Associate Manager Innovation

Bimbo Bakeries USA•Irving, TX

17h

About The Position

Have you ever enjoyed Arnold®, Brownberry® or Oroweat® bread? A Thomas’® English muffin or bagel? Or perhaps snacked on a Sara Lee®, Entenmann’s® or Marinela® cake or donut? If the answer is yes, then you know Bimbo Bakeries USA! More than 20,000 associates in bakeries, sales centers, offices and on sales routes work to ensure our consumers have the freshest products at every meal. In addition to competitive pay and benefits, we provide a safe and inclusive work environment that appreciates diversity, promotes development and allows our associates to be their authentic selves. #LI-SO1 Come join the largest baking company in the world and our family of 20,000 associates nationwide! Top Reasons to Work at Bimbo Bakeries USA: Salary Range: $64,700 - $84,100 Comprehensive Benefits Package Annual Bonus Eligibility 401k & Company Match Position Summary: Innovation plays a key role in remaining competitive in the market and to position ourselves for further growth. To focus our efforts, our Innovation team will work closely with our Brand Teams, R&D, Technical Services, Manufacturing, Engineering, and Sales teams to support the goals and strategies of our branded businesses. The Associate Manager of Innovation will support our Innovation team and will play a key role in filling our future innovation pipeline. The person in this position will support and own a range of new product launches across our entire portfolio of branded products, working through consumer insights to ideate new products and then launch those new ideas through a product development process. This team member will lead their projects with cross functional teams through testing and development and support other innovation team members as needed. This individual will need to demonstrate consumer empathy, as well as excellent teamwork, communication skills, organization, and project management skills. Exposure to a variety of market research techniques and experience in data analysis are also important. We are looking for candidates who are passionate about food and food trends and who enjoy the work of creating new things. This position reports to the Senior Innovation Manager.

Requirements

Be a team player and strong collaborator.
Ability to sell ideas up, down and sideways to keep team and stakeholders motivated and focused.
Self-starter, ability to work independently.
Innovative problem solver.
Open mindset.
Tenacious.
Results oriented.
Learning enthusiast, intellectual curiosity.
Excellent organizational and communication (written and oral) skills.
Use a combination of feedback and reflection to gain productive insight into personal strengths and weaknesses.
Build partnerships and work collaboratively with others to meet shared objectives.
Take on new opportunities and tough challenges with a sense of urgency, high energy, and enthusiasm.
Understands the business and organizational environment and shows interest in adapting to their culture and ways of working.
Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Innovation or a related field.
3-5 plus years of experience, CPG preferred.
Computer skills and proficiency with MS Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Ability to learn and be proficient at other analytical tools and data sources.
Experience with syndicated data such as Circana (IRI) or Nielsen.
Ability and willingness to travel 10% of the time.

Nice To Haves

MBA preferred.
Previous experience in an innovation role is a plus.
Experience with consumer research and concept/prototype testing is a plus.
Proficiency in Spanish is a plus.

Responsibilities

Lead and support new product launches from consumer insights through the product development process.
Mine trend and consumer data to map where the consumer is going and generate compelling product ideas that meet their needs.
Systematically evaluate ideas to select high potential opportunities for further testing and/or feasibility analysis.
Develop strong, collaborative relationships with cross-functional teams (Brand Teams, Manufacturing, Sales, R&D) to ensure collaboration and alignment of direction at all stages of development and launch.
Use information, logic, and sound business judgment to develop new products and categories.
Use strong project management skills to navigate projects through to execution
Prepare persuasive sales and internal communication materials.
Work collaboratively with agency and research partners.
Must be agile in creating and reading data analysis to generate business insights.
Develop and manage new products and program handoffs (process and materials) to ensure a smooth transition of new product launch activities throughout the development process.