Senior Manager - Data Science & AI Innovation

Nestle Operational Services Worldwide SA•Solon, OH

3d•$190,000 - $240,000

About The Position

This leadership position will be responsible for overseeing Commercial advanced analytics and AI/GenAI strategy, acting as the primary bridge between Commercial business stakeholders and IT/technical delivery teams. This role identifies opportunities and connects with internal/external delivery partners to deliver solutions that drive growth and influence the commercial strategy and daily operations through the implementation of data science, advanced analytics, and AI/GenAI capabilities. This role will collaborate closely with and report to the Director of Business Intelligence & Data Analytics of Commercial Intelligence Hub to drive the future of advanced analytics and AI/GenAI innovation within the Nestlé Center for Demand Generation. The ideal candidate will have a strong technical/data science background with proven experience as a business-savvy innovation leader — someone who understands the craft deeply enough to guide, challenge, and quality-check technical teams, and work closely with business stakeholders, shaping strategy, prioritizing use cases. This role requires excellent communication skills, strategic thinking, and the ability to drive data-driven decision-making across the organization while acting as a trusted intermediary between business stakeholders and technical implementers. The role will lead, both directly & indirectly, a team of analysts and advisors responsible for generating advanced analytics and AI/GenAI solutions and driving business alignment for inflight and future innovation projects. The role will also be responsible for boosting solution adoption by different functions within Nestlé's Commercial organization.

Requirements

Self-starter with a history of applying advanced analytics and AI/GenAI expertise to identify insights that get results.
Passionate about solving the most critical business problems through M/L, GenAI, and advanced analytics.
Demonstrated ability to translate ambiguous business problems into clear, actionable AI/data science solutions — equally comfortable engaging business executives and technical architects/engineers.
A technical foundation (data science, ML/AI) that has evolved into strategic, business-facing leadership — able to guide, challenge, and quality-check technical teams.
Strategic thinker with ability to see the big picture and draw connections outside the immediate organization.
Knowledge of how to identify, scope and manage work to execute advanced analytics and AI/GenAI opportunities to meet business needs with an emphasis to deliver value with speed.
Knowledge of process improvement and design methodologies.
Project management and stakeholder management experience and expertise to deliver scalable solutions in a fast-paced and challenging environment, including leading through influence across matrixed business and IT teams.
Strong executive presence and storytelling skills, with the ability to prepare and deliver clear, compelling presentations that communicate recommendations, findings, results, and status updates on advanced analytics and AI/GenAI initiatives — tailoring message and technical depth for audiences ranging from technical delivery teams to senior business and IT leadership.
An Agile mindset with ability to shift priorities to meet rapidly evolving business needs.
Bachelor's degree required, preferably in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, Statistics, Data Science, or a related field. MBA or advanced degree is a strong plus.
Deep understanding of sales, marketing, or broader commercial functions, with 3-5 years of experience leading teams in a consumer products organization preferred.
7+ years of experience partnering with cross-functional stakeholders to translate business needs into technical solutions and drive adoption.
Demonstrated career progression from a hands-on technical/data science practitioner into a strategic, business-facing leadership role — with the credibility to guide technical teams.
5+ years with a demonstrated track record of leading effective teams that deliver enterprise scale solutions with emerging technologies, advanced data and automation capabilities, or machine learning, AI, GenAI, LLMs, and agentic workflows that have strong adoption and proven business impact.
Experience with advanced analytics and/or digital transformation projects preferred.
Knowledge of various programming languages (R, Python, SQL) to develop and apply analytic solutions — sufficient to credibly review technical designs and evaluate trade-offs, even if not coding day-to-day
Experience implementing Agile development methodologies and principles.
Experience working with business stakeholders and senior leaders in advising on and delivering data analytics information and technology solutions to drive business value.
Experience and understanding of a variety of analytical processes, including but not limited to data governance, data integration, quality, and measurement.
Experience building a data and analytics organizational strategy and managing multifunctional teams of advanced data modelers, data architects, data scientists, etc.
Experience working with large data sets from multiple sources and implementing visualization capabilities leveraging mainstream commercial software platforms.
Experience exploring, implementing, and deploying advanced capabilities, including cognitive technology, ML/AI, automation, and digital user engagement techniques.
A proven track record of developing actionable and profitable strategies that also drive business growth.

Nice To Haves

MBA or advanced degree is a strong plus.
3-5 years of experience leading teams in a consumer products organization preferred.
Experience with advanced analytics and/or digital transformation projects preferred.

Responsibilities

Work closely with commercial business functions to assess needs and determine the most effective means of facilitating decision-making through accurate, relevant and timely insights.
Collaborate with cross-functional teams to identify and prioritize data science, AI, and GenAI projects that drive business value and align with Commercial strategic priorities.
Lead the development and implementation of advanced AI and GenAI solutions (e.g., agentic workflows, LLM-powered assistants, machine learning models) in partnership with IT and technical delivery partners, ensuring solutions are both technically sound and grounded in business value.
Serve as the primary liaison between Commercial business stakeholders and IT/technical implementation teams — framing ambiguous business problems into clear technical specifications and ensuring delivered solutions map back to measurable business outcomes.
Identify, evaluate, and champion emerging AI, GenAI, and automation capabilities, translating them into scalable innovation initiatives aligned with Nestlé's commercial priorities.
Drive the implementation, operationalization, and adoption of advanced analytics and AI/GenAI solutions within Commercial teams, recognizing that adoption — not just technical delivery — is the primary driver of ROI.
Collaborate with commercial leaders by providing technical expertise to guide the prioritization and feasibility of analytics and AI initiatives.
Represent Commercial team as part of Nestle’s cross functional Data Council to influence enterprise analytics strategic priorities and ensure alignment with other pillars in the organization (finance, supply chain, etc.).