Associate Manager, Innovation

Associate Brand Manager, Innovation

The Associate Brand Manager, Innovation is responsible for creating and delivering a product innovation pipeline that supports the marketing strategy to increase household penetration and help Tate’s achieve its ambition to lead premium snacking in baked goods. The role identifies opportunities through deep consumer understanding and prioritizes them through commercial and brand strategy foundations.

• Support the development of brand innovation strategy, in partnership with the Director, to develop a multi‑year innovation pipeline that aligns with the brand growth strategy and is sufficient to deliver financial targets.
• Translate unmet consumer needs into winning concepts using consumer research, syndicated data, and market trends.
• Work with agencies to develop consumer‑centric innovation bundles.
• Validate concepts.
• Manage the brand 4:2:1 plans (e.g., pipelines).
• Collaborate with business partners to propose and drive consensus on opportunity size, resources, complexity, and timeline.
• Deliver and execute the multi‑year innovation pipeline from concept to launch, collaborating closely with cross‑functional teams for flawless execution, including new projects and PPA/customer specific initiatives.
• Lead commercialization projects that drive growth, unlock new business, and support Tate’s long‑term strategy.
• Provide marketing leadership through the innovation stage‑gate process.
• Collaborate with R&D, Consumer Insights, Sales, Operations, and others through feasibility, commercialization, and launch.
• Partner with Sales to develop channel and customer insights that inform packaging, pricing, and placement.
• Work in close partnership with R&D to ensure clear product development briefs and product excellence during internal and external prototyping and testing phases.
• Brief creative teams/external agencies on all innovation‑related needs and manage feedback/approvals efficiently.
• Work closely with Sales, Consumer Insights, Demand Planning, and Finance to develop new item forecasts and projections aligned with financial targets and waste mitigation.
• Partner with Sales to create internal and external sell‑in stories for innovation, articulating strategic business rationale and consumer problem solving.
• Track post‑launch performance and integrate learnings into the pipeline.
• Support the innovation team with data hygiene, budget management, and other needs.
• Adapt to shifting priorities by taking ownership of new duties and maintaining a roll‑up‑your‑sleeves mindset.
• Analyze and leverage syndicated data (Nielsen or equivalent), customer POS data, SPARK shipment history, and shopper data (including panels) to uncover business opportunities.
• Use MS Office (Outlook, PowerPoint, Excel, Word) proficiently.

• 6‑8 years of experience in CPG marketing for food manufacturing.
• Excellent strategic, analytical, and decision‑making skills with a solid understanding of Nielsen data (or comparable).
• Knowledge and experience managing a P&L.
• Passion for consumer insights and innovation curiosity.
• Performance mindset; bias for setting and measuring KPIs.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills; able to foster open communication and influence others.
• Excellent written and oral communication, presentation skills, analytical ability, independent decision making, and business vision.
• Knowledge and understanding of the Stage‑Gate process for innovation management.
• Strong project management skills and ability to prioritize and multi‑task across complex projects.
• Entrepreneurial and methodical approach.
• Results‑oriented with high expectations of self and team.
• Collaborative mindset with strength in receiving and communicating feedback.

• Bachelor of Science/Arts degree

The base salary range for this position is $97,300 to $133,815; the exact salary depends on several factors such as experience, skills, education, and location. In addition to base salary, this position is eligible for a competitive bonus program with potential over‑achievement based on performance and company results. Mondelez International offers health insurance, wellness and family…