Associate Marketing Manager, Innovation

About the role

The Associate Manager, Innovation is responsible for executing the innovation agenda across Hershey Canada’s brand portfolio. This role is central to identifying and unlocking growth opportunities through consumer-centric innovation, from insight to commercialization. The ideal candidate brings a blend of creative thinking, business acumen, and project leadership to build a robust innovation pipeline that delivers both short-term wins and long-term brand equity.

This individual will lead key innovation projects leveraging deep consumer insights, market trends, and competitive intelligence to shape breakthrough ideas and new product concepts. They will guide cross-functional teams through the innovation process—from ideation and business case development to launch planning and post-launch tracking—ensuring alignment with strategic priorities and operational feasibility.

Responsibilities

• Keen understanding of consumer behavior, trends and the competitive landscape and translation to actions
• Strong cross-functional collaborator
• Lead key research (concepts, CLT)
• Lead projects through the Gate process
• Governance process owner

Qualifications

• Knowledge, Skills & Abilities
• Solid foundational marketing training in top tier CPG (Innovation experience not required but preferred)
• Proficient with Nielsen, Project Management Software & PowerBI
• Ability to think creatively to develop breakthrough ideas, approaches and strategies
• Dynamic, high energy, curious and resilient individual
• Results and solutions oriented with strong analytical ability
• Demonstrated ability to interact with cross functional departments, including Sales, Category Development, Finance, Operations, Research and Development, and Consumer Insights and Research

• Experience and Education
• B. Comm. with Marketing major preferred
• 2-3 years or more in consumer-packaged goods - brand marketing a necessity
• Experience with innovation and marketing essentials (brand reviews, brand plans, Integrated Marketing Communications process, formula/packaging development)
• Experience with ground up innovation (insight to idea to commercialization to in-market) preferred, not required

Benefits and Perks of Working at Hershey Canada

• Exposure to some of the finest chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery products
• Health and Wellness Reimbursement program as well as other great employee benefits
• Corporate social responsibility programs - because we should leave the world a little better than we found it
• Fantastic reward and recognition programs
• Flexible Work Environment