- Define strategic pillars and white spaces to innovate in across
- Develop short and long-term innovation roadmaps
- Seek, interpret and synthesize information across data/analytics platforms, primary and secondary research, trends, social media data, eCommerce, etc. to inform the innovation roadmap
- Develop strong partnerships with Unilever Consumer Market Insights (CMI) and other Unilever functions to collaboratively uncover opportunities for innovation
- Craft new product offerings (under new or existing brands), leading cross-functional team from consumer insight to execution
- Conduct research to validate concepts throughout the innovation journey, leveraging Unilever resources, Brand Crafting teams and Greenhouse Field Marketing. You will also engage with external research partners as needed
- Enable advancement towards our sustainability goals by crafting product propositions and sourcing strategies that contribute to sustainable and organic agriculture, responsible packaging and social inclusion
- Bachelor's degree required; Master's degree preferred
- Minimum of 5-7 years of relevant experience, ideally within F&R or other consumer packaged goods categories
- Experience in successfully launching a new brand and validating concepts
- Obsession with what makes food innovation successful. Acute awareness of how and why new product launches are working, as well as how and why they are failing
- Strong financial acumen and the end-to-end understanding of how to craft business cases with the total business in mind
- Fluency in syndicated data tools and measures to guide conversations using a variety of data sources (POS, panel, social listening, etc.)
- Ability to mine cultural, socioeconomic and category trends for strategic opportunity areas and recommend appropriate business strategy and action
- Superior skills in project management, end-to-end management of the research process
- Excellent analytical and communication skills, strong attention to detail, ability to coordinate across various functions when required, and ability to influence senior stakeholders
- Entrepreneurial mindset, high sense of project ownership courage and proactivity; relentlessly industrious and resourceful
- Proficiency in MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook) required; Numerator Insights, IRI preferred
Foods & Refreshments Innovation Lead - Greenhouse - Englewood Cliffs, United States - Unilever
Description
About Greenhouse
Greenhouse was founded to cultivate the next generation of iconic food brands from within Unilever's Food & Refreshments (F&R) division. In short, we grow food. Greenhouse holds a distinct license to experiment and develop unique capabilities in the areas of eater obsession, innovation, and commercialization. We are a team deeply obsessed with standout experiences that surprise and delight both palates and hearts of eaters, delivering it all with ambitious commitments to sustainability. Through close integration with F&R department leadership and an independently dedicated Greenhouse team, we specialize in crafting products to meet emerging megatrends and bringing them to life in emerging channels such as eCommerce and natural grocery to supplement mainstream distribution.
Greenhouse evolved from the teams leading Sir Kensington's and Maille, the two inaugural brands within the platform. In addition to scaling these existing brands, Greenhouse will look to find Unilever's way into new growth spaces in food, including identification and validation of concepts and resource proposals for scaling successful tests. Over time, Greenhouse's mandate may expand to house global Unilever brands not yet active in the US, as well as serve as a landing destination for select incoming mergers and acquisitions. With the core cultural tenets of eater obsession, purpose and impact, and creative and entrepreneurial empowerment, we define our culture through four core values:
Our Values
1. Our secret ingredient is people.
2. We act with honor, even when no one is looking.
3. We put special sauce on everything.
4. We think long term yet act in short order.
Come grow with us
Background and Purpose of the Job
The F&R Innovation Lead for Greenhouse is a free-thinking innovator who is passionate about understanding consumer behaviors, needs and wants. This innovation role is brand-agnostic and focused on finding opportunity areas across foods, then testing propositions/products to capitalize on these opportunities.
Opportunity scoping and screening will happen through primary research or secondary research in partnership with Unilever's Consumer Market Insights team or external resources. Validation will then happen via consumer testing and in-market experiments in a small footprint or in eCommerce.
Once winning concepts are identified, the F&R Innovation Lead will work with relevant brand teams to understand whether existing Unilever foods brands can stretch into such new spaces or if a new brand or acquisition is a more favorable route. If the former, then the post-validation launch is expected to be handed off to the relevant brand team. In the case of new brands or acquisitions, the Innovation Lead will draft proposals for resource and approach to the F&R leadership team.
The role will report directly to the Head of Greenhouse and will partner with the cross functional Greenhouse team for support.
What You'll Do
What You'll Need to Succeed
What We Can Offer You
Culture for Growth | Top Notch Employee Health & Well Being Benefits | Every Voice Matters | Global Reach | Life at Unilever | Careers with Purpose | World Class Career Development Programs | Check Out Our Space | Focus On Sustainability
Unilever is an organization committed to diversity and inclusion to drive our business results and create a better future every day for our diverse employees, global consumers, partners, and communities. We believe a diverse workforce allows us to match our growth ambitions and drive inclusion across the business. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability. For more information, please see Equal Employment Opportunity Posters
Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer Minorities/Females/Protected Veterans/Persons with Disabilities
Employment is subject to verification of pre-screening tests, which may include drug screening, background check, credit check and DMV check.
If you are an individual with a disability in need of assistance at any time during our recruitment process, please contact us at Please note: This email is reserved for individuals with disabilities in need of assistance and is not a means of inquiry about positions or application statuses.