New Product Innovation Manager

Job Summary

Plays a vital role in guiding the development and execution of new product solutions that impact strategic growth for the organization. Utilizes creativity and strategic thinking to guide cross-functional collaboration that brings new ideas to market efficiently. Collaborates to leverage consumer insights, shaping product positioning and defining launching strategies.

Key Responsibilities

• Responsible for the ideation, development, and execution of innovative branded turkey products ensuring alignment with market trends, consumer preferences, and the company's strategic goals.
• Conducts in-depth market analysis to identify emerging trends, consumer preferences, and competitor activities. Utilizes these insights to inform product development and positioning.
• Executes research initiatives that support product development and go-to-market strategies, ensuring data-informed strategies for product launches.
• Partners closely with cross-functional teams to ensure the development and launch of products align with consumer insights and meet operational standards.
• Partners with Packaging Engineering to define and develop packaging structures for new products while providing guidance on retail merchandising strategies and packaging graphic design to optimize shelf appeal.
• Guides projects to ensure new products are launched on time and within scope, including timelines, budgets, resources, etc.
• Presents product concepts and project updates to cross-functional teams and key partners ensuring alignment and transparency throughout the product development process.
• Monitors the Advertising & Promotion (A&P) budget for new product communications to ensure successful marketing efforts post launch.
• Monitors and assesses product performance post-launch in partnership with cross-functional teams, utilizing feedback to refine future products and identify and implement continuous improvement.

Minimum Qualifications (Educations & Experience)

• Bachelor's degree in related field or equivalent (i.e., Business, Marketing, etc.)
• 5+ years of relevant experience or the knowledge, skills, and abilities to succeed in the role

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Butterball Core Competencies

Caring about people, valuing contributions, and empowering to succeed is the Butterball Way. We recognize the value that different perspectives and cultures bring to Butterball and seek to create an environment where everyone can thrive. Everyone has a seat at the table and is expected to embody our core competencies:

• Safety First: We put safety first. The health, safety, and well-being of our people, products, and turkeys is everyone's responsibility and everyone's jobs.
• Integrity: We trust each other to do the right thing. We act with integrity and gain the confidence and trust of others through honesty, respect, and authenticity.
• Stewardship: We take care of what matters. We are accountable to our commitments and take responsibility for the well-being of our teams, our quality, our customers, our business, our brand, and our communities. We are always answerable for our actions and those we lead.
• Enthusiastic Attitudes: We create a climate where everyone feels they belong and can be engaged, every day. Where our people are enthusiastic and motivated to do their best and work together to make great things happen.
• Continuous Improvement: We are committed to continuous improvement. We challenge ourselves and our company to constantly learn, develop, grow, improve, and innovate.

Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Strong understanding of budget management, best practices to maximize financial performance, and profit & loss analysis
• Familiarity with product development processes and go-to-market strategies with experience ensuring the successful deployment and ongoing support of new products
• Adept in planning, executing, and guiding consumer research projects and consumer marketing strategies to support product launches and post launch efforts
• Solid understanding of various research methodologies and their application in product innovation
• Advanced written and verbal communication and presentation skills with the ability to create and deliver impactful presentations to any audience (i.e., retailers, enterprise leadership, sales teams, strategic customers, etc.)
• Skilled at problem-solving, critical thinking, data review, and synthesizing diverse data and research to draw relevant conclusions and make actionable recommendations for category and brand initiatives
• Ability to develop strong relationships, foster open communication, collaborate cross-functionally and help cultivate a culture of innovation within the organization
• Proficient with Microsoft Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, Outlook, SharePoint, etc.), Power BI, and content management systems
• Strong ability to generate innovative ideas that align with consumer preferences and corporate goal, while applying strategic thinking to product development and marketing initiatives
• Proven ability to provide clear direction to agencies for media planning, research, PR (public relations), packaging, and promotional activities, ensuring cohesions with overall brand positioning
• Ability to effectively advocate for new initiatives, securing organizational buy-in and support

Preferred Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Advanced degree such as MBA
• Experience in industries such as Manufacturing, Food & Beverage, or Retail

Physical Demands

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee may be regularly required to stand, sit, talk, hear, reach, stoop, kneel, and use hands and fingers to operate a computer, telephone, keyboard, and occasionally lift up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, depth perception, color vision and the ability to adjust focus.

Working Conditions

• Work is performed in a climate-controlled office environment.
• The noise level of the environment is usually moderate.
• Required travel up to 25% of the time.