Manager, Innovation

Overview:

Innovation Manager

30 Eglinton ave. West

3 days on site, hybrid

Permanent, full-time

The Innovation Manager will have a unique and exciting opportunity to be at the forefront of the leading new product innovation process for Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP) business in Canada. Reporting to the Insights and Innovation Director, this role will support the creation of a robust, long-term innovation pipeline for all new product categories, new platforms and brand extension lines. This role will drive the innovation agenda for the Cold Portfolio to help KDP Canada business achieve its growth objectives. Cold portfolio includes Dr Pepper, Crush, Schweppes, Clamato, Ready to Drink alcohol, Hydration brands at home and away from home channels.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Monitor trends, new products, competitor, and category innovation activity to inform 3 Year Innovation Strategy and ideation.
• Lead the development and alignment of the 3 year strategic plan for the cold innovation portfolio and secure alignment with cross-functional teams.
• Lead ideation and creation workshops that collide bold, lateral thinking with consumer insight, category data, trends and internal KDP experts, R&D engineers and food scientists.
• Identify consumer-centric growth opportunities for KDP brands and category whitespaces.
• Collaborate deeply with KDP strategy, brand marketing, RGM and commercial teams to scope and create business case for innovation investments and execute the innovation pipeline.
• Optimize Innovation for Commercial P&L impact without compromising on the vision for the consumer proposition.
• Provide guidance to cross-functional teams in the NPI process and assign resources to teams.
• Maintain cadence for Innovation operational meetings and adherence to project milestones. Lead and own the NPI process and deliverables to ensure timely execution of innovation.
• Work closely with Supply Chain, Production, Demand Planning, Finance to ensure NPI milestones.
• Work closely with US IMO project teams, inform project timelines where necessary.
• Continuously improve and adapt the NPI process to meet business' needs and goals.
• Support commercial strategy, RGM, shopper marketing teams with innovation pitches and listing confirmation product presentations and innovation toolkit.
• Track innovation performance, conduct postmortem analysis and lead cross-functional teams to present learnings to leadership.
• Track the budget monthly and quarterly and ensure adequate funding for all critical innovations.
• Manage and coach a team of 1 innovation specialist to build innovation capability and foundation.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor's degree in marketing with 8+ years experience in product innovation, preferably in the food, beverage or consumer packaged goods industries.
• Seasoned innovation marketer with experience at a large CPG company, passionate and comfortable operating in an entrepreneurial environment.
• Knowledge and relevant experience in the areas of creativity and lateral thinking, and design-thinking or emergent strategy principles and ways of working.
• Ability to lead and develop a team of innovation specialists across multiple priorities.
• Strong knowledge of product development life cycle, working closely with R&D, Regulatory & Legal, Supply Chain and Engineering, Finance, Sales, and Brand Marketing.
• Strong project management skills.
• Self-motivated, results oriented with the ability to lead new projects in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong strategic, analytical skills and ability to drive actionable results using data and insights.
• Strong collaborative skills to build stakeholder trust across multiple levels teams.
• Tolerance for ambiguity and an ability to resolve complex issues with clear ideas and solutions.

COMPETENCIES

• Knowledge of Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.)
• Proficiency in Nielsen (Consumption, Panel, BASES)
• Proficiency in MS Project; Project management certification is an asset.