Director of Product Innovation
About The Position
The Director of Product Innovation develops and leads innovation strategies to deliver products, brand stories, and packaging solutions that customers desire. The role creates the innovation strategy and new product roadmap, guides portfolio management, and manages the innovation stage-gate process from opportunity assessment and idea validation through business case development and launch planning. It leads internal and external cross-functional teams in developing food, packaging, supply chain, customer-selling, and go-to-market solutions. The position analyzes innovation performance, competitive conditions, and consumer trends to identify opportunities and inform decisions. It partners with Sales and Insights on customer meetings and selling stories, evaluates initiative performance and adjusts plans as needed, and improves processes with the NPD cross-functional team. The role mentors and leads the Innovation Team, fostering respectful, inclusive collaboration and calculated risk-taking. It also follows company policies and food-safety requirements, including FDA regulations, SQF Standards, and GMPs, and reports food-safety or quality concerns.
Requirements
- 10 or more years of experience in marketing, innovation, or consumer research, including experience launching products into new categories, or an equivalent combination of education and additional experience.
- Bachelor's degree in marketing, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
- Knowledge of consumer trends in grocery and consumer packaged goods.
- Ability to analyze and interpret data to provide actionable insights.
- Effective problem-solving skills and ability to adapt to changes, problems, and shifting priorities.
- Strong verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to tailor information to the audience and communicate clearly and concisely.
- Ability to work effectively with a team through direct communication, respect, creativity, and emotional intelligence.
- Ability to present to executive management, department managers, supervisors, and staff.
- Ability to collaborate effectively with internal and external stakeholders.
- Skill in creating informative and effective reports and conducting research using multiple verifiable sources.
- Professional proficiency in reading, understanding, and communicating information in English.
- Demonstrates Respect, Teamwork, Accountability, and Determination.
Nice To Haves
- Master of Business in marketing.
Responsibilities
- Create and lead the innovation strategy and new product roadmap to achieve short- and long-term goals.
- Partner with business teams to guide category portfolio management and strategic focus for current and future products.
- Manage the innovation stage-gate process, including opportunity assessment, idea validation, food and packaging solutions, financial business cases, and launch plans.
- Lead internal and external cross-functional teams in developing food, packaging, supply chain, customer-selling, and commercial go-to-market solutions.
- Analyze innovation performance and the competitive environment to identify trends, opportunities, and threats.
- Partner with Sales in customer meetings to communicate innovation stories.
- Assess initiative performance and pivot to alternative opportunities as needed.
- Examine current processes and implement improvements with the NPD cross-functional team.
- Use available data to understand consumer trends and identify innovation opportunities.
- Apply understanding of consumer behavior to craft compelling consumer stories.
- Collaborate with Sales and Insights to develop customer-selling stories.
- Mentor and lead team members to test ideas and take calculated risks.
- Build respectful relationships and an inclusive, collaborative team.
- Follow company policies and procedures and operate equipment safely and in a food-safe manner.
- Comply with food-safety policies and procedures, including FDA regulations, SQF Standards, and GMPs.
- Report food-safety and quality concerns to Supervisors and/or the Department Manager.
- Perform other duties and tasks as assigned.
Benefits
- Medical insurance
- Dental insurance
- Vision insurance
- 401(k)
- Profit sharing program
- Employee Stock Ownership Program (ESOP)
- Paid holidays and vacation
- Employee Assistance Program, including counseling, legal issue support, and financial guidance
- Tuition reimbursement
- Childcare discounts
Stand Out From the Crowd
Upload your resume and get instant feedback on how well it matches this job.
What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Director
