Senior Manager, Innovation

Tyson Foods • Springdale, AR

283d

About The Position

The Senior Manager, Innovation is responsible for concept to commercialization by triangulating consumer trends and insights with strategic business goals. Including everything from brand strategy to product development, packaging initiatives, white spaces, and everything in between. This includes management of business activities related to innovation for their assigned brands and has total responsibility to deliver an innovation pipeline. This role develops long and short-term strategies, new product and packaging ideas, and go-to-market approaches that will achieve corporate growth while delivering on profit volume and share objectives. The role also directs the activities of innovation and consulting agencies as appropriate. This position will lead and train direct reports, with various levels of experience, and must also influence senior leaders from a variety of teams including BU Channel Marketing, R D & Culinary, Consumer Insights, Supply Chain, Operations, Finance, and Strategy. The Senior Manager, Innovation must have a deep understanding of innovation success factors and be a forward-thinking problem solver and proven collaborator challenging the status quo to support strategic decisions. They must have a strong knowledge base of innovation marketing, consumer insights, business, brand strategy, and P&L management.

Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree required; MBA or BBA preferred, but not required.
• At least 5-7 years of direct product innovation, CPG, or brand marketing experience.
• Strong communication and presentation skills are required.
• A highly motivated leader with the ability to devise an excellent solution in unstructured situations.
• Proven ability to effectively manage multiple projects in a dynamic environment is required.
• Strong collaborator with demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional teams and direct reports.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement the innovation pipeline and innovation strategies feeding the long-range and annual plans for assigned categories reflecting overall corporate and business unit goals.
• Lead development and execution of product and packaging innovation projects including: concept development, feasibility, validation, product and packaging, R D, business proposal and approval, project execution, customer sell-in, and tracking of in-market performance.
• Work in our innovation project management packaging and specification systems to advance projects with the cross-functional team.
• Act as liaison with all other corporate functions to ensure business initiatives receive necessary focus.
• Creatively identify opportunity areas for growth by effectively using syndicated research and trend data, primary market research, and competitive intelligence.
• Develop meaningful consumer positioning for all innovation product lines that creates added value versus competitive and effectively communicate product advantages to consumers.
• Work collaboratively with insights, R D, Channel Marketing, and the BU to identify new ideas, build research and development plans, screen ideas and food, and optimize our innovation offerings to meet consumer operator needs and have a clear POD vs. our competitors.
• Work together with the sales and channel marketing organization to understand and integrate operator and/or distributor strategies into the innovation pipeline.
• Proactively work with these partners on innovation forecast accuracy, maximization of opportunities, and development of plans to deliver against JBP objectives.
• Build relationships with external innovation agencies and other suppliers in the development and implementation of marketing strategies and programs.
• Manage direct reports, training on the innovation process and overseeing projects they own to ensure they stay on time and on track and any issues that arise are resolved successfully.
• Leverage synergies across retail and foodservice channels to maximize idea scale.
• Act as an expert and advisor to other Tyson Innovators.
• Partner with PMO organization to ensure compliance with Stage gate process design and supporting systems.

Benefits

• Paid time off
• 401(k) plans
• Affordable health, life, dental, vision and prescription drug benefits
• Relocation assistance for those that qualify under Tyson Foods relocation policies

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager
• Industry: Food Manufacturing
• Education Level: Bachelor's degree