Associate Manager, Business Unit (Condiments)

About the role

Own the strategy and financial performance of a ~$100M sauces business. Drive innovation across some of North America's largest retailers. Lead cross-functional teams to bring new products from concept through commercialization. Build skills that prepare you for future Business/General Manager or Brand Manager leadership roles through broad exposure to strategy, commercialization, finance, innovation, operations, and customer engagement.

Responsibilities

• Develops annual and long-range business plans that deliver profitable growth, market share gains, and innovation objectives.
• Owes the Sauces category P&L in partnership with Finance.
• Understands the drivers influencing the P&L to meet and exceed financial plans.
• Develops and executes objectives to achieve the strategic business plan.
• Identifies any gaps to plan and recommends corrective actions.
• Leads and motivates cross-functional teams to accomplish new product plans, renovation projects, and simplification efforts that support the business.
• Applies knowledge of product and competitive strengths and weaknesses, developing defensive strategies as needed.
• Collaborates with Supply Chain and Demand Planning to develop demand forecasts that optimize customer service, inventory, and profitability.
• Provides ongoing reporting and analysis of Sauces category dynamics, including sales, velocity, distribution, pricing, and promotional performance.
• Leverages syndicated data (Circana/Nielsen), Technomic, Mintel, AI-enabled analytics tools, and market research to identify emerging trends and provide selling stories for key initiatives.
• Understands and monitors competitive landscape, including new item launches and performance.
• Serves as the daily primary contact for business guidance, decisions, communication and management for the Sauces category, acting with a sense of urgency to provide direction.
• Creates category and product presentations, leveraging category and consumer insights.
• Presents category insights, innovation strategies, and new product recommendations to retail and foodservice customers.
• As part of the Stage Gate process, provides guidance on manufacturing feasibility and financial viability.
• Conducts “size of prize” analysis and cannibalization modeling.
• Pairs with the Commercialization Manager to lead cross-functional execution of product launches from concept approval through first shipment and post-launch performance evaluation.
• Collaborates with Innovation and R&D to develop and execute a three-year innovation pipeline.
• Optimizes the product portfolio to maximize growth, profitability, and manufacturing efficiency.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business, or related degree required; MBA preferred.
• Minimum of 2 years of progressive experience required, serving as the business owner of products and having responsibility for:
  • Building short-term and long-term business plans.
  • Owning the P&L by understanding business levers to influence financial outcomes.
  • Analyzing and reporting of data to understand trends and business opportunities.
  • Identifying competitive strengths and weaknesses to define growth opportunities.
  • Product development and launches from concept through commercialization.
  • Consumer research and POS data (IRI and/or Nielsen preferred).
  • Food CPG experience preferred.
• Strong financial acumen with understanding of P&L drivers and pricing.
• Demonstrated success in leading cross functional teams and collaborating with others.
• Self-starter with the ability to work independently.
• Demonstrated curiosity, learning agility, and bias for action.
• Exceptional analytical capabilities.
• Strategic thinker with growth mindset.
• Thrives in an entrepreneurial, fast-paced work environment with a high level of ambiguity and change.
• Ability to prioritize work and effectively manage multiple priorities with a sense of urgency.
• Excellent presentation and storytelling skills with the ability to translate complex data into compelling business recommendations.

Benefits

• Medical
• Dental
• Vision
• 401(k) with match
• STD/LTD/AD&D/Life
• HSA
• FSA
• EAP
• Hospital indemnity
• Accident Insurance
• Identity and Fraud Protection Plan
• Legal
• Critical Illness

Pay

$73k - $109k annually with additional bonus potential

Schedule

Hybrid office schedule; T-W-TH in office

Location

IL Oak Brook