Conagra Brands has the most energized, highest-impact culture in food. Our people persistently challenge and disrupt marketplace/business conventions and we are respected for our great brands, great food, great margins and consistent results. Conagra Brands, be part of building something BIG.
Position summary:
The Brand Manager , Brand Development /Innovation will d evelop and manage the long- term innovati on pipeline to align with Brand, Channel and Business strategies; prepare business plans to secure approval from key stakeholders and establish launch strategies that deliver volume and margin goals. This requires translating strategic consumer and category insights into a meaningful innovation framework , that drive s growth on leading brands in the Canadian Market .
Key characteristics: Leadership, influencing , comfortable with ambiguity, flexibility cr eativity, project management, pro-activity, bias for action, great interpersonal and communication skills.
Responsibilities :
75 % - Strategic Planning/Pipeline Development:
Lead innovation projects with cross functional team and build solid project rationale rooted in consumer insights and category dynamics.
Develop and execute strategic innovation plans, both short and long term , to support sales and reve nue objectives of organization.
Drive innovation planning via c onsumer insight/segme ntation, brand equity understanding , category/brand/geographic knowledge , and competitive analysis
Leverage U.S. led innovation for Canadian brand expansion & development
Direct and manage innovation projects leveraging Canadian manufacturing facilities
Identify, evaluate & validate Canadian white space opportunities driven by insight and dev elop/prioritize strategi c opportunities for innovation , clearly and concisely
Analyze market data to help size opportunity with specific capability working with Nielsen consumption data
Partner with Consumer Insights team to find and leverage meaningful insights that support innovation recommendations
Identify, evaluate & validate Canadian opportunities for line extensions and renovations on branded portfolios that are driven by insights and drive incremental long term growth to the business.
Lead concept development & te sting for innovation initiatives
L ead innovation projects through gate process from definition of scope, competition, pricing, volume opportunity to final research validation and final recommendation
Work closely with Brand Management team on understanding brand target & positioning
Lead the packaging design finalization of innovation launches and work closely with Brand team to ensure they are aligned with packaging graphics direction. Then smoothly co-ordinate project hand-off to brand team for commercialization.
Create and communicate clear timelines to cross-functional team for each innovation initiative
Build initial volume and category growth assumptions as input to develop business case , but then as project goes through gate process, work closely with MS&P Team for POV on volumes, launch timing and slotting requirements.
Support Director of Brand Development to develop and drive strategic roadmap for future innovation growth across all Conagra’s brands
20 % - Strengthen & Build Innovation Process
Build strong working relationships with US and International brand and innovation teams
Lead monthly meetings with US and International innovation teams members to share learnings and identify potential synergies. Work with the Director of Business Operations to i nfluence and gather US support for Canad ian projects
Conduct market visits to stay current with competitive new entries
Strengthen and continually build strong innovation credibility/profile within the organization
Attend innovation conferences; leverage U.S. CAG expertise
Share relevant learnings with Canadian, Global Markets and US teams
5%- Admin Support
Ensure all projects are gated within Conagra’s innovation system
Monitor innovation budget and track associated expenses in Allocadia (P&D) ; reconciling invoices against approved projects
Assist Director of Brand Development with process e nhancement projects, as required
Qualifications , Education & Experience :
5-7 + years of marketing experience, preferably in consumer packaged goods industry
Strong leadership and organizational alignment skills to develop and deliver against key strategies and plans
Strong strategic and analytical skills including the ability to analyze market data and drive actionable business implications
Excellent leadership, organization and planning skills
Ability to work with multi-stakeholders
Strong interpersonal and communication skills (both written and verbal) and project management skills
Team player that thrives in both group and individual projects
University business degree and relevant work experience
SF:LI