Director, Brand Innovation Jobs

Business Unit Overview

Here's what all the hype is about Premier Nutrition Company, LLC (PNC) is a clear leader in the convenient nutrition category and makes great-tasting food products under the brand names Premier Protein, Dymatize, and PowerBar, and is part of publicly-traded BellRing Brands (NYSE:BRBR). With its people-first culture, PNC empowers its people to create the best work of their lives alongside some truly astounding colleagues.

PNC treats its people like adults with respect and trust. One of our five core values is to Connect & Belong because we bring our diverse backgrounds, life experiences, and ways of thinking to each challenge grounded in our belief that everyone should have a seat at the table and be listened to deeply. Whever makes you, you - you belong here.

We strive to avoid many of the outdated processes of conventional workplaces. We don't have performance reviews we have quarterly conversations. We don't have management we have inspiring leaders to coach and mentor. We don't have a casual dress code we simply don't have a dress code; wear what you like. And we have a lot of fun.

Bringing dogs to work, company-wide give-days days, philanthropy and sustainability programs, in-office massages, walking meetings, and free daily exercise classes on-site and at the adjacent gym are just a few ways we make work feel less like work. And the results of our great culture speak for itself: we were certified as a Great Place to Work™ for the seventh year-running in 2023 and ranked in the top 12 on Fortune Magazine’s Best Workplaces in our category for the past four years.

So, what's it like to work here? If you're local, you'll walk into our Emeryville office each Monday morning and find 100 of your colleagues sitting on sofas, beanbag chairs, or the floor excitedly talking through the week ahead and watching one of their colleagues tell their personal life and career journey. Picture a casual and collaborative environment of a start-up, the innovative mindset of a tech company, and the stability of a company with revenue last year of over $1.3 billion, and you'll find us in the sweet spot where world-class culture meets robust business results.

PNC seeks individuals who will thrive in this work environment and will help us build our culture and this high-growth company for the next phase in our amazing journey. Does this sound like you? Then read on.

Responsibilities

The Role…

PNC’s Research and Innovation Team is a cross-functional team comprised of R&D scientists, engineers and brand marketers who are collectively responsible for developing all PNC products. We are seeking a seasoned and results-oriented brand marketer to join the team as Director of Innovation. This role will shepherd the new products pipeline for PNC’s two high-growth, category-leading brands: Premier Protein and Dymatize. As Director of Innovation, you will work closely with the SVP of Research and Innovation to translate identified enterprise-level opportunity areas into concrete product initiatives, while developing and leading a high-performance cross-functional Innovation team to commercialize new products with strategic clarity and executional excellence.

The position will be based out of our 60,000 sq. foot, modern Emeryville, California office. WE ARE A CULTURE OF PERSONAL CONNECTON, WHICH IS WHY WE’VE CHOSEN A PERMANENT HYBRID WORK ENVIRONMENT WITH NORMS THAT EQUATE TO 2-3 DAYS MID-WEEK IN THE OFFICE FOR EMPLOYEES BASED IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA. The expected pay scale for this role is $190k to $200k, which may vary based on relevant experience, qualifications, geographic area (if applicable), and internal equity for the role.

You’re excited about this opportunity because your time will be filled with…

Innovation Leadership: 40% of Time

• Steward and execute a robust new products pipeline from concept ideation through development and launch
• Partner skillfully with the Consumer Insights team to drive consumer research that generates high-impact, actionable insight
• Vet, validate and define the business model for new products to ensure incremental growth for and strategic alignment with Premier Protein and Dymatize base brands
• Influence cross-functional partners across Finance, R&D, Operations, Sales, and Marketing teams to gain support and ensure excellent execution of innovation initiatives

Lead, Manage, and Develop People: 40% of Time

• Hire and train additional Innovation team members as needed
• Provide regular (monthly/quarterly) leadership and inspiration to broader group of designated cross-functional “Innovation Leadership Team” members from Legal/Regulatory, Finance, Sales Planning, Sourcing and Quality teams
• Directly manage, guide, mentor and coach 2 high-potential brand managers to become world-class, consumer-centered and business-savvy innovators
• Provide day-to-day leadership to a core cross-functional “Innovation Round Table” comprised of Marketing, Project Management and Operations leads with direct and dotted-line reporting into Innovation

Strategic Activities: 20% of Time

• Collaborate with senior R&D leaders stay ahead of consumer trends, nutrition science and food processing technologies to further PNC’s vision and leadership in the nutrition, health and wellness space
• Work closely with SVP of R&I to build and integrate competitive and category intelligence into PNC product strategy
• Work closely with SVP of R&I to translate enterprise-level strategies, opportunities and dig sites into actionable innovation projects and products

Qualifications

What are we looking for?

Education

• Bachelor’s degree

Experience

• 4+ years’ people management experience
• Well-versed in quantitative and qualitative consumer research
• 10+ years’ experience in Consumer-Packaged Goods (CPG) brand management
• Extensive experience with product commercialization and a track record of driving successful product launches
• Strong base business experience and knowledge base to draw upon for strategic decision-making

Skills

• Structured, analytical, and data-driven approach to decision-making
• Unfazed by a dynamic and high-growth environment with regular ambiguity and pivoting
• Strong CPG business acumen combined with a passion for consumers
• Enjoys managing people and collaborating in a hands-on, high-touch, high-collaboration culture
• Excellent communication and leadership skills, with the ability to effectively lead and influence cross-functional teams

So, if after reading through this long list you’re thinking—I’m not sure I meet 100% of these requirements, should I still apply? YES—if you embody a growth mindset, see challenges as opportunities to develop, and find innovative ways to get the real work that matters done, you sound like our kind of candidate!

Select 5 Key Capabilities & Traits Important to Add to and Diversify your Current Team:

• Start & end with consumer
• Embody a strategic mindset
• Learning & growth mindset
• Drive and own results
• Thrive in ambiguity amid competing priorities

You will thrive here and may just do the best work of your life if…

• You want to be an integral part of shaping and nurturing an amazing work culture
• You like to get sh*t, I mean—stuff done
• You don’t have a big ego
• You can be friendly, vulnerable, and self-deprecating in one moment, and deal with a challenging, delicate people-related matter as a professional in the next
• You can be flexible in your approach to people challenges and abandon past practices if they don’t make sense or would lead to a poor outcome
• You are comfortable being natural, casual, open, and even a bit playful at work
• You can do periods of focused, deep work on projects that drive the needle

This may not be your ideal next career move if…

• Dealing with ambiguity or experimentation is not your jam
• You try to resolve challenging interpersonal situations over instant messaging
• You feel more comfortable following the lead of others
• You tend to chase whatever shiny object presents itself, even if not strategic
• You like managing from your house with your camera off and demonstrating excellence through email
• You like hierarchy, command and control management
• You like a lot of structure, rules, and uniformity
• You want to build lots of processes, systems, governance, or policies

Here’s the deal with our not-so-standard, ahem…standard interview process because we know you are the curious type, which is why you’re still reading this…

• Team interviews are kept to a minimum to foster a more efficient, candidate-friendly process (too many interviewers yields little value and drags out the process for you—
• And who wants that?):
• Quick 30 min phone chat with a member of our Talent Acquisition team to do a quick overview of your background and answer any burning questions you have
• A series of in-person or video interviews in a 1:1 setting; these are usually with the hiring manager, one or two other team members, and a person from another team to get broader perspectives (note: we don’t do panel interviews because they don’t give interviewers a chance to ask you unique questions, and we assign interviewers different roles so we’re probing different capabilities)
• Once your interview concludes, the team will meet for an in-depth consultative process to ensure we are hiring the right person for the right job. Interviewers must come in with a strong yes or no vote beforehand to avoid groupthink with supporting reasons. The collective thoughts on your candidacy will be discussed in an environment of safety to challenge ideas respectfully, debate. and be open to all important qualifications of the candidates. A trained, disinterested bias blocker will be present to help mitigate bias so the team can make a sound hiring decision. The moment of truth arrives when the hiring manager makes the big decision. If you nailed the interviews and the case study was brilliant, guess what? The offer is all yours! And the ball is in your court. Will you accept? We sure hope so because this place is the real deal, and don’t just believe us—just ask the 93% of our people who said this is a great place to work in our most recent employee survey.
• A case study or job task to simulate what you’d actually be doing in the role (since your job is not actually to be interviewed for a living, so why is that the thing companies rely on so much? Yes, there will be a small panel for this one so you don’t have to do it more than once, and yes, they might ask you some kind yet probing questions at the end after the applause stops.

If we haven’t convinced you to apply already, here are some of our favorite perks and benefits:

• Extended paid parental leave regardless of gender or familial make-up
• 2 weeks of work from anywhere time to move your Big Rocks
• Free custom lunch twice a week. Plus, plenty of snacks and shakes.
• Work-out time during work
• Bring your dog to work (3 days/week)
• Friday afternoons off year-round (and of course a hefty PTO package plus 11 holidays)
• Hybrid work with an average of 2-3 days a week in the office for local folks
• All jobs are bonus-eligible
• 6% 401K match. Literally free money
• Quarterly team building events/happy hours (city-wide scavenger hunt, bowling, ropes course, putt-putt)

We strive to create an equitable and inclusive environment to contribute to the success of our organization. Premier Nutrition provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, status as a covered veteran and any other category protected under applicable federal, state, provincial and local laws.