Head Of Technical & Innovation (Natural Ingredients / Fragrance)

International SME | Natural Ingredients | Fragrance | Technical Leadership & Industrial Innovation

📍 Primary location: South-East Asia. Flexible arrangements may be considered for very senior profiles, provided strong and visible operational involvement.

Role positioning

This position is designed for a senior technical leader coming from the core business of natural ingredients for fragrance, willing to assume a hands-on, operational technical leadership role, close to raw materials, processes, and industrial teams.

👉 This is NOT:

• a commercial role,
• a purchasing, supply chain, or CSR position,
• a governance, advisory, or purely strategic function.

👉 This IS a technical reference role for fragrance, with recognized authority over:

• raw materials,
• processes,
• quality and feasibility trade-offs,
• technical credibility with perfumers and clients.

Company context

An independent international SME based in South-East Asia, specialized in the production of natural ingredients for perfumery, with extensions into flavours, cosmetics, and wellness.

The company controls a fully integrated value chain:

• responsible sourcing (Africa / Asia),
• extraction and transformation,
• quality and regulatory compliance,
• delivery to demanding international clients (composition houses, brands).

Currently in a key structuring phase, the company aims to:

• internalize its technical leadership,
• secure and strengthen its fragrance portfolio,
• reduce dependency on external expertise,
• build a robust, long-term technical organization.

Your role

As Head of Technical & Innovation, you are the central technical authority for the Natural Ingredients – Fragrance activity.

You hold end-to-end technical responsibility for ingredients, processes, and critical decisions, with a strong focus on:

• industrial delivery,
• fragrance credibility,
• long-term technical robustness.

You operate daily at the interface between:

• innovation and product development,
• production and industrial operations,
• quality, compliance, and supply chain,
• sales teams and fragrance clients.

Key responsibilities

🔬 Technical leadership & fragrance portfolio

• Full technical ownership of the natural ingredients fragrance portfolio
• (resins, gums, absolutes, essential oils, botanicals, etc.).
• Translate perfumer and client expectations into:
• raw material selection,
• transformation schemes,
• process parameters,
• blending and finishing decisions.
• Guarantee consistent olfactive and technical quality, within often tight client approval windows.
• Act as the final technical decision-maker on feasibility, quality/cost/time trade-offs.

💡 Innovation & product orientation

• Define technical and innovation priorities aligned with:
• portfolio strategy,
• fragrance market expectations,
• real industrial constraints.
• Work closely with NPD teams to align innovation, industrialization, and business objectives.
• Internalize technical know-how currently outsourced.

👥 Team leadership & capability building

• Structure, develop, and upskill technical, NPD, and industrial teams.
• Transmit critical knowledge related to raw materials, processes, and fragrance criteria.
• Lead with high standards, pragmatism, and pedagogy in an SME environment.

🤝 Client interface – fragrance dimension

• Direct interaction with:
• perfumers,
• client technical and quality teams,
• composition houses.
• Lead high-level, factual, and credible technical discussions.
• Explain industrial constraints, frame expectations, and challenge unrealistic requests when required.
• Secure the technical feasibility of commercial commitments.

🔗 Cross-functional & strategic projects

• Act as a permanent link between production, quality, supply chain, engineering, and sales.
• Actively contribute to structuring projects and future international expansions (notably Middle East).

Profile sought

• 10–15+ years of experience in natural ingredients, with strong exposure to fragrance raw materials.
• Background built within:
• industrial SMEs,
• and/or established ingredients / fragrance players.
• Proven mastery of extraction and transformation processes
• (distillation, solvent extraction, rectification, etc.).
• Deep knowledge of African and Asian natural raw materials.
• Strong technical credibility with perfumers and industrial teams.
• Natural, hands-on leadership style, comfortable in evolving, low-hierarchy environments.
• Professional English mandatory.

Location & mobility

• Position primarily based in South-East Asia, close to operations, Flexible arrangements may be considered for very senior profiles, provided strong and visible operational involvement.
• Strong on-site presence required, especially during the initial phases.
• Regular international travel (origins, clients, projects).

Compensation

• Target annual package: ~ $100,000 gross, adjusted based on experience, seniority, and actual scope of responsibility.

Why this role matters

• A central, structuring role within an international SME in transformation.
• A true technical pillar for fragrance.
• Long-term perspective (5+ years).
• Direct impact on quality, technical credibility, and sustainable growth.