SENIOR FRAGRANCE RAW MATERIALS & OLFACTIVE INNOVATION MANAGER

Location: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Employment Type: Full-time

Workplace: On-site / International supplier travel

Indicative Salary: AED 26,000–40,000 per month + performance component

Sector: Fine Fragrance | Essential Oils | Natural Extracts | Aroma Chemicals | Olfactive Innovation

Palomba General Trading LLC is seeking an experienced Senior Fragrance Raw Materials & Olfactive Innovation Manager to develop, evaluate and structure an international portfolio of fragrance ingredients for fine-fragrance and GCC perfumery applications.

We are looking for a professional who understands fragrance before it becomes a finished perfume.

The successful candidate should have direct professional experience with:

essential oils + natural extracts + aroma chemicals + fragrance bases + olfactory evaluation + supplier qualification.

This is not a perfume retail role.

This is not a conventional procurement position.

This is not simply another perfumer vacancy.

The role sits at the intersection of:

raw materials + olfactive quality + sourcing + innovation + fragrance development.

A strong fragrance portfolio begins with strong materials.

The Manager will identify, evaluate and qualify materials capable of creating competitive fragrance differentiation across Middle Eastern and international markets.

The objective is to build a technically credible and commercially relevant fragrance-ingredient platform covering:

• naturals;
• essential oils;
• extracts;
• resinoids;
• absolutes;
• aroma chemicals;
• specialty molecules;
• fragrance bases;
• regional signature materials.

The candidate should be capable of answering:

Is this material genuinely good?

How is it different from another origin or supplier?

What does it contribute to a fragrance formula?

Is its quality consistent enough for commercial use?

Can it provide something distinctive to our fragrance-development projects?

• Identify fragrance raw-material producers internationally.
• Build a structured fragrance-material sourcing network.
• Evaluate new natural and synthetic aromatic materials.
• Conduct professional olfactory assessment of raw materials.
• Compare multiple origins and grades.
• Evaluate batch-to-batch consistency.
• Identify distinctive materials for premium perfumery.
• Develop structured raw-material libraries.
• Support perfumers and fragrance developers with material recommendations.
• Source essential oils and specialty aromatic ingredients.
• Evaluate technical documentation from producers.
• Review COA, SDS, allergen and IFRA-related information.
• Coordinate sample programmes.
• Support supplier qualification.
• Compare quality versus commercial positioning.
• Assess supply continuity.
• Evaluate new extraction technologies and new botanical materials.
• Identify materials relevant to GCC perfumery.
• Develop strategic supplier relationships.
• Support customer presentations and technical fragrance discussions.

Strong candidates should have professional knowledge of materials such as:

• bergamot;
• lemon;
• mandarin;
• orange;
• neroli;
• petitgrain;
• rose;
• jasmine;
• patchouli;
• vetiver;
• sandalwood;
• cedarwood;
• frankincense;
• myrrh;
• labdanum;
• galbanum;
• saffron;
• oud / agarwood;
• botanical extracts;
• absolutes;
• resinoids.

The candidate should understand how:

• botanical origin;
• climate;
• extraction;
• distillation;
• fractionation;
• ageing;
• storage

can change olfactory profile and technical quality.

The Manager should be capable of comparing different grades of the same essential oil.

Relevant variables may include:

• origin;
• harvest;
• extraction route;
• colour;
• volatility;
• oxidation;
• top-note quality;
• dry-down;
• purity;
• consistency.

For citrus materials, useful knowledge may include:

• FCF grades;
• folded oils;
• terpeneless grades;
• distilled oils;
• molecular-distilled qualities;
• colourless qualities.

This is particularly relevant because PGT already works commercially with essential oils and fragrance-sector customers. Simone_Gatto_Middle_East_All_Ta…

The candidate should also understand synthetic fragrance materials.

Relevant knowledge may include:

• woody ambers;
• musks;
• floral molecules;
• aldehydes;
• lactones;
• ionones;
• salicylates;
• modern diffusive materials;
• fixatives;
• specialty molecules.

The successful candidate does not need to be a synthetic chemist.

They do need to understand what a material smells like, what it does in a formula and why a perfumer would use it.

Particular attention will be given to materials relevant to GCC perfumery, including:

• oud;
• sandalwood;
• saffron;
• rose;
• amber materials;
• incense;
• resins;
• musk systems;
• leather notes;
• smoky woods.

The candidate should ideally understand the difference between:

• natural oud;
• reconstructed oud bases;
• captive-style accords;
• commercial oud compounds.

The candidate must have a trained professional nose.

They should be able to assess:

• cleanliness;
• authenticity;
• freshness;
• complexity;
• impact;
• diffusion;
• off-notes;
• oxidation;
• adulteration indicators;
• consistency.

The role requires more than simply saying that a material is “nice”.

That particular technical methodology has already achieved sufficient global penetration.

The Manager may routinely compare:

• supplier A vs supplier B;
• current batch vs previous batch;
• one botanical origin vs another;
• natural material vs reconstructed alternative;
• premium quality vs standard commercial grade.

The candidate should be capable of documenting the differences clearly.

Relevant activities may include:

• producer identification;
• sample collection;
• technical-document review;
• olfactory evaluation;
• commercial assessment;
• consistency evaluation;
• traceability review;
• supplier visits;
• supply-risk assessment.

This role is not intended to replace procurement.

It provides the technical and olfactory judgement required before procurement decisions are made.

A major objective will be to develop a structured internal collection of:

• essential oils;
• aroma chemicals;
• specialty naturals;
• fragrance bases;
• benchmark materials.

Each material should be documented by:

• supplier;
• origin;
• lot;
• olfactory description;
• technical documentation;
• potential applications;
• commercial positioning.

The candidate should actively identify:

• new extraction methods;
• upcycled fragrance materials;
• biotechnology-derived ingredients;
• sustainable naturals;
• traceable botanical materials;
• new regional fragrance ingredients;
• unusual origins;
• differentiated specialty molecules.

The point is not to build another catalogue with 5,000 ingredients nobody remembers.

The objective is to identify materials that could actually produce creative or commercial advantage.

The candidate should have working knowledge of:

• IFRA restrictions;
• allergens;
• restricted substances;
• relevant fragrance documentation;
• safe-use considerations.

A dedicated regulatory specialist may handle final compliance, but this Manager must recognise issues early.

Relevant previous titles may include:

• Fragrance Raw Materials Manager
• Olfactive Raw Materials Specialist
• Fragrance Ingredients Manager
• Essential Oils Manager
• Fragrance Materials Evaluator
• Raw Materials Perfumer
• Fragrance Innovation Manager
• Natural Ingredients Specialist – Perfumery
• Fragrance Sourcing Specialist

• Minimum 7 years of professional fragrance-industry experience preferred.
• Direct experience with fragrance raw materials.
• Strong professional knowledge of essential oils.
• Professional olfactory evaluation capability.
• Experience working with fragrance houses, ingredient manufacturers or perfumers.
• Ability to compare raw-material quality.
• Knowledge of both natural and synthetic fragrance ingredients.
• Familiarity with technical fragrance documentation.
• Understanding of IFRA principles.
• International supplier experience preferred.
• GCC fragrance-industry exposure highly advantageous.
• Excellent English required.
• French, Italian or Arabic advantageous.
• Availability for international supplier travel.

Particularly interesting candidates may come from:

• Givaudan
• dsm-firmenich
• IFF
• Symrise
• Mane
• Robertet
• CPL Aromas
• Eurofragance
• Iberchem
• Sozio
• essential-oil producers
• natural fragrance ingredient manufacturers
• specialist aroma-chemical suppliers
• established GCC fragrance houses.

Full-time position based in:

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Indicative fixed monthly compensation:

AED 26,000–40,000

depending on fragrance-industry experience, raw-material expertise and seniority.

Additional package may include:

• performance-related compensation;
• UAE employment visa;
• private medical insurance;
• international supplier travel;
• participation in international fragrance exhibitions;
• direct involvement in strategic sourcing and fragrance-development projects.

Palomba General Trading LLC is a Dubai-based international business-development and trading company active across natural ingredients, essential oils, botanical extracts, flavours, fragrances and specialty raw materials.

PGT works with international manufacturers and industrial customers across Europe and the GCC and is developing selected capabilities in fragrance ingredients, raw-material sourcing and olfactory product development.