Director, Innovation Insights

Job Description

The Director, Innovation Insights is responsible for driving all innovation‑focused consumer insights across our iconic brand portfolio. This role will set the consumer insights strategy for innovation, applying methodologies and frameworks to address complex business challenges and fuel the pipeline of breakthrough new products. The individual will collaborate closely with cross‑functional partners, including Innovation and Brand, to identify whitespace opportunities and unmet consumer needs.

We seek a strategic partner, thought leader, and innovation advocate who will inspire and provoke the organization to action through deep consumer understanding.

• Drive innovation insights to deliver actionable consumer insights that inspire and guide the development of new products and experiences.
• Proactively identify and frame key consumer questions and strategies to unlock innovation whitespace and discovery of unmet consumer needs.
• Oversee the development of learning plans and multi‑faceted research initiatives to support innovation and pipeline development, ensuring insights are actionable and grounded in robust methodologies.
• Champion a consumer‑first mindset, ensuring that innovation strategy and pipeline development are rooted in deep consumer understanding.
• Integrate various sources of insight (custom research, analytics, shopper, cultural, and trend data) to provide a holistic view and create “one version of the truth” for innovation decision‑making.
• Partner with Innovation and Brand teams to identify growth platforms and develop products that support brand strategy and long‑term profitable growth.
• Foster and participate in ideation/brainstorming sessions, and lead concept/proposition development, product and package testing, and optimization.
• Collaborate with cross‑functional partners to assess pre‑launch performance and provide actionable recommendations to the Innovation team.
• Communicate insights and strategic recommendations clearly and persuasively to executive leadership and cross‑functional teams.
• Stay ahead of emerging trends, cultural shifts, and new methodologies to ensure Constellation Brands remains a leader in consumer‑driven innovation.

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field (marketing, business, psychology, sociology).
• 12+ years of consumer insights experience, with significant expertise in innovation insights and pipeline development within the CPG industry.
• Demonstrated passion for understanding the consumer and their motivations, especially as they relate to new product development.
• Proven people leader with experience coaching, mentoring, and developing talent.
• Ability to influence and inspire across all levels of the organization.
• Excellent communication skills: articulate, strong public speaking and writing skills, highly collaborative.
• Demonstrated ability to translate insights into business strategies that drive growth and innovation.
• Strong organizational and project management skills; able to manage multiple priorities and deliver results.
• Experience working with syndicated databases (e.g., Nielsen, IRI) and custom research methodologies.
• Willingness to travel up to 20% as needed.

• MBA or advanced degree in a related field.
• Experience in beverage alcohol or closely related CPG categories.
• Experience designing and executing agile and innovative research and testing methodologies.

Chicago, Illinois

Full time

The salary range for this role is: $ – $. This is the lowest to highest salary we in good faith believe we would pay for this role at the time of this posting. Our compensation is based on cost of labor. For remote locations or positions open to multiple locations, the pay range may reflect several U.S. geographic markets, including the lowest geographic market minimum to the highest geographic market maximum.

We may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range, and the range may be modified in the future. An employee’s pay position within the salary range will be based on several factors including, but not limited to, the prevailing minimum wage for the location, relevant…