Director Innovation Jobs

Director Innovation

CPG - Growing household brand

Hybrid role - North/Central US Based

On behalf of one of the fastest growing companies in its industry, passionate about making a difference, we are appointing a Director of Innovation to lead the innovation strategy and commercialization/project management functions as well as identifying insights that will drive growth.

You and your team will create, manage, and execute an exciting international and multi-channel product pipeline, develop, and improve product development processes, and drive product projects from concept to commercialization - on strategy, on time and on budget.

The Role

• Oversee budget, syndicated data and custom research spending across the portfolio gaining maximum value from expenditures.
• Key contributor to multiple project teams consisting of Marketing, R&D, Procurement, Regulatory, Finance and Operations
• Continuously interrogate and improve the innovation and stage gate processes.
• Build strong business cases for new product ideas including consumer and category insights, strategic brand fit, source of business, key differentiating benefits, sizing, pricing rationale.
• Develop the innovation strategy and 3-5-year innovation/renovation pipeline.
• Partner with Sales and Marketing to deliver customer specific innovation that builds customer relationships and increases brand profitability.
• Develop strong, collaborative relationships with cross-functional teams to ensure collaboration and alignment at all stages of commercialization and launch.
• Lead monthly Innovation Leadership Team (ILT) meetings keeping senior leadership informed of progress of all projects through the stage gate funnel.
• Lead and develop team consisting of both Insights and Commercialization Project Manager direct reports; establish performance standards and manage a creative climate where people are self-motivated toward the mastery of functional responsibilities.
• Collaborate with Marketing to creatively identify opportunity areas for growth by effectively using market research and competitive intelligence.

Qualifications

• Passion for, and understanding of, consumer behaviour and market trends.
• Strong communication skills (exceptional listening skills, persuasive and professional communicator) must be able to communicate effectively with senior executives and other
• Experience managing people and leading teams, including the ability to create and articulate a vision and drive a team to achieve results.
• Thrives when thinking about long term brand strategy, future innovation ideas, and new product development.
• Able to consistently manage workloads effectively, use resources efficiently, and orchestrate multiple activities at once to accomplish a goal.
• A minimum of 8 years CPG marketing innovation or relevant marketing experience is required.
• Proven track record of delivering innovation in market from concept through commercialization.
• Bachelor's degree required; MBA/advanced degree strongly preferred.
• Ability to form and maintain strong collaborative partnerships with members of the leadership team, cross functional partners, and other strategic stakeholders.
• Ability of thrive in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment.