Salm Partners, now part of Johnsonville, is looking for an Innovation Manager to play a critical role in developing and executing the company's new product pipeline to achieve future growth targets. This position blends consumer-driven insights, strategic commercial thinking, creativity, and process leadership to elevate our innovation portfolio.
What You'll Do
- Elevate the innovation pipeline by combining consumer insights, strategic commercial thinking, creativity, and project leadership.
- Work with Insights, Sensory, R&D, Operations, and Finance to ensure projects are consumer-desired, financially viable, and technically feasible.
- Build compelling business cases demonstrating a deep understanding of consumer insights, marketplace trends, competition, and customer interest.
- Think both tactically and strategically, identifying opportunities that fit short and long-term organizational goals.
- Help commercial teams expand into new territories with new products: new users, new jobs, and new retail pathways.
- Be a key leader in and role model of the enterprise innovation process, continually seeking to learn and grow to elevate portfolio impact.
- Understand commercial team needs and translate them via consumer insights into new projects and products to deliver on objectives.
- Lead executional excellence commercializing new products: on strategy, on time and on budget.
What We're Looking For
- Bachelor's degree in a related field.
- Minimum of 3 years of experience in brand marketing and/or innovation.
- Proven experience launching new products.
- Demonstrated ability to partner effectively with cross-functional teams, including R&D, consumer insights, and sales strategy.
- Curious, creative, tenacious and hypothesis-driven innovator.
- Ability to see the big picture, taking data points from multiple sources and threading them together to identify opportunities.
- Willingness to go against the flow when necessary, and tenaciously build the data and story to convince others.
- Ability to champion projects end-to-end and be accountable for impact and results.
- Strong analytical skills, comfort with triangulating and interpreting data, and the ability to make clear, actionable recommendations.
- Experience driving towards objective KPIs, including financial results.
- A persistent and positive attitude with a team-oriented approach.
- Comfortable balancing strategic rigor with a willingness to roll up sleeves to make it happen.
- Ability and willingness to travel approximately 10-20% of the time.
- Eligibility to work in the country where this job is located, without requiring sponsorship now or in the future.
Nice to Have
- MBA preferred.
- Background in consumer packaged goods (CPG) is strongly preferred.
- Experience within the frozen food or snacking categories is a plus.
Team & Environment
You will work with cross-functional teams including Insights, Sensory, R&D, Operations, Finance, and commercial teams. Our culture is built on the idea that if we make developing your talents our top priority, great business results will follow (The Johnsonville Way). We are an entrepreneurial, privately-held company and innovation team committed to winning in the marketplace and investing in the growth and careers of team members.
Benefits & Compensation
- Potential for a monthly bonus.
- 401k with a company match.
- Access to affordable medical, dental and vision coverage.
- Flexible spending accounts.
- Disability and life insurance.
- Fertility and adoption assistance.
- Competitive paid time off, including paid parental time off.
- Access to the 24/7 onsite fitness center and onsite medical clinic.
Work Mode
This role is onsite at our Global Headquarters location.
Johnsonville is an equal opportunity employer, including Vet/Disability. We embrace the principles of Equal Opportunity Employment and do not discriminate on the basis of any protected characteristic, including protected veteran and disability status.
