Manager, Brand & Portfolio Management, Innovation, Perfect

About the role

The Brand Manager, Innovation is responsible for the creation and delivery of a product innovation pipeline that supports the marketing strategy to increase household penetration and strengthen Perfect Snacks’ position as the leader of the fresh snacking movement. This role will identify opportunities through a deep consumer understanding and prioritize through commercial and brand strategy foundations.

Responsibilities

• Support the development of brand innovation strategy, in partnership with the Director, to develop a multi-year innovation pipeline that aligns with the brand growth strategy and is sufficient to deliver financial targets.
• Work with various agencies to develop consumer-centric innovation bundles.
• Translate unmet consumer needs into winning concepts using consumer research, syndicated data, and market trends to fuel the brand’s growth ambition and enhance brand equity.
• Concept validation and ongoing management of the brand 4:2:1 plans (i.e., pipelines).
• Delivery and execution of the multi-year innovation pipeline from concept to launch, collaborating closely with cross-functional teams to ensure flawless execution, including both new food projects and PPA.
• Provide marketing leadership through the innovation stage-gate process.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams (R&D, Consumer Insights, Sales, Operations, and others) through feasibility, commercialization, and launch of innovation.
• Partner with Sales to develop channel and customer-level understanding to inform packaging, pricing, and placement approach for innovation.
• Work closely with R&D to ensure product development briefs are clear and products exceed consumer expectations during internal and external prototyping and testing phases.
• Brief Creative teams/external agencies on all innovation-related design needs, using defined RAPID roles to manage processes and garner appropriate feedback/approvals.
• Work with Sales, Consumer Insights, and Finance to develop new item forecasts and projections that align with financial hurdles and mitigate waste potential.
• Collaborate with Sales to maximize opportunities and create internal and external sell-in stories for innovation, articulating strategic business rationale, consumer problems to be solved, and rationale for successful innovation.
• Post-launch tracking and integration of learnings into pipeline innovation development.
• Support innovation team with data hygiene, budget management, and other needs.
• Adapt to shifting organizational priorities by taking ownership of new duties and maintaining a roll-up-your-sleeves mindset.

Requirements

• 6-8 years of experience in CPG marketing for food manufacturing.
• Experience and passion for the Natural Products industry is preferred.
• Bachelor of Science/Arts degree.
• Understanding of Nielsen Data, both POS and Panel.
• Excellent strategic, analytical, and decision-making skills.
• Knowledge and experience of managing a P&L.
• Passion for consumer insights and innovation curiosity.
• Performance mindset; bias for setting and measuring KPIs on an ongoing basis.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills; able to foster open communication and engage/influence others, including cross-functionals and function leadership.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills (including strong presentation skills), analytical ability, independent decision-making, and business vision.
• Knowledge and understanding of the Stage-Gate process for innovation initiative management.
• Strong project management skills and the ability to prioritize and multi-task against several complex projects simultaneously.
• Ability to be entrepreneurial and methodical.
• Results-oriented, with high expectations of self and team.
• Collaborative mindset with strength in effectively receiving and communicating feedback.
• Passion for the health and wellness lifestyle space.

Pay

The base salary range for this position is $97,300 to $133,815; the exact salary depends on several factors such as experience, skills, education, and location. In addition to base salary, this position is eligible for participation in a highly competitive bonus program with the possibility for overachievement based on performance and company results.

Benefits

• Health insurance, wellness, and family support programs.
• Life and disability insurance.
• Retirement savings plans.
• Paid leave programs.
• Education-related programs.
• Paid holidays and vacation time.

Some of these benefits have eligibility requirements. Many of these benefits are subsidized or fully paid for by the company.