Manager, Innovation EMI - AFH

Job Description

The Procurement Manager for Innovation connects Kraft Heinz business strategy, brand ambition, and supplier capability to bring new products to life. This role leads project-level procurement support for the innovation portfolio within a business unit. This innovation procurement role is designed to embed procurement early in the innovation process, anticipate future supplier capabilities, and translate business and brand strategy into scalable supplier solutions.

This role partners across brands, R&D, operations, finance, quality, legal, and suppliers to translate innovation strategy into procurement execution, supplier readiness, and launch delivery. Reporting to the Group Lead, Innovation Procurement, this role operates in two distinct ways depending on the commercialization model. For innovations commercialized through an external manufacturer, the Innovation Manager owns the end-to-end sourcing and commercialization process through launch and steady-state stabilization.

For innovations commercialized in Kraft Heinz plants, the Innovation Manager serves as the procurement integration lead for the business unit, ensuring the right procurement teams are engaged, aligned, and moving at the right pace to support execution. The ideal candidate is strategic, collaborative, digitally savvy, and energized by the opportunity to shape what’s next. They are curious by nature, strong in influence and storytelling, comfortable navigating ambiguity, and passionate about building supplier partnerships that accelerate innovation and drive growth.

• Lead project-level procurement support for assigned innovation initiatives across the business unit portfolio
• Partner with brand and cross-functional teams to understand pipeline priorities, product requirements, timing, and supplier capability needs
• Serve as the primary procurement point of contact for assigned innovation initiatives, ensuring strong coordination across stakeholders and timely execution of procurement deliverables

• Lead the end-to-end sourcing process for innovation projects that will be commercialized through an external manufacturer
• Identify and assess external manufacturing partners with the capabilities required to enable innovation strategy, commercialization goals, and long-term growth opportunities
• Manage sourcing execution for externally manufactured innovation, including supplier identification, RFP development and execution, supplier evaluation, CAPEX and IP considerations, commercial negotiations, contracting coordination, onboarding, launch preparation and early innovation lifecycle support
• Act as the key procurement interface between the business unit, cross-functional team, and external manufacturing partner through development, commercialization, launch, and early lifecycle support
• Conduct supplier and market landscape analysis to identify new partners, innovation opportunities, and competitive advantages
• Bring forward innovation concepts, supplier capabilities, and emerging technologies by building strong external partnerships and staying connected to market developments
• Support innovation supplier sourcing strategy with the base business procurement lead to enable pipeline and enable broader category strategy
• Establish effective supplier ways of working, governance routines, and readiness plans to support successful commercialization and launch execution
• Drive commercialization excellence for externally manufactured innovation by managing supplier readiness, risk mitigation, issue resolution, escalation, launch support, and steady-state stabilization
• Transition supplier relationship ownership, portfolio management, and ongoing supplier lifecycle management to…