{"id":1366902,"url":"https://alion.io/job/ds-smith-innovation-specialist","title":"Innovation Specialist","company":{"id":1795137,"name":"DS Smith","domain":"dssmith.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/dssmith-com","size_band":"5000+","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Workday","truth_index":{"grade":"B","score":80,"open_postings":34,"ghost_share":0,"stale_share":0.794,"repost_share":0,"time_to_fill_p50_days":41,"computed_at":"2026-10-13T05:45:00Z"}},"role":"Sales","role_family":"Sales","seniority":"senior","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"remote","remote_scope":"stated_countries","remote_scope_basis":"board_field","remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["Solihull, United Kingdom"],"countries":["GB"],"hiring_countries":["GB"],"hiring_countries_total":1,"salary":null,"salary_estimate":{"min_usd":66000,"max_usd":163000,"period":"year","method":"role_seniority_country_remote_cell","sample_n":23},"experience_years_min":5,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"Microsoft Office","optional":false}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-09-11T00:00:00Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-09-11","last_verified_at":"2026-10-13T00:38:31Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":32,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":32},"description":"About the Role\nAt DS Smith, innovation is at the heart of how we help customers solve complex packaging challenges and deliver more sustainable outcomes. We are looking for an experienced Innovation Specialist to join our Strategic Accounts team, working with some of the world's leading FMCG brands, including Mars, P&G, and Mondelez.\nThis is a customer-facing role where you'll combine your packaging expertise, commercial awareness, and creativity to identify new opportunities, deliver value-driven solutions, and strengthen key customer partnerships. Working closely with customers and internal stakeholders, you'll lead innovation projects from concept through to implementation, helping customers improve efficiency, reduce costs, optimise automation, and achieve their sustainability goals.\nUsing DS Smith's innovation methodologies, including PackRight®, you'll develop insight-led packaging solutions that create measurable value for both customers and DS Smith. This is an exciting opportunity to take ownership of strategic customer relationships, influence large-scale innovation programmes, and play a key role in shaping the future of sustainable packaging.\nKey Responsibilities\nInnovation & Customer Engagement\nDevelop customer innovation pipelines and turn insights into commercial opportunities.\n\nFacilitate customer workshops, Innovation Days and PackRight® sessions.\n\nDrive innovation activity and KPI delivery across strategic FMCG accounts.\n\nPartner with Sales and Account Managers to identify growth and value creation opportunities.\n\nValue Creation\nIdentify and deliver cost-saving, efficiency and sustainability improvements.\n\nDevelop innovative packaging solutions that create measurable value for customers and DS Smith.\n\nUtilise customer and market insights to uncover new opportunities and demonstrate TCO benefits.\n\nSupply Chain & Operational Excellence\nProvide technical support, problem solving and line-side customer assistance.\n\nImprove customer line efficiencies through packaging and automation optimisation.\n\nManage onboarding, value engineering and continuous improvement projects.\n\nSupport business reviews and coordinate automation initiatives.\n\nSustainability\nChampion circular design principles and sustainable packaging innovation.\n\nSupport customers in achieving their sustainability and environmental goals.\n\nCollaboration & Development\nWork closely with Sales, Design, Operations and Innovation teams to deliver customer solutions.\n\nContribute to pipeline reviews, opportunity prioritisation and best-practice sharing.\n\nContinuously develop technical, commercial and innovation capabilities.\n\nAbout You\nWe're looking for an experienced packaging professional who combines creativity, technical expertise, and commercial awareness.\nYou'll bring:\n5+ years' experience in an Innovation, Design, or Development role within the packaging industry.\n\nStrong corrugated packaging knowledge and experience working with FMCG customers.\n\nA proven track record of delivering innovative, value-driven packaging solutions.\n\nUnderstanding of production lines, automation, and manufacturing processes.\n\nExperience managing projects from opportunity identification through to implementation.\n\nExcellent stakeholder management, communication, and relationship-building skills.\n\nProficiency in ArtiosCAD, CAD and visualisation software, and Microsoft Office.\n\nDesirable:\nPackaging or Product Design qualification (or equivalent experience).\n\nSix Sigma, Lean Manufacturing, or Health & Safety qualifications.\n\nExperience in value engineering and continuous improvement methodologies.\n\nPersonal Attributes:\nCreative, proactive, and customer-focused.\n\nStrong analytical and problem-solving skills.\n\nCollaborative team player with excellent presentation and facilitation skills.\n\nPassionate about innovation, sustainability, and delivering results.\n\nBenefits\nCompetitive salary\n\n25 days holiday plus bank holidays\n\nPension scheme, life assurance and income protection\n\nEmployee Assistance Programme\n\nEmployee Discounts\n\nCycle to work scheme\n\nLocation: Remote (UK Based) with approximately 40% customer travel\nHours: Monday - Friday - 09:00 - 1700\nContract: Perm\nAbout us\nWe are DS Smith, together with International Paper, we are a global leader in sustainable packaging solutions and other fibre-based products. We believe a better, more sustainable tomorrow is possible with the right people, who challenge and support one another to enact positive change. We employ more than 65,000 colleagues in North America and Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), who are experts in innovation, manufacturing, design, sales, sustainability, supply chain, and much more. Together with our customers, we make the world safer and more productive, one sustainable packaging solution at a time. Become part of a world-leading organisation and do your best work with us!\nFair recruitment at DS Smith\nTo fulfil our purpose of redefining packaging for a changing world, we aim to build a diverse, motivated, and engaged workforce. Our goal is to create a culture of inclusion where everyone is treated fairly, differences are valued, and everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed.\nOur people come from diverse backgrounds, bring different perspectives, ideas and experiences to generate unique solutions focused on present and future sustainability challenges. We welcome all candidates to apply, even those not meeting all criteria","description_format":"text","description_chars":5443,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":5,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":null,"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":[],"hiring_locations":[{"name":"United Kingdom","iso":"GB","kind":"country"}],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["Manufacturing","Packaging & Labeling","Packaging Design","FMCG & Consumer Brand Groups"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-09-28T02:34:29Z"}],"visa":[],"liveness":{"score":44,"band":"fade","label":"Fading","p_open":1,"p_active":0.591,"p_room":0.75,"age_days":32,"expected_fill_days":41,"reasons":["conf:5","stale_co","velocity","win:late","comp:brand"],"computed_at":"2026-10-13T05:45:00Z"},"pay":null,"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/ds-smith-innovation-specialist","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/ds-smith-innovation-specialist.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-10-13T14:50:44Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler_verified","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":22726,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-10-14T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":1795137},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=1795137"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fds-smith-innovation-specialist"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":1,"usd":0.1},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Fds-smith-innovation-specialist"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Fds-smith-innovation-specialist"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/ds-smith-innovation-specialist\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fds-smith-innovation-specialist"}]}