Technical Development Specialist working as part of the Technical Service team under the Rigid Polyols branch of the business operating across Europe.Responsibilities include:- Developing technical relationships with new and existing customers by means of sharing product and process knowledge.- Providing comprehensive technical support services to all European, UK & Ireland customers and distributors.- Management of pilot and industrial trials both locally and at customer sites, adhering to local EHS protocols.- Working with internal R&D teams to drive forward product development for both the company and it's customers.

Maternity cover for the current Product Development Manager, encompassing all aspects of the role.Responsibilities included:- Development of new products following NPD process.- Management of NPD processes.- Organisation of cross-functional and cross-organisational teams to advance NPD.

Transitioned from Graduate role into my substantive role within the business as the Research & Development Chemist, reporting to the Product Development Manager.Responsibilities included:- Development, scale-up and optimisation of new formulations .- Development of formulations with a strong focus on sustainability.- Identification of current and future legislative requirements for the handling of chemicals under frameworks such as REACH and COMAH.- Development of cross-functional relationships across all departments and levels of the local business.- Development of relationships with central UK R&D functions and chemical suppliers to enhance capabilities.- Management of university PhD students associated with the department.Alongside working responsibilities, the following courses have been taken for continued personal and professional development:- Project Management - How to effectively and efficiently manage projects.- Creative Problem Solving - How to "think outside the box" to solve unconventional or unexpected problems in the workplace.- Core Leadership for Team Leaders - Advancement of previous leadership skills, focussed more on leading a team.- Root Cause Analysis - Training on how to effectively identify the cause of problems including 5 Why's and A3 methods.

Graduate program working in new product development. Continuing work from previous time here, projects included:- Enhancement of current product formulations and processing.- Further development of new products and formulations.- Development of laboratory testing methodologies.Alongside this, as part of the graduate scheme, a series of personal & professional development courses were undertaken including:- Project & Change Thinking - How to effectively manage projects and deal with change in the business.- Core Leadership for Graduates - Leadership skills (team leadership, personal leadership).- Finance - How a business manages it's finances (both money in and out).- Business Functions - What functions exist within a business, what they do and why they are important.- Effective Conversations - How to navigate difficult conversations effectively to have desirable outcomes.- Time Management - How to effectively manage time of myself and/or a team.- Influencing Skills - How to identify "currencies" to be able to effectively communicate and achieve desired outcomes.

Placement year as part of integrated Master's degree. Main projects included:- Enhancement of current product formulations- Development of new product formulations - Development of processing equipment.