R&D Director, Australia & New Zealand

Position Title: R&D Director, Australia & New Zealand 

Position Type: Regular - Full-Time ​

Requisition ID: 42258 

In every role, McCainers are ambitious, curious, and passionate about creating exceptional work experiences together for high impact outcomes. With a customer-first mindset, we make doing business with McCain easy.

About the role.

As R&D Director ANZ, you will be a senior business leader at the heart of innovation-led growth. Reporting to the VP R&D APACSA, you will lead the ANZ R&D function and act as a strategic partner to the ANZ Senior Leadership Team, translating consumer insight, technical expertise and operational realities into clear value-creating choices that fuel sustainable growth and competitive edge.

This is an opportunity to shape strategy, influence at executive level and lead end‑to‑end innovation—from early concept through to commercial scale—while building future‑ready capability.

What you’ll be doing.

• Lead the ANZ R&D organisation with a strong enterprise mindset, shaping priorities that align with business strategy.


• Lead the regional innovation and renovation portfolio, driving timely and disciplined progression from idea to launch.


• Partner closely with Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Quality and Procurement to ensure technical feasibility, operational readiness and risk mitigation.


• Lead complex scale‑up and production trials, providing clear insight on trade‑offs, timing and investment decisions.


• Drive R&D contributions to cost competitiveness, productivity and portfolio optimisation.


• Build strong partnerships across global and regional teams to enable shared development and accelerate innovation across markets.


• Anticipate regulatory and compliance changes, translating technical impacts into practical business actions.


• Develop and sustain critical R&D capabilities, including talent, succession and future‑fit skills across the ANZ team.

What you’ll need to be successful.

• A degree in Food Science, Engineering or a related discipline with direct application in food or FMCG manufacturing.


• Extensive senior‑level experience leading R&D within a complex, regulated manufacturing environment.


• Proven success delivering innovation from concept through scale‑up and commercialisation.


• Strong understanding of manufacturing processes, supplier collaboration and regulatory pathways.


• Commercial acumen with the ability to translate complex technical topics in clear options and insights that enable effective business decision making.


• Experience operating effectively in matrixed, global organisations and influencing across functions.


• A leadership style that combines strategic clarity with hands-on problem solving and builds trust across technical and non-technical teams.

About the team.

You will lead a diverse R&D team across ANZ, and work across the matrix with manufacturing sites, regional stakeholders and global R&D communities to bring innovation to life and deliver sustainable, high‑quality outcomes.

About McCain.

Click Here to learn more about McCain and how we provide you with opportunities to make an impact that matters.

Leadership principles.

At McCain, our leadership principles guide how we engage with customers, collaborate as a team, and achieve success. We focus on understanding customer needs, driving innovation, empowering people, and taking ownership to clear obstacles and deliver results.

The McCain experience.

We are McCain. This statement is a testament to our collective strength and our individual value. Your contributions play a vital role in our success. Our winning culture is rooted in authenticity and trust, empowering us to bring out the best in one another. Here, you’ll find opportunities to learn, grow, and thrive. Join us and experience why we’re better together.

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*We've got this covered! No external agency support is required at this time and unsolicited CVs will not be considered.

McCain Foods is an equal opportunity employer. As a global family-owned company, we strive to be the employer of choice in the diverse communities around the world in which we live and work. We recognize that inclusion drives our creativity, resilience, and success and makes our business stronger. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, age, veteran status, disability, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.

McCain is an accessible employer. If you require an accommodation throughout the recruitment process (including alternate formats of materials or accessible meeting rooms), please let us know  and we will work with you to find appropriate solutions. 

Your privacy is important to us. By submitting personal data or information to us, you agree this will be handled in accordance with McCain’s Global Privacy Policy and Global Employee Privacy Policy, as applicable. McCain leverages AI in the hiring process, though all final decisions are made by humans. You can understand our approach to AI and how your personal information is being handled here. 

Job Family: Research & Development      
Division: Global Research and Development 
Department: ​ANZ Research and Development ​
Location(s): AU - Australia : Victoria : Melbourne 

Company: McCain Foods (Aust) Pty.