Senior Manager - Innovation - FMCG

Position Name: Sr. Manager Innovation

Reports to: Innovation Lead

Location : Bangalore

Skills (Must have): Project Leadership, Shoppers Insights, Agency management

Experience:

- Minimum of 4-8 years experience in Sales & Marketing

- 3+ years experience in Marketing & innovation/new product development

Knowledge & skills:

- Strong Functional Experience, strategic orientation and consumer acumen

- Proven ability in Leveraging consumer insights

- Understanding & developing financials - Developing consumer driven strategy

- Developing & managing all elements of the marketing mix

- Innovation delivery

- Ground Breaking Concept Design (A and not E)

- Taking P&L Ownership

- Delivering successful projects by leading a cross-functional team

- Influencing peers and executive level in both a local & global context

Best suited for someone who:

- Has a strong commercial focus

- Able to influence people in large numbers on an agenda

- Can thrive on ambiguity

- Has a strong flair for ideation

- Likes to manage projects

- Has well-rounded perspective and maturity

- Leadership and mental agility.

AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY :

1. Innovation Agenda

- Responsible for developing the overall strategy, business model, financial model and trademark strategy for participation across various geographies & categories within India with respect to innovation pipeline planning 

- Responsible for identification and delivery of incremental and scalable ideas to drive future growth

- Manage the innovation P&L (revenues and profit for all launches up to a period of 5 yrs)

- Lead and influence a cross functional team of key stakeholders (including local and global executive members)

- Lead the concept development process and commercialization of new global rollout projects for assigned work stream 

- Lead the overall mix development (That includes concept, liquid, pack, design, brand proposition etc.)

- Responsible for renovation (G1-PoC, post G3) including concept, brand positioning for the core brand, pack, design, liquid, P&L etc.

- Work towards driving innovation on growth drivers for - trials-, - awareness-, - re-recruitment- etc.

2. Project Leadership

- Responsible for improving & maximizing project profitability & minimizing innovation development costs (design, research, liquid, visual iconography, perfect serve development, 360 degree Launch Campaign Idea)

- Work closely with the brand building, customer marketing & finance team to develop the Pricing, COGS, Gross Margin Scope & Targets to develop new concepts, packaging and liquids

- Work closely with research agencies to ensure smooth planning and execution, so that all concept, package, liquid, pricing decisions on innovation projects are taken appropriately

- Manage all innovation development project timelines from Gate 0 till Gate 3. This involves managing a cross functional team of research, design, liquid development, package development, manufacturing, procurement, customer marketing & finance specialists

- Responsible for managing the governance of each project and drive timely decision making to ensure adherence to project objectives

3. Commercialization Role

- Responsible for executing great product, packaging and marketing communication plans from Gate 3 onwards till Launch on Shelf by collaborating with internal and external partners

- Responsible for setting out clear launch marketing objectives in line with the growth model that will enable delivery on the project objective

- Drive scientific decision making on type of scale of marketing activity that help deliver on launch marketing objectives thereby helping optimize launch marketing budgets

- Partner the development of world class launch marketing big idea & 360 degree big idea execution that further helps optimize launch marketing budgets and improve marketing ROI

- Work closely with the legal & regulatory teams to ensure all product & marketing claims are compliant & factual;

- Recruit/ disrupt projects: Lead launching the bundle across key markets till 3 months post launch and for projects with no test market, lead the launching of the bundle across markets till 6 months post launch

- Work with a continuous Improvement mind-set for developing processes, fixing gaps, finding the right partners etc.

4. Navigate Championship

- Champion the Company's Stage Gate process - NaviGate- to plan & manage innovation projects & project teams till product, package, visual iconography, rituals and business case sign offs at NaviGate

- Stay in tune with cutting edge futuristic developments in the world of packaging design, advertising and technology to imbibe learning's into innovation projects

- Work closely with external research, design & innovation agencies and internal liquid technical teams to manage productivity within the approved budgets within each stage of the NaviGate process

- Drive influence with key senior stakeholders in ILT, MLT, EXCOM, COOs, GBT, Global Innovation communities etc