Portfolio & Innovation Manager
About The Position
The Portfolio & Innovation Manager leads the commercial and portfolio side of Standlee's innovation efforts, identifying growth opportunities grounded in customer, consumer, market, and business needs. This role is responsible for portfolio strategy, new opportunity development, SKU optimization, private label opportunities, business cases, and commercial validation. This position profile identifies the key responsibilities and expectations for performance. It cannot encompass all specific job tasks that an employee may be required to perform. Employees are required to follow any other job-related instructions and perform job-related duties as may be required by his/her supervisor.
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Animal Science, Agriculture, Product Development, or related field.
- 5+ years of experience in innovation, product management, commercialization, category management, marketing, or related discipline.
- Strong strategic, analytical, and commercial thinking.
- Demonstrated ability to evaluate opportunities and develop actionable recommendations.
- Strong project leadership, communication, presentation, and cross-functional influencing skills.
- Ability to work with urgency, navigate ambiguity, and make sound business recommendations.
Nice To Haves
- Experience in animal nutrition, agriculture, feed, pet, equine, or related industries preferred.
Responsibilities
- Identify and evaluate new product, category, species, channel, and market opportunities.
- Develop and maintain a prioritized portfolio of innovation opportunities aligned with company growth objectives.
- Lead portfolio optimization and SKU rationalization, including recommendations to invest, improve, consolidate, or discontinue.
- Monitor customer, consumer, competitive, and industry trends to identify emerging opportunities.
- Develop recommendations and business cases based on strategic fit, customer need, revenue potential, margin, and market opportunity.
- Lead the commercial evaluation of new innovation and private label opportunities.
- Partner with Sales to understand customer requirements, volume potential, pricing, timing, and strategic value.
- Develop clear opportunity briefs defining the customer need, product concept, positioning, target price, and commercial opportunity.
- Lead customer and market validation of proposed concepts.
- Partner with Finance, Sales, and Operations to evaluate financial and commercial feasibility.
- Recommend whether opportunities should advance, change, or stop.
- Partner with the Product Innovation & Regulatory Manager throughout development to ensure products continue to meet the intended customer and market need.
- Provide commercial input into the innovation stage-gate process and jointly recommend project advancement at key decision points.
- Provide commercial insights and innovation expertise to support go-to-market strategies and customer sell-in plans in partnership with Marketing and Sales.
- Establish commercial success measures and evaluate post-launch performance.
- Recommend portfolio or commercial adjustments based on launch performance and market feedback.
- Build strong partnerships across Marketing, Sales, Product Development, Operations, Finance, Procurement, and Quality.
- Bring clear recommendations and solutions forward to support timely decision-making.
- Work collaboratively with the Product Innovation & Regulatory Manager as a peer, with each role maintaining decision authority within their respective areas of responsibility.
- Foster a culture of curiosity, urgency, accountability, and commercially focused innovation.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Mid Level
