Corporate Strategy Director

Make a +Difference at Kraton!

At Kraton, we make a +Difference, and we are looking for individuals who are also looking to make a difference in their jobs, for our customers and to the world.  We are looking to hire a key member of our Corproate Strategy team at our global headquarters in The Woodlands, Texas.

The Corporate Streategy Director will drive enterprise performance, governance, and strategic execution through data-driven insights, shareholder alignment, and cross-functional collaboration.

We believe in making a +Difference, as a global manufacturer of sustainable specialty polymers and biobased pine chemicals, delivering innovative, high-performance solutions.  

We’re proud to offer benefits that meaningfully support you—at work, at home, and everywhere in between. 

Some of the benefits offered are:

• Medical Insurance, including TeleDoc - multiple plans available with Flexible Spending Account & Health Savings Account options
• Dental & Vision Insurance   
• Health Advocate – free support to help you understand your coverage and answer questions 
• Life Insurance – base coverage paid for by Kraton with option for additional coverage 
• 401k – Kraton provides matching contributions based on enrollment level 
• Employee Assistance Program – provided at no cost to employees   
• Accident, Disability, and Critical Illness Insurance  

Key Responsibilities

• Integrated Performance Management: Manage performance and issues across the entire company; proactively identify risks on key issues, analyze root causes, and develop actionable improvement plans to support management decision-making.
• Data & Market-driven Insight Generation and Management Support: Provide senior management with actionable insights based on facts and data rather than intuition or convention. Integrate a market driven perspective using market and customer signals as the starting point for strategic judgment into the insight generation process, and embed this data-driven, market-centric approach to discussion and decision-making across the Kraton organization and in collaboration with the shareholder.
• Governance Communication: Operate regular reporting and escalation processes among business units, the CSO, and the shareholder within Kraton’s governance reporting framework, and systematically manage communication channels to enable rapid decision-making and execution.
• Strategic Alignment with the Shareholder: Based on a deep understanding of the management culture, decision-making style, and reporting systems of both Kraton and the shareholder, align strategic priorities between the two companies, establish a data-driven common ground for discussion, and translate agreed strategies into actionable tasks and initiatives to drive implementation.
• Initiation and Execution Management of Strategic and Transformation Office Initiatives: Track and manage the progress of strategic initiatives and Transformation Office initiatives, assign tasks to line owners, and drive execution to deliver targeted results.
• Organizational Effectiveness: Strengthen the team’s overall execution through close collaboration with other members of the CS team and relevant Kraton departments, and conduct domestic and international site visits as needed to identify issues on the ground and build relationships.

Required Skills

• Minimum of 10 years of experience in the chemical or related industries
• Five plus years of experience in strategic planning or business management
• Minimum of 2 years of experience working at a company in Korea or Asia
• Must be bilingual English/Korean

Education, Certifications & Licenses

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Business Administration, Economics, Finance, Chemical Engineering, or a related field. Candidates with degrees in other fields may be considered with sufficient experience in the chemical industry or strategic planning.
• Preference will be given to candidates with a deep understanding of and relevant experience in the chemical and materials industries, and to those holding an MBA or professional certifications in strategic planning or finance (e.g., CFA, CPA, PMP).

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The statements above are intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed by employees assigned to this classification.  Statements are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities and skills required for this position.

Kraton’s internal talent acquisition team manages our recruiting efforts and from time to time works with pre-selected/pre-approved external staffing agencies. We do NOT accept unsolicited resumes or candidate referrals from recruiters and/or agencies who are not pre-selected/pre-approved.

Kraton is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer.