At IFF we design fragrance solutions that catch us unaware and transport us to places long forgotten. We are now seeking a motivated and result driven talent to join our Scent division as Scent Design Associate for the Fine Fragrance category. Come join IFF where science and creativity meet to create essential solutions for a better world!

As a Scent Design Associate, you will be responsible for driving multiple local/regional projects simultaneously. You will support the Scent Design Managers to execute priorities aligned to business strategy. You will learn how olfactive strategies are developed and how to communicate and drive the strategy by partnering with key internal customers and stakeholders as well as support the implementation of the olfactive strategy in multiple small or local commercial projects. You will support perfumers to develop winning successful fragrances, incoming briefs to ensure timeline and budget requirements are met and participate in evaluations to leverage insight.

This Dubai based position is one that offers a collaborative work environment, with a chance to develop winning fragrance solutions for a dynamic and growing region.

In this role, you will further develop business knowledge, potentially leveraging consumer feedback, and grow technical expertise, increasing IFF’s ability to win in the marketplace. You will utilize internal processes/programs/tools to support the overall Fine Fragrance business strategy.

The candidate will directly report to the Scent Design Group Director and will be based at the Scent Creative Center in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.  

Key responsibilities

• Manage Go-To-Market Projects for Africa, Middle East and Turkey and support execution of innovation projects (Strategic Initiatives, technical or creative programs, platforms…
• Develop understanding of market, customer and consumer needs to identify, develop and/or recommend competitive product solutions to drive business results.
• Develop market product knowledge / brand portfolio knowledge / consumer olfactive preferences and how to leverage / share with Perfumery team to help guide the creative process.
• Learn how to effectively screen down fragrance themes against project objectives.
• Leverage, manage and contribute to IFF’s Scent Portfolio for optimal efficiency in project work.
• Learn how to manage fragrance selection and identifying new winning themes for incoming briefs.
• Partner with SDM’s in developing compelling strategies around Holistic Scent Design principles.
• Expand knowledge of marketing and marketing tools at IFF and learn to partner with marketing on a regular basis in order to gain insights on customers brands.
• Understand technical / innovation programs and how they contribute to the overall category / customer strategy.
• Establish and maintain effective relationships with (internal) stakeholders and gain their trust and respect.
• Communicate and maintain awareness on market developments and competitive insights and actively share knowledge with other parts of the organization.
• Constantly listen to the voice of the customer and deliver above expectations.

Required Skills

• Excellent olfactive communication skills which supports the overall creative process – discriminate, describe (association) and odor memory.
• Creative and able to come up with new ideas that are easy to implement and fit the market dynamic.
• Excellent communication skills (written / verbal), and ability to collaborate with all levels of the organization and across various functions (perfumers, consumer insights, marketing, scent technology, commercial, management, etc.) to uncover challenges and opportunities and develop new fragrance solutions and capabilities.
• Basic understanding of market/consumer trends and consumer behaviors/ preferences (Knowledge of the Africa and/or Middle Eastern fragrance landscape is a plus)
• Fragrance ingredients and technology understanding to facilitate communication with technical teams and perfumers.
• Basic technical understanding of Fine Fragrance formulations and assess stability risks.
• Good project management skills, disciplined and process oriented.
• Open minded, embrace diversity, strong agility and shows courage.
• Effective and agile decision quality with the ability to deliver in a fast-paced environment and deliver under pressure.
• Commercial mindset, bottom line oriented.
• Team player, ability to motivate others towards a common goal to achieve results and to
• Fluent in English (French and Arabic is a plus).

Required Experience

• Excellent olfactive capabilities (candidates will be required to complete internal smelling test)
• Minimum 1 year of experience in Fragrance evaluation. 
• Master’s or bachelor’s degree in Perfumery, Science, Chemistry, Consumer Science, Product Research or any other relevant discipline.

At IFF, we believe that your uniqueness unleashes our potential. We value the diverse mosaic of the ethnicity, national origin, race, age, sex or veteran status. We strive for inclusive workplace that allows each of our colleagues to bring their authentic self to work regardless of their religion, gender identity & expression, sexual orientation, or disability. Visit IFF.com/careers/workplace-diversity-and-inclusion to learn more…