Global Candle Innovation Manager

We are looking for a Global Candle Innovation Manager

AAK specializes in plant-based oils that are the value-adding ingredients in many of the products people love to consume. We make these products better tasting, healthier, and more sustainable. We enhance their sensory experience – by giving the silkier mouthfeel in premium chocolate, the juicier texture in a plant-based burger, and the puffier appearance in a lower-fat pastry. We can also optimize their production by substituting existing ingredients with plant-based equivalents that give better efficiency. AAK’s value-adding solutions enable our customers to be successful in a better way.

At the heart of AAK’s offer is Customer Co-Development, combining our desire to understand what better means for each customer, with the unique flexibility of our production assets, and a deep knowledge of many products and industries, including Chocolate & Confectionery, Bakery, Dairy, Plant-based Foods, Special Nutrition, Foodservice and Personal Care. Our 4,000 employees support our close collaboration with customers through 25 regional sales offices, 15 dedicated Customer Innovation Centers, and with the support of more than 20 production facilities.

Listed on Nasdaq Stockholm and with our headquarters in Malmö, Sweden, AAK has been Making Better Happen™ for more than 150 years.

Our story goes back more than 150 years, to the chilly southern coast of Scandinavia. From our early success in Sweden and Denmark, we’ve grown into the world’s leading specialist producer of plant-based oils, employing more than 4,000 people across the globe.

We collaborate with our customers to make the products you love even better. The oils we produce go into making your chocolate extra-creamy or putting the crunch into your croissant. And it’s not just food — we work across industries to make products that are higher quality, healthier and better for the planet.

Everything we do is about Making Better Happen™.

About AAK Karlshamn
Site Karlshamn is the largest and most complex site in AAK. It was founded in 1918 and is located at the Baltic Sea coast surrounded by a beautiful archipelago and grand oak- and beech-tree forests perfect for recreational activities. The site has approximately 480 employees working in sales, customer innovation, quality assurance, production etc. and supplies into many industries including chocolate and confectionery, bakery, dairy, plant-based foods, personal care, animal nutrition, infant nutrition, candles, rubber and more.

Join AAK as a Global Candle Innovation Manager
This new role will be instrumental in developing the AAK candles business across our regions, and to drive and coordinate global development projects for the next generation portfolio to make sure that AAK on a global level takes advantage of the market transition from paraffin to sustainable and natural ingredients.

AAK’s global candle business has demonstrated strong performance over the past years, driven by an increased need to shift from fossil-based paraffin wax to plant-based solutions that AAK delivers. With our updated strategy, our overall ambition is to lead the conversion from paraffin to sustainable and renewable candles solutions and to position AAK as the preferred partner for the global candles business.

About the position
AAK is seeking a passionate Global Candle Innovation Manager to join our dynamic Technical Products team.  Your primary objective will be to drive development of innovation themes projects using AAK: s oils & fats technology for the candle industry.
In this role, you´ll work closely with regional teams to uncover customers’ needs and co-develop optimal solutions, enhancing AAK´s offering with a collaborative approach. You´ll drive customers innovation projects in partnership with regional Customer Innovation Managers, the Global Candle Customer Innovation Manager and regional Sales Manager ensuring the successful development of AAK: s next-generation candle products.

Collaboration with AAK´s global production teams is essential to guarantee the efficient production of new products. Knowledge of our production capabilities and constraints is the key to the success of our development projects.

You will also be actively involved in our WaxWorks™ candle lab at AAK: s Karlshamn site. As a key contributor to our CI network across the US, Europe, and Asia Pacific, you'll extract valuable insights from existing products and projects. You'll play a vital role in the AAK Candle Academy, educating and training internal and external stakeholders.

Frequent travel is required to support regional teams, attend trade shows, and participate in industry events. This role is based in Karlshamn, Sweden, reporting to the TPM and CI Leader, Technical Products and Feed.

About you
We are looking for someone with a technical university degree in chemistry, chemical engineering, food technology, or a related field, and substantial experience in product development, technical customer service, or a similar area. While previous knowledge in oils & fats technology and fat crystallization is a plus, it is not mandatory, as AAK provides comprehensive training.

You should thrive in a varied work environment, enjoy interacting with multiple stakeholders, and possess strong analytical skills. You are systematic, thorough, and a fast learner. Being curious, flexible, proactive, and valuing teamwork are essential traits for this role. Building long-term relationships and understanding customer needs are critical. Excellent communication skills in both speech and writing, as well as fluency in English, are prerequisites.

Why AAK?
AAK empowers employees to work independently while fostering a supportive, interdependent culture built on mutual trust and shared accountability. We believe in creating an inclusive work environment where everyone can thrive.

Contacts and application

For further information about the position, please contact Team Leader Technical Product Management & Customer Innovation Sofia Rengman on phone: +46 70 418 95 08 or sofia.rengman@aak.com 

If you have questions about the recruitment process, please contact HR Business Partner Marie Sundström, marie.sundstrom@aak.com

Please submit your application with relevant enclosures. We recommend you apply soonest possible, as applications are evaluated continuously, but not later than 31 January 2025.

We have already chosen our sourcing channels for this recruitment and kindly ask not to be contacted by any advertisement agents, recruitment agencies or manning companies.

AAK prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin, physical or mental disability, religion, veteran status, and any other class of individuals protected from discrimination under state or federal law in any aspect of the access to, admission, or treatment of students in its programs and activities, or in employment and application for employment.