Kinder's Premium Quality Seasonings & Sauces
Senior Manager, Innovation
Kinder's Premium Quality Seasonings & Sauces, Walnut Creek, California, United States, 94598
Overview
Reporting to the Director of Innovation, the Senior Manager, Innovation will be responsible for collaborating with key cross-functional stakeholders to generate, launch, evaluate, and optimize new product growth opportunities for Kinder’s and its partner brands. You will partner with the Director of Innovation and the broader Growth organization to develop a strategic pipeline of high-growth opportunities that deliver a unique and compelling innovation capability to our consumers and customers in a way that drives sustainable value for everyone. Key Responsibilities
Opportunity Development & Evaluation: Demonstrate a deep understanding of consumer needs and motivations and translate into actionable insights. Proactively identify consumer, customer, market and macro trends and contextualize these into growth opportunities. Closely partner with insights & analytics to develop and execute learning action plans to evaluate and develop target opportunities. Innovation Brand Management / Business Plan Development: Develop business cases for key innovation projects and support leadership in aligning on key go/no‑go decisions. Build business plans for key innovation programs including development of strategic rationale, evaluation of consumer and customer need / white-space, coordination of technical evaluation (e.g., product development, packaging, or manufacturing hurdles), development of pack / pricing strategy, and evaluation of key financial characteristics (e.g., sales opportunity, margin profile). Support innovation categories with interim brand management support until programs are turned over to CORE brand management team. Go-To-Market & Post-Launch Analysis: Develop strategic go-to-market plans for new opportunities and work with cross-functional stakeholders to drive alignment around execution needs including establishing business and financial objectives, launch messaging, channel activation, and other launch tactics. Drive internal & external alignment around key programs and support customer engagements on new projects, including partnering with Sales and developing sell-in materials. Evaluate in-market performance post-launch through analysis of key data sources and communicate findings to drive real-time optimization opportunities. Cross-Functional Leadership: Collaborate with cross-functional teams to overcome hurdles to meet aggressive in-market timing and coordinate product and packaging solutions that lead the market. Lead alignment on growth initiatives with Portfolio Management, R&D, Finance, Operations, Sales and Consumer Experience; develop and present relevant business updates to executive leadership. What You Bring To The Table
Education / Experience: Bachelor's Degree required, MBA preferred; 7+ years in consumer product innovation or growth strategy; brand management and product marketing experience a plus. Proven strategic thinker with experience developing business cases and execution plans. Experience identifying consumer needs and motivations through research and market analysis. Track record of creative thinking, generation of new product ideas, and collaboration with internal and external partners to develop concepts/products. Experience leading cross-functional teams; strong analytical & quantitative skills with data-driven argumentation; knowledge of syndicated data providers (e.g., Circana, Numerator). Strong project management and understanding of the NPD process from ideation to commercialization to in-market activation. Personal Characteristics: Business builder, growth mindset, thrives in a dynamic environment, self-starter, decisive, with leadership and collaborative能力. Things About The Way We Work
No two days are the same; we value candid communication and a bias for action over hierarchy. We embrace ambiguity, take smart risks, and strive to grow our skills while remaining entrepreneurial at heart. We aim to do exceptional things and are willing to work hard to achieve them. Location & Travel
The position is based in Walnut Creek, CA in a 40,000 sq ft office. We have a hybrid structure with 4 days in the office weekly to foster collaboration and culture. Fridays are flex days (in-office or remote). Some travel is required for industry conferences and key customer visits. Seniority level
Mid-Senior level Employment type
Full-time Job function
Other Industries
Food and Beverage Manufacturing
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Reporting to the Director of Innovation, the Senior Manager, Innovation will be responsible for collaborating with key cross-functional stakeholders to generate, launch, evaluate, and optimize new product growth opportunities for Kinder’s and its partner brands. You will partner with the Director of Innovation and the broader Growth organization to develop a strategic pipeline of high-growth opportunities that deliver a unique and compelling innovation capability to our consumers and customers in a way that drives sustainable value for everyone. Key Responsibilities
Opportunity Development & Evaluation: Demonstrate a deep understanding of consumer needs and motivations and translate into actionable insights. Proactively identify consumer, customer, market and macro trends and contextualize these into growth opportunities. Closely partner with insights & analytics to develop and execute learning action plans to evaluate and develop target opportunities. Innovation Brand Management / Business Plan Development: Develop business cases for key innovation projects and support leadership in aligning on key go/no‑go decisions. Build business plans for key innovation programs including development of strategic rationale, evaluation of consumer and customer need / white-space, coordination of technical evaluation (e.g., product development, packaging, or manufacturing hurdles), development of pack / pricing strategy, and evaluation of key financial characteristics (e.g., sales opportunity, margin profile). Support innovation categories with interim brand management support until programs are turned over to CORE brand management team. Go-To-Market & Post-Launch Analysis: Develop strategic go-to-market plans for new opportunities and work with cross-functional stakeholders to drive alignment around execution needs including establishing business and financial objectives, launch messaging, channel activation, and other launch tactics. Drive internal & external alignment around key programs and support customer engagements on new projects, including partnering with Sales and developing sell-in materials. Evaluate in-market performance post-launch through analysis of key data sources and communicate findings to drive real-time optimization opportunities. Cross-Functional Leadership: Collaborate with cross-functional teams to overcome hurdles to meet aggressive in-market timing and coordinate product and packaging solutions that lead the market. Lead alignment on growth initiatives with Portfolio Management, R&D, Finance, Operations, Sales and Consumer Experience; develop and present relevant business updates to executive leadership. What You Bring To The Table
Education / Experience: Bachelor's Degree required, MBA preferred; 7+ years in consumer product innovation or growth strategy; brand management and product marketing experience a plus. Proven strategic thinker with experience developing business cases and execution plans. Experience identifying consumer needs and motivations through research and market analysis. Track record of creative thinking, generation of new product ideas, and collaboration with internal and external partners to develop concepts/products. Experience leading cross-functional teams; strong analytical & quantitative skills with data-driven argumentation; knowledge of syndicated data providers (e.g., Circana, Numerator). Strong project management and understanding of the NPD process from ideation to commercialization to in-market activation. Personal Characteristics: Business builder, growth mindset, thrives in a dynamic environment, self-starter, decisive, with leadership and collaborative能力. Things About The Way We Work
No two days are the same; we value candid communication and a bias for action over hierarchy. We embrace ambiguity, take smart risks, and strive to grow our skills while remaining entrepreneurial at heart. We aim to do exceptional things and are willing to work hard to achieve them. Location & Travel
The position is based in Walnut Creek, CA in a 40,000 sq ft office. We have a hybrid structure with 4 days in the office weekly to foster collaboration and culture. Fridays are flex days (in-office or remote). Some travel is required for industry conferences and key customer visits. Seniority level
Mid-Senior level Employment type
Full-time Job function
Other Industries
Food and Beverage Manufacturing
#J-18808-Ljbffr