Job Title: Head of Evaluation Intelligence (Sub-Saharan Africa)
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa
Reports to: R & I Director (SSA) & Global Head of Evaluation Intelligence
Mission: Your mission is to lead the Evaluation Intelligence (EI) function within the Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) Research & Innovation (R&I) Hub. You will oversee the consolidation of Evaluation Intelligence data to create locally relevant consumer experience and product intelligence - leading a team that conducts consumer, cognitive sensory, clinical, instrumental evaluations. There is a strategic focus on African consumers centricity and relevancy, and competitiveness to support new innovations, launches and beauty experiences.
Key Responsibilities
1. Strategic Vision & Roadmap
- Define local EI SSA roadmap in alignment with the Global Evaluation Intelligence and local R&I SSA roadmaps to create locally relevant consumer experience and product intelligence
- Share the vision and translates it into effective goals for the team as well as budget management, tracking and prioritization for the function
- Identifies and drives emerging technologies (e.g. AI, digital tools, new methods and tools) based upon industry & technology advances as well as project needs that can automate or enhance evaluations.
2. Data Governance & Analytics
- Supervise the architecture and quality of evaluation databases (e.g. clinical trials, instrumental tests, consumer panels, expert evaluations).
- Drive the "data decision driven" strategy
3. Knowledge Management & Synthesis
- Deliver compelling presentations and strategic updates to Senior leadership, including recommendations and insights to support business decision making
- Transform complex evaluation and scientific results into clear, "business-ready" narratives for local and global Labs, Brand Directors and Marketing teams.
- Drive the creation of automated dashboards and visualization tools (e.g., PowerBI dashboards) to track product experience KPIs and research results.
- Ensure the capitalization of knowledge to avoid redundant testing and accelerate Time-to-Market.
- Apply expertise to all projects to ensure relevancy of test design, target, method, timings, costs based upon business objective.
- Challenges the analyses of test results to ensure robust, thorough & insightful conclusions
4. Leadership & Ecosystem Management
- Lead and develop a multi-disciplinary team of 10+ people (Consumer Science, Cognitive Sensory Experts, Clinical & Physics Science, Category Leaders, digital)
- Supervise team recruitment, skills development and management; ensure the development of know-how and expertise and contribute to organizational growth
- Drive external partnerships with research agencies, startups, universities, and CROs (Clinical Research Organizations)
- Collaborate and align with EI counterparts in all L’Oréal R&I Hubs around the world to develop and implement best practices and collaborate with various cross-functional stakeholders (e.g. Finance, HR, Regulatory, Digital & Data, IT)
5. Consumer-Centricity & Ethics
- Embodies & drives the consumer voice and ensure compliance with safety regulations and quality procedures (regulatory, operating procedures, etc.)
- Ensure all data intelligence practices comply with global GDPR and ethical standards regarding consumer testing.
- Integrate "Social Listening" and external consumer reviews into the internal evaluation intelligence framework
Education & Experience:
- Education: Master’s or PhD in Marketing, Sociology, Psychology, Data Science, Statistics, Bio-statistics, or a related Scientific field (Biology/Chemistry) with a strong data tilt.
- Experience: 10–15 years of experience in R&D/R&I, ideally within the Cosmetics, Pharmaceutical, or FMCG industries.
- Management: Proven track record of leading expert teams and managing complex, cross-functional projects in a global matrix organization.
Technical Skills:
- Deep understanding of Scientific Evaluation methods (e.g. clinical trials, sensory analysis).
- Expertise in Data Analysis and the ability to simplify complex data for non-experts.
Soft Skills:
- Strategic Intuition: Ability to see the "big picture" and anticipate the future of beauty.
- Scientific Rigor: A commitment to the truth of the data and the safety of the consumer.
- Communication: Storytelling skills to influence senior leadership and brand partners.
- Agility: Comfortable in a fast-paced environment where "Test & Learn" is the mantra.