Associate Director, Personal Care & Fine Fragrance (SEA)

About Us

Established over a hundred years ago, Takasago is a global leading company in the flavour and fragrance industry, having developed flavours and fragrances for some of the world's most successful manufacturers of foods, beverages, fine fragrances, home, and personal care products.

For over 35 years, we have been a leading industrial producer of L-Menthol, using our core technology, asymmetric synthesis. This technology enables us to produce unique, novel, and nature-identical aroma ingredients, and in addition, to manufacture pharmaceutical intermediates, functional materials, and other fine chemicals.

Takasago Group maintains offices, production sites, and R&D centers in twenty-seven countries and regions.

We are seeking a committed candidate as Associate Director, Personal Care & Fine Fragrance (SEA) to lead fragrance evaluation and creative development across Personal Wash, Personal Care, Hair Care, and Fine Fragrance categories in Southeast Asia. This role drives winning fragrance strategies, delivers business growth with key customers, and builds a high-performing evaluation team while ensuring strong alignment with regional and global teams.

Job Description

Fragrance Evaluation & Creative Leadership

• Lead and manage fragrance evaluation activities across Personal Wash (bar soap, shower gel, liquid handwash), Personal Care, Hair Care, and Fine Fragrance categories.
• Ensure strong alignment between fragrance briefs, olfactive direction, and consumer expectations across SEA markets.
• Drive fragrance selection and development to deliver distinctive, consumer-relevant, and high-performing scent solutions.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Collaborate closely with perfumers, marketing, consumer insight and R&D teams to ensure fragrances deliver both olfactive excellence and performance in base.
• Align regional initiatives with global strategies, standards, and best practices.
• Promote cross-category synergies, leveraging expertise across PW, PC, Hair Care, and Fine Fragrance.

Innovation & Olfactive Strategy

• Drive proactive innovation by identifying emerging trends, new olfactive territories, and sensorial experiences.
• Partner with perfumers to develop forward-looking fragrance solutions balancing creativity and commercial success.
• Build a strong and differentiated fragrance portfolio across categories.

Business Growth & Customer Leadership

• Lead strategic and key account projects to drive new wins, proactive pitches, and defence projects across categories.
• Act as a senior partner to clients, translating brand strategies and consumer needs into compelling fragrance propositions.
• Identify growth opportunities and build a robust innovation pipeline aligned with regional trends.

Team Leadership & Capability Building

• Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing evaluation team across multiple categories.
• Foster a culture of creativity, collaboration, and accountability.
• Strengthen team capabilities through coaching, knowledge sharing, and cross-regional collaboration.

Job Requirements

• 10 – 15+ years of experience in fragrance evaluation/creation, with strong exposure to Personal Wash, Personal Care, Hair Care, and/or Fine Fragrance.
• Proven track record in leading teams and delivering business growth with key customers.
• Strong olfactive expertise, consumer understanding, and market insight in SEA.
• Minimum Bachelor's or Master's degree in chemistry, Perfumery, Chemical Engineering, Cosmetic Science, or related field.
• Excellent stakeholder management and cross-functional leadership skills.
• Strategic thinking and commercial acumen
• Strong olfactive judgment and creativity
• Good leadership and team development
• Have a customer-centric mindset
• Great collaboration and influencing skills