Director, Innovation - Meals
About The Position
The Director, Innovation, M&C and Shelf Stable Meals will lead innovation development across several critical areas of responsibility, with a focus on building the long-term growth pipeline for Kraft M&C and Velveeta. This role will be responsible for leading expansion and whitespace opportunities for Kraft M&C and Velveeta, including building the 5-year innovation pipeline. The role involves developing new categories for Kraft M&C and Velveeta to bring growth plan ambitions to life by partnering across multiple innovation teams at KHC, including Disruptive Innovation Pods, AFH, and Canada, as well as R&D, Operations, Brand Teams, and Finance. The position requires building strong, two-way cross-functional relationships that foster collaboration, idea-sharing, and effective execution. The Director will serve in a highly visible leadership role on the Meals Leadership Team while leading and developing a team of direct reports with a broad range of experience. Key responsibilities include managing the creation and validation of a multi-year innovation strategy rooted in meaningful consumer pain points, managing agency relationships for packaging design of new products, and leading consumer validation in partnership with the Consumer Insights team. The role also involves owning innovation through the stage gate process, providing visibility to senior leadership on opportunities, and aligning stakeholders to next steps and tradeoffs. Additionally, the Director will leverage syndicated data sources to assess internal and competitor innovation performance, translating insights into recommendations that drive business impact, while bringing a consumer-first mindset to day-to-day decisions and protecting brand integrity and balancing financial and operational considerations.
Requirements
- 10+ years of experience
- Experience managing direct reports and setting strategic direction for a team
- Advanced experience in product management, brand management and managing a P&L
- Experience in cross-functional team management
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills
- Ability to handle simultaneous projects and deliver within agreed upon time frames.
- Ability to effectively lead discussions and share vision with Executive level of KHC
Responsibilities
- Leading expansion and whitespace opportunities for Kraft M&C and Velveeta, including building the 5-year innovation pipeline
- Developing new categories for Kraft M&C and Velveeta to bring growth plan ambitions to life
- Partnering across multiple innovation teams at KHC, including Disruptive Innovation Pods, AFH, and Canada, as well as R&D, Operations, Brand Teams, and Finance
- Building strong, two-way cross-functional relationships that foster collaboration, idea-sharing, and effective execution
- Serving in a highly visible leadership role on the Meals Leadership Team while leading and developing a team of direct reports with a broad range of experience
- Managing the creation and validation of a multi-year innovation strategy rooted in meaningful consumer pain points
- Managing agency relationships for packaging design of new products
- Leading consumer validation in partnership with the Consumer Insights team
- Owning innovation through the stage gate process, providing visibility to senior leadership on opportunities and aligning stakeholders to next steps and tradeoffs
- Leveraging syndicated data sources to assess internal and competitor innovation performance, and translating insights into recommendations that drive business impact
- Bringing a consumer-first mindset to day-to-day decisions while protecting brand integrity and balancing financial and operational considerations
Benefits
- Coverage for employees (and their eligible dependents) through affordable access to healthcare, protection, and saving for the future, we offer plans tailored to meet you and your family’s needs.
- Events, resources, and learning opportunities that inspire a physical, social, emotional, and financial well-being lifestyle for our employees and their families.
- Physical - Medical, Prescription Drug, Dental, Vision, Screenings/Assessments
- Social - Paid Time Off, Company Holidays, Leave of Absence, Flexible Work Arrangements, Recognition, Training
- Emotional – Employee Assistance Program , Wellbeing Programs, Family Support Programs
- Financial – 401k, Life, Accidental Death & Dismemberment, Disability
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Director
Education Level
No Education Listed
