Overview
Our International Beverages, Dublin-based, Innovation team focuses on the end-to-end innovation strategy & pipeline development for our key growth platforms. This role will lead the Innovation agenda for Hydration, the largest opportunity space in Int’l Beverages, to win with incremental consumers, in more occasions, by continuing to win within the “Performance Hydration” heartland of Gatorade, whilst also expanding beyond the Sports Drinks audience and occasions synonymous with the Gatorade TM, to offer a portfolio of solutions to meet wider Hydration needs within both “Revitalise” & “Tasty” Hydration. The Hydration Innovation lead will own the innovation strategy for Hydration as well as product and packaging format development for this area of the portfolio, to inform the short, medium and long term pipeline.
This candidate requires a high degree of thought leadership as they will be responsible for the development of scalable solutions across our Anchor Markets and beyond, which is a complex task given the wide market footprint and differing category & consumer landscapes & therefore requires engagement with multiple market stakeholders to ensure locally relevant solutions, leveraging existing global & local TM strengths, while also driving a cohesive global strategy.
We need a highly driven, collaborative, agile and consumer-centric leader to deliver winning innovation to market in record time, leveraging the new rapid cycle innovation approach, whilst building real understanding of what it takes to win with consumers in the complex Hydration category to establish a scale and successful portfolio across markets.
Responsibilities
* Fast paced Portfolio expansion: Support geographic expansion of proven Revitalise & Tasty Hydration portfolios, across Anchor Markets, with agility to meet IB expansion goals, codifying best practice launch approaches for L&S
* Strategy Development: Develop consumer demand- led Innovation Strategy for Performance, Revitalise & Tasty Hydration including Where to Play/How to Win strategies and portfolio/TM architecture
* Strategic Opportunity/Pipeline identification: Identify scale strategic and consumer demand-led innovation opportunities within the Hydration categories for Hz1-3 pipeline, that can unlock future growth by winning with incremental consumers and occasions- identifying lead product & packaging solutions; leveraging both lift and scale and create opportunities
* Develop and manage development of new propositions: from idea generation to commercialization
* Lead global testing of new product ideas; in close partnership with R&D, global & local Insights, brand and innovation teams, to identify lead ideas and opportunities for optimisation
* Build ‘Sell Story’ for innovation platforms outlining a clear consumer opportunity and business case to win hearts and minds behind key programs.
* Develop brand playbooks (Visuals, packaging design, creative concept etc) to drive consistent execution and best practice application across markets
* Monitor Consumer Trends & Competitive Activity, providing updates and identifying incremental opportunities or threats and implications for PEP with the Hydration category
* Lead & collaborate with wide Cross functional teams: to develop winning, scalable propositions and launch marketing strategies that ensure product success and scale, including team members from IB Commercialisation, Strategy, Brand Teams, Consumer Insights, Design, R&D, Finance etc, along with Anchor Markets and key external partners (Research, Creative Agencies etc)
* Stakeholder Engagement: engage senior stakeholders in Hydration agenda and key decisions as required, demonstrating clear and compelling communication skills, amongst marketing CMO & VPs in IB, CMOs of market BUs, R&D senior directors & VPs etc
Qualifications
* 10 years+ of brand building experience in consumer products, including experience leading innovation workstreams. Beverages experience preferred. Hydration experience helpful but not essential.
* Courageous leader and self-starter, who can lead from the front and drive action
* Credible influencer, who can inspire, engage and manage senior stakeholders
* Consumer centric, with a passion to really understand consumers needs
* Strong collaboration skills to launch new to the world innovation
* Tenacity to adapt to change and ability to work through adversity & ambiguity
* Understands the global marketplace with sensitivity and awareness of social and cultural differences
* Strategic mind with an ability to think broadly, refine questions and create clear and simple strategic recommendations
* Experience managing projects with cross-functional teams
* MBA preferred; BA required
* The person should be comfortable working across time zones and willing to travel internationally 20% of the time
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