Director, GCM Sparkling, Global Development & Innovation

Our GCM Innovation Center sits at the heart of The Coca-Cola Company's next chapter of growth. We are committed to transforming and evolving our organization and ambitions - bringing our people closer to the consumer, continuously raising the bar, and embracing digitalization to enable sustainable growth.

We are looking for a transformational leader to build, inspire, and empower high-performing teams that fuel the innovation pipeline with bold ideas and turn them into real-world impact. This role is not about maintaining the status quo; it is about setting direction, unlocking opportunity, and driving valuable breakthrough innovation at scale.

You will lead diverse teams with deep expertise to deliver a strong and balanced portfolio of meaningful innovation - accelerating growth and shaping the future of the organization.

Role overview

As Director of Sparkling Category Product Development, you will shape and lead the technical innovation agenda for Coca-Cola's beverage portfolio across the Great China and Mongolia Operating Unit. You will define the front-end innovation vision, inspire future-back thinking, and elevate product ambition to create breakthrough beverages that win with consumers and customers. Operating at the intersection of science, insights, technology, and market realities, you will translate global strategy into regionally resonant products and formats with speed, rigor, and excellence.

This role leads a team of product developers and technical experts, building a culture where people thrive, experiment boldly, and deliver world-class innovation.
Additionally, the role coordinates cross-functional technical expertise across Global and GCM OU TI&SC-including Process Development, Consumer Research, Packaging, Regulatory, QSE, Supply Chain, Flavor Manufacturing, and CPS-to ensure seamless end-to-end execution.

Key Responsibilities

Innovation Leadership

• Own the E2E innovation agenda for sparkling and customer innovations in the OU market, from early opportunity framing through proof-of-concept, technical validation to market launch.

• Develop 3 years innovation pipeline by identifying long-range shifts in consumer expectations, ingredient science, sustainability, nutrition, and processing technologies through strong collaboration internally and externally.

• Convert global category strategies into locally relevant concepts, prototypes, and solutions that are technically feasible, scalable, and differentiated.

• Champion a culture of creativity, smart risk-taking, curiosity, and high standards in product development.

• Develop innovation strategies to deliver GCM OU innovation pipeline for growth, productivity, and business continuity plans across multiple categories.

Strategic Partnerships & Cross-Functional Influence

• Partner closely with OU Marketing, Commercial, Strategy, Human Insights, Scientific & Regulatory Affairs, Supply Chain, Packaging, and Manufacturing to unlock category-shaping innovation.

• Serve as a key link between OU and the global R&D network-sharing breakthroughs, aligning on platforms, and integrating global best practices.

• Engage bottlers, suppliers, technology partners, and universities to accelerate delivery and bring outside-in thinking.

Technical Excellence & Operational Execution

• Oversee the front-end technical development for multi-category sparkling & customer innovation initiatives, ensuring scientific rigor, technical feasibility, and superior product performance.

• Embed digital tools - predictive modelling, rapid prototyping, accelerated testing, and data-driven decision making - to increase speed and reduce complexity.

• Anticipate risks (stability, scalability, regulatory, IP, sensory, claims) and prevent downstream issues before commercialization.

• Ensure clear, high-quality technical transfer to plants and market teams for first-time-right execution.

Market & Technology Intelligence

• Stay on top of technical, consumer and competitive trends and insights; Continuously scan the external landscape for emerging ingredient technologies, processing methods, nutrition science, packaging solutions, and consumer shifts that could shape the future of still beverages.

• Pilot and adapt cutting-edge solutions for market realities, ensuring feasibility and competitive advantage.

People Leadership & Capability Building

• Lead and develop a diverse team of product developers and technical specialists; set clear expectations, inspire growth behaviors, and ensure psychological safety so every team member can contribute at their best.

• Build future-ready talent by identifying high-potential individuals, offering stretch opportunities, and fostering cross-market mobility.

• Cultivate a learning culture grounded in collaboration, transparency, curiosity, and evidence-based decision making.

• Strengthen technical and leadership capability across the broader R&D community through coaching, knowledge sharing, frameworks, and modern ways of working.

• Translates strategy into clear team priorities and executable plans.

• Ensures the team applies the right expertise to deliver strong outcomes; Guides the team through complex problem-solving and trade-off decisions.

Qualifications & Experience

• Education: BS/MS/PhD in Food Science or Engineering.

• Experience: 10+ years delivering successful product innovation in FMCG/food/beverage, with proven leadership in multi-market or regional roles.

• Demonstrated success converting insights into winning products, with strong consumer, technical, and commercial intuition.

• Strong cross-cultural leadership and stakeholder influence skills; able to operate effectively across geographies and complex networks.

• Fluent in English; regional languages a plus.

• Willingness to travel regionally (up to ~25%).

What We Can Do for You

Purpose With Impact

• We take a purpose-driven approach that empowers our people to protect the environment, strengthen the communities we serve, and deliver safe, high-quality products every day. Your work will contribute directly to creating positive change.

Global Collaboration & Learning

• You'll be part of a globally connected organization where ideas, expertise, and innovation flow freely across regions. This environment enables you to learn from others, accelerate your growth, and contribute to solutions that scale worldwide.

A Community of Belonging

• We foster a culture where people feel safe, valued, and empowered to bring their best selves to work. We believe that diverse perspectives and an inclusive environment drive better outcomes-for our people and our business.

Competitive Rewards & Benefits

• We offer a comprehensive and competitive compensation and benefits package, with core benefits beginning on your first day. We are committed to supporting your wellbeing, growth, and long-term success.

Chemistry, Communication, Continual Improvement Process, Data Compilation, Environmental Science, Food Safety and Sanitation (Inactive), Food Sciences, Food Technology, Green Solutions, Laboratory Testing, Microbiological Test, Product Development, Quality Control (QC), Research and Development Operations (Inactive), Sensory Testing, Waterfall Model

Location(s):
China

City/Cities:
Shanghai

Travel Required:
00% - 25%

Relocation Provided:
No

Job Posting End Date:
August 30, 2026

Our Purpose and Growth Culture:

We are taking deliberate action to nurture an inclusive culture that is grounded in our company purpose, to refresh the world and make a difference. We act with a growth mindset, take an expansive approach to what's possible and believe in continuous learning to improve our business and ourselves. We focus on four key behaviors - curious, empowered, inclusive and agile - and value how we work as much as what we achieve. We believe that our culture is one of the reasons our company continues to thrive after 130+ years. Visit Our Purpose and Vision to learn more about these behaviors and how you can bring them to life in your next role at Coca-Cola.

Annual Incentive Reference Value Percentage:30
Annual Incentive reference value is a market-based competitive value for your role. It falls in the middle of the range for your role, indicating performance at target.