Sr Manager, Innovation & Strategy

Foods you love. Brands you trust. And a career that empowers you to grow.
At Nestlé USA, we’re all working towards the same goal – to delight and deliver for our consumers. With a rich portfolio of beloved brands, including DiGiorno, Toll House, and Coffee mate, in 97% of U.S. households, we have a unique opportunity – and responsibility – to be there for every moment in our consumers’ lives.

Joining Nestlé means becoming part of an inclusive workplace that inspires innovation, encourages strategic thinking and creativity, and celebrates your achievements. No matter where you work within the organization, you are empowered to challenge the status quo, embrace risk-taking, and pioneer new ideas. Our supportive and collaborative environment encourages bold ambitions and continuous learning so that everyone can grow and thrive.
This position is not eligible for Visa Sponsorship.

This role is a commercial innovation strategy and capability leadership position responsible for translating Nestlé USA innovation priorities into practical, division-level action. The Senior Manager partners across brands, categories, Commercial Development, Sales, Finance, Consumer Insights & Foresight, Digital, R&D, TAG (Technical Application Group), and external partners to build innovation strategy, stronger rolling pipelines, embed Innovation the Nestlé Way, improve portfolio governance and performance visibility, and accelerate scalable, consumer-led innovation.

The role combines strategic thought leadership with hands‑on execution, helping teams move from ambition to prioritized opportunities, robust concepts, and disciplined commercialization.

• Partner with division and Product Experience (PX) teams to translate Business Strategy and Brand priorities into long-term innovation strategy with actionable, rolling three-year pipeline plans.
• Lead innovation-needs and opportunity assessments, including Brand Building the Nestle Way alignment, to identify gaps, clarify choices, and strengthen future growth platforms.
• Integrate Consumer Insights & Foresight perspectives into strategy, opportunity framing, concept development, and pipeline decisions.

• Lead the practical adoption of Innovation the Nestlé Way, including the FEI process, frameworks, best practices, and connections to commercialization and stage gate governance.
• Diagnose capability and process needs across divisions and develop customized coaching, workshops, playbooks, and toolkits based on business priorities.
• Coach brand and cross-functional teams through opportunity framing, prioritization, concept development, experimentation, and decision‑making.
• Partner with Learning & Development and Marketing Transformation teams to embed innovation capability into sustainable ways of working.

• Support monthly Nestlé USA innovation scorecard routines, consolidating inputs and surfacing trends, risks, recommended actions, and implications for performance, incrementality, and pipeline strength.
• Enable efficient leadership innovation reviews through clear templates, decision‑oriented insights, and follow‑through on actions and commitments.
• Champion stage gate data quality and reporting routines in partnership with TAG and cross‑functional owners, escalating gaps and driving action plans.
• Strengthen portfolio discipline through clear prioritization, lifecycle performance tracking, and transparent governance routines.

• Partner with R&D and TAG as technical enablers, connecting commercial opportunity with product experience…