose delivery or organizational gaps.

• Executive presence, discretion and clear communication, with the ability to prepare effective senior leadership briefings.

• Strong situational awareness and stakeholder judgment, adapting counsel and escalating issues within established decision rights.

Measures of success

• OGSM delivery gaps and readiness risks trigger timely action, with agreed remediation, accountable owners and disciplined closure.

• The CRDO receives timely, accurate briefings and relevant external insight that support effective decisions, reflected in leadership feedback.

• Organizational issues progress to resolution, with clear follow-through and positive leadership feedback on R&D alignment and communication.

Please note: at this time Kenvue / KC will not be supporting candidates through a Immigration / Green Card / Permanent Residency process. All interested candidates who are outside of the role’s location must speak with the Hiring Manager / Recruiter on whether sponsorship to work in the location is possible.

Company sponsored relocation is not provided. All interested candidates who are outside of the role’s location options must self-relocate if interested in the role.