Global Specifications Transformation Lead

In every role, McCainers are ambitious, curious, and passionate about creating exceptional work experiences - together. With a customer-first mindset, we make doing business with McCain easy.

About the role.

The Interim Global Specifications Transformation Lead provides senior leadership capacity to McCain’s Global Specifications organization during a critical period of transformation. This six-month assignment combines hands-on operational leadership with organizational improvement, ensuring continuity of key specification activities while strengthening governance, processes, capabilities, and the operating model needed to support future growth.

Working closely with the Senior Director, R&D Operations and global stakeholders, this role balances immediate delivery needs with future-state design, helping create a more resilient, effective, and transformation-ready Specifications organization.

What you’ll be doing.

• Provide day-to-day leadership, prioritization, and coordination across the Global Specifications organization.
• Drive visibility and management of key priorities, milestones, risks, resource constraints, and cross-functional dependencies.
• Support delivery of specification, PLM, product data, integration, systems, and data-quality initiatives.
• Facilitate issue resolution and escalation related to specification delivery, business continuity, data governance, and systems activities.
• Coordinate efforts across global and regional specification teams and key business partners.
• Assess organizational capacity, capability, and critical knowledge dependencies.
• Clarify accountabilities, decision rights, ownership models, and escalation pathways across the organization.
• Strengthen the Global Specifications Centre of Excellence through standards, best practices, knowledge sharing, and continuous improvement.
• Develop and implement documentation, knowledge transfer, backup coverage, and operational governance processes.
• Partner with R&D leadership to define and recommend a future-state operating model, transformation roadmap, and transition plan.

What you’ll need to be successful.

• Significant leadership experience in specification management, product data, PLM, technical information management, or a related discipline.
• Experience leading teams and initiatives within complex global or multi-regional organizations.
• Strong knowledge of specification lifecycle management, data governance, and system-enabled business processes.
• Demonstrated ability to influence and align stakeholders across functions, geographies, and organizational levels.
• Experience balancing strategic planning, operating model design, and hands-on execution.
• Strong change leadership, facilitation, problem-solving, and organizational development capabilities.
• Proven ability to establish priorities quickly and create clarity in ambiguous or rapidly changing environments.
• Executive-level communication skills with the ability to present risks, trade-offs, recommendations, and decision frameworks.
• Experience coaching, developing, and strengthening team capability while reducing dependency on key individuals.
• Preferred experience within food, consumer packaged goods, ingredients, packaging, or other regulated industries.
• Preferred experience with SAP PLM, ProductVision, specification management platforms, PIM solutions, or comparable product information systems.
• Experience with global process standardization, governance programs, operating model transformation, digital transformation, master data initiatives, or large-scale system implementations.
• Experience in interim leadership, consulting, or transformation assignments requiring rapid impact and measurable outcomes.

About the team.

The Interim Global Specifications Transformation Lead will work closely with the Global Specifications organization, Senior Director, R&D Operations, regional specification leaders, and cross-functional partners across Digital Technology, Quality, Regulatory, Packaging, Procurement, and Manufacturing. The role serves as a key leadership partner focused on stabilizing delivery, building organizational resilience, and defining the future of McCain’s global specifications capability.

About McCain.

Click Here to learn more about McCain and how we provide opportunities to make an impact that matters.

Leadership principles.

At McCain, our leadership principles guide how we engage with customers, collaborate as a team, and achieve success. We focus on understanding customer needs, driving innovation, empowering people, and taking ownership to clear obstacles and deliver results.

AI & Digital Capabilities.

At McCain, AI and digital capabilities are part of how we work and innovate. We value curiosity toward emerging technologies and the thoughtful, responsible use of AI-enabled tools to improve outcomes as part of our future-ready culture.

The McCain experience.

We are McCain. This statement is a testament to our collective strength and our individual value. Your contributions play a vital role in our success. Our winning culture is rooted in authenticity and trust, empowering us to bring out the best in one another. Here, you’ll find opportunities to learn, grow, and thrive. Join us and experience why we’re better together.

Our purpose is grounded in building meaningful relationships. We’re big believers in the power of working together in person. It helps us stay connected, collaborate more effectively, and grow as a team. At the same time, we recognize the importance of flexibility. Most office-based roles follow a hybrid model, with the option to work remotely two days a week. There may be exceptions depending on the role and location, so we encourage you to speak with your recruiter for more details.