Sr. Director Innovation-Wells, Ferrero, Ferrara Ice Cream Brands

Wells Enterprises • Chicago, IL

160d • $180,731 - $296,399

About The Position

The Senior Director, Innovation, will lead the development and execution of the company's innovation strategy, focusing on identifying, incubating, and scaling new growth platforms and breakthrough products. This role partners cross-functionally with marketing, R&D, supply chain, insights, and commercial teams to drive a pipeline of consumer-centric innovation across domestic and international markets. The position aims to create long-term value, increase brand relevance, and accelerate top-line growth through transformational thinking and disciplined execution.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Engineering, or related field; MBA or advanced degree preferred.
• Proven track record of leading successful innovation initiatives from concept to commercialization.
• 15+ years of experience in innovation, strategy, or product development within a CPG environment.
• Deep understanding of the end-to-end innovation lifecycle, from trend spotting and ideation to commercialization and scale-up.
• Expertise in Stage-Gate.
• Solid knowledge of consumer insights, behavioral research, and market intelligence tools.
• Familiarity with emerging technologies, sustainability trends, and digital transformation within the CPG space.
• Understanding of financial modeling and business case development to evaluate innovation ROI.

Nice To Haves

• Exceptional strategic thinking and business planning skills.
• Strong project and program management capabilities.
• Highly effective communication and storytelling skills.
• Advanced stakeholder management and coalition-building skills.
• Skilled in leading and developing high-performing, diverse teams.
• Adept at change leadership and driving organizational adoption of new ideas.

Responsibilities

• Develop the North America Ice Cream innovation strategy roadmap based on the Wells and North American Ferrero and Ferrara Brand and Ferrero Global Brands strategies.
• Proactively identify emerging consumer trends, category trends, regulatory shifts, and white space opportunities that drive incremental growth.
• Ideate, prioritize, develop, and manage a robust innovation pipeline, ensuring balance between near-term commercial wins and long-term transformative initiatives.
• Partner with Innovation Engine to test, iterate, and validate new concepts using agile and design thinking methodologies.
• Manage and foster a strong stage-gate innovation process to accelerate time-to-market while managing risk.
• Develop and be accountable to KPIs for Innovation Pipeline health and success.
• Lead cross-functional Innovation Engine team to conceptualize and develop new platforms and products.
• Manage desirability, viability, feasibility process and identify CapEx needed.
• Collaborate with Global Team to ensure global concepts fit local market needs.
• Partner with Insights, Consumer Research, and Analytics to ensure innovation is grounded in data and consumer behavior.
• Align with Operations and Supply Chain to ensure scalability and manufacturability of innovations across markets.
• Collaborate with key stakeholders to drive alignment and transparency of innovation initiatives.
• Navigate complex organizational dynamics to gain internal alignment and cross-functional support for innovation priorities.
• Lead and foster a strong culture of innovation with the Innovation Engine.
• Develop a team of Innovation Managers, fostering a culture of creativity, accountability, and high performance.
• Drive internal capability building in consumer foresight application, innovation thinking, tools, and agile methodologies.

Benefits

• Base pay range of $180,731 to $296,399 annually, determined based on experience and qualifications.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Industry: Textile Product Mills
• Education Level: Bachelor's degree