About us
Symrise is a global supplier of fragrances and flavors, cosmetic active ingredients as well as functional ingredients. Its customers include perfume, cosmetics, food and beverage manufacturers, the pharmaceutical industry and producers of dietary supplements and pet food.
The Group, headquartered in Holzminden, Germany, has more than 100 locations in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, Asia, the USA and Latin America.
Together with its customers, Symrise develops new ideas and market-ready concepts for products that form an indispensable part of everyday life. Economic success and corporate responsibility are inextricably linked.
Symrise – always inspiring more...
The Role
The primary objective of this role is to ensure that fragrance creations consistently align with the customer’s brand identity and evolving market demands. By doing so, the role directly supports the Sales team in achieving its revenue targets.
The position plays a key role in bridging creativity, technical expertise, and consumer insights to deliver compelling fragrance solutions across multiple applications.
As regional responsibility, this position has a primary responsibility by South Africa & East Africa region and contribute to the strategies & development to al Sub-Saharan Africa.
It is expected to collaborate on the olfactive training to key customers and support to local team (sales & laboratories) on the olfactive development skills, additionally on managing priorities and collaborating with local laboratory manager.
Key Responsibilities
Fragrance Development & Evaluation
- Select, generate, assess, and refine fragrances to enhance the overall olfactory experience for consumers.
- Answer customer briefs by selecting and proposing fragrances from the internal collection across Fine Fragrance, Beauty Care, and Home Care categories.
- Collaborate closely with Perfumers and Evaluators across different centers to create or modify fragrances in line with project requirements.
- Provide clear, accurate, and constructive feedback to Perfumers, Evaluators, and project teams to support fragrance optimization.
Project & Portfolio Management
- Manage and maintain the fragrance collection, ensuring relevance and alignment with market trends and client needs.
- Coordinate fragrance-related project activities to ensure timely delivery, prioritizing projects according to business needs and Key Account Managers’ (KAMs) requirements.
- Ensure effective execution of projects across South Africa and key Sub-Saharan markets (including Nigeria, Angola, and Zambia).
Market & Consumer Insights
- Conduct olfactive analysis of local markets to identify trends, preferences, and competitive landscapes.
- Translate insights into actionable recommendations for customers’ brands and fragrance strategies.
- Support fragrance development with strong market understanding, contributing to alignment with business and consumer expectations. [S&C Fragra...ement deck | PDF]
Customer Engagement & Communication
- Prepare and deliver customer presentations, including market overviews, olfactive analyses, and fragrance submissions.
- Write compelling fragrance descriptions tailored to specific projects to support commercial success.
- Act as a key interface between internal teams and customers, ensuring alignment and clarity throughout the development process.
About You
- Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Cosmetic Science, Pharmacy, Biology, or a related scientific field.
- Broad experience in fragrance evaluation within the fragrance industry, with strong exposure to consumer markets. Experience in South Africa is required; additional exposure to Sub-Saharan markets (e.g., Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, Mauritius) is a plus, or the ability to quickly develop expertise in these markets.
- Excellent olfactive skills, with the ability to evaluate, differentiate, and translate fragrances into consumer-relevant concepts.
- Good technical knowledge of cosmetic and home care bases.
- Strong conceptual and creative thinking, combined with a commercial mindset and market awareness.
- Excellent communication, interpersonal, and negotiation skills, with fluency in English.
- Strong project management, prioritization, and organizational skills, with the ability to manage multiple projects effectively.
- Analytical thinking and problem-solving capabilities to support fragrance development and project delivery.
- Proficient in MS Office tools and general digital literacy.
- Strong presentation skills, with the ability to communicate effectively to both internal and external stakeholders.
- Ability to build and leverage networks across regions and functions to deliver customer value.
- Self-disciplined, proactive, and results-driven, with a high level of ownership and accountability.
- Strong work ethic and commitment to delivering high-quality results.
Our Offer
Become part of our open and transparent culture. It will give you the opportunity to flourish and to develop inspiring experiences that contribute to the health and well-being of consumers in 160 countries around the world. Putting our employees in the focus fuels our strong company growth above market rates and makes us an excellent place to develop your career.
We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, non-disqualifying physical or mental disability, national origin, veteran status or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, merit, and business need.
Job Reference: EA04549
