Director Packaging North America

Relocation Assistance Offered Within Country
Job Number #167401 - Piscataway, New Jersey, United States

Who We Are

Colgate-Palmolive Company is a global consumer products company operating in over 200 countries specializing in Oral Care, Personal Care, Home Care, Skin Care, and Pet Nutrition. Our products are trusted in more households than any other brand in the world, making us a household name!

Join Colgate-Palmolive, a caring, innovative growth company reimagining a healthier future for people, their pets, and our planet. Guided by our core values—Caring, Inclusive, and Courageous—we foster a culture that inspires our people to achieve common goals. Together, let's build a brighter, healthier future for all.

Reporting to the SVP Global Packaging, this person will lead the North American Division Packaging team, responsible for our Oral Care, Personal Care, & Home Care packaging teams in the region. This leader must demonstrate a high level of business leadership, technical packaging knowledge, and cross functional collaboration in our dynamic business environment.

This leader has the responsibility to lead the Packaging team to identify, build, develop and set priorities for all packaging projects in the Division, manufactured in our facilities or contract manufacturers. It includes all bundles for local sales or exported from the region and will work in close collaboration with the local Accelerator team. The responsibilities range from collaboration with business and R&D teams on concept generation, innovation, and new product development to artwork development and execution. In addition, this leader will be responsible for supporting and updating Global Packaging leadership to ensure there is full alignment with the business needs of Division Marketing, Global Marketing, and the Division Supply Chain.

Core Responsibilities:

1. Full organizational responsibility for the North American Division Packaging team, roughly 20 professionals.

• Organization development, talent/performance management, succession planning, rewards and recognition, retention. Recruitment of talent from internal and external sources.

• Creation and adherence to Budgets

• Team training and compliance

2) Lead the Packaging team with responsibilities such as:

• Identify, build, technical development, qualification and launch of new products, internally and contract manufactured.

• Graphic design adaptation and execution of global and regional product bundles; Artwork Management

• Regional Packaging & Plastics Sustainability Strategy

• Development of competitive eCommerce, Shelf Ready and Specialty Packaging.

• Packaging savings initiatives to meet Function, Division, and Category goals

• Delivery of packaging that meets all Quality and Regulatory requirements.

3) Key deliverables and performance measures include:

• New product launches that meet business goals and strategies

• A pipeline of Packaging innovations and opportunities for commercial testing and development

• A roadmap of emerging technologies and Packaging opportunity spaces.

• New forms and product adjacencies leveraging agility, test and learns, and speed to market.

• Continuous improvement of all packaging forms to ensure long term viability and profitability.

• Ongoing industry landscaping, benchmarking and competitive analysis

4) Align Packaging efforts with Global Design & Packaging, Supply Chain, Product Development and Innovation teams:

• New Product Launch Grids

• Funding the Growth Savings Initiatives

• Package testing, validations, specifications and approvals; Regulatory compliance

• Artwork development, commercialization, and approvals

• Packaging standardization initiatives

5) Advise & share best practices on key packaging:

• Innovation

• Quality improvement

• Sustainability

• Funding the Growth Savings initiatives

6) Develop Organization Capabilities:

• Continuous expansion of the Packaging team capabilities and preparing the team for future growth opportunities.

• Building a Growth Mindset

• Develop and lead succession planning initiatives.

• Ensure external partnerships to create a pipeline of future talent

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelors Degree in packaging engineering, material science, mechanical or chemical engineering, or related field

• 15+ years of technical development/commercialization experience in Packaging, Supply Chain, R&D, or other key Corporate functions

• 5+ years of demonstrated experience managing a cross-functional team of engineering, design, and artwork professionals in development and implementation of all components of packaging

• Experience in vendor management and sourcing related to packaging materials

Preferred Qualifications:

• MBA or Master’s

• Financial acumen - proved experience in managing budgets, optimizing cost and building business cases

• willingness to to travel 25%

Key Packaging Linkage in Matrix Organization:

• Close alignment with Global Heads of Packaging Innovation and Category Packaging

• Critical Partners include

  • Division President, VP Division Marketing, Marketing Directors

  • VP E2E Supply Chain, VP Supply

  • Director(s) of GTC

  • Division peers in Marketing, Network Operations, Procurement, Quality, Regulatory

Compensation and Benefits
Salary Range $170,000.00 - $237,000.00 USD

Pay is determined based on experience, qualifications, and location. Salaried employees may also be eligible for discretionary bonuses, profit-sharing, and long-term incentives for Executive-level roles.

Benefits: Salaried employees enjoy a comprehensive benefits package, including medical, dental, vision, basic life insurance, paid parental leave, disability coverage, and participation in the 401(k) retirement plan with company matching contributions subject to eligibility requirements. Additional benefits include a minimum of 15 vacation/PTO days (hourly employees receive a minimum of 120 hours) and 13 paid holidays (vacation days are prorated based on the employee's hire date within the calendar year). Paid sick leave is adjusted based on role and location in accordance with local laws. Detailed information regarding paid sick leave entitlements will be provided to employees upon hiring and may be subject to adjustments based on changes in legislation or company policies.

Our Commitment to Inclusion
Our journey begins with our people—developing strong talent with diverse backgrounds and perspectives to best serve our consumers around the world and fostering an inclusive environment where everyone feels a true sense of belonging. We are dedicated to ensuring that each individual can be their authentic self, is treated with respect, and is empowered by leadership to contribute meaningfully to our business.

Equal Opportunity Employer
Colgate is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, ethnicity, age, disability, marital status, veteran status (United States positions), or any other characteristic protected by law.

Reasonable accommodation during the application process is available for persons with disabilities. Please complete this request form should you require accommodation.

For additional Colgate terms and conditions, please click here .

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