Senior Innovation & Strategy Specialist

Position Summary: The Nestle Development Center in Solon is responsible for the ideation, creation, and renovation of new and existing frozen and chilled meals, pizza and snacking product experiences. Our mission is to leverage our diverse expertise to unlock innovative solutions, creating food people love. To achieve this, we are committed to attracting and developing the right people. Come join us and help create the future. We are on the lookout for a Senior Specialist, Innovation & Strategy with a passion for food. In this role, you will be responsible for leading the recommendation and implementation of relevant business opportunities for beloved brands including Stouffer's, Lean Cuisine, Life Cuisine, Sweet Earth, DiGiorno, California Pizza Kitchen and Hot Pockets. You will champion step-change for our brands, linked with Strategic Business Unit and Market strategic priorities and fuel the innovation and renovation pipeline with products, services, experiences, and business models.

Primary Responsibilities: Act as an innovation business partner between R&D, Strategic Business Units, Markets, and external agencies with strong stakeholder management and ownership mindset. Responsible for the end-to-end process of briefing, planning, executing, and facilitating ideation workshops, identifying the appropriate approach and tools to deliver the defined success criteria. Continuously seek improvement opportunities for our innovation approach, methodologies, and tools to create stronger and more compelling consumer-centric concepts. Understand trends (macro, micro & culinary), consumer motivations and insights, attitudes, and habits, and incorporate this knowledge into strategic sessions, ideation workshops, and research activities. Conduct qualitative consumer research to guide early-stage product design, prototyping development and fine-tuning required to inform concept development. Facilitate early concept development and evaluation for consumer desirability, technical feasibility, and financial viability. Act as a translator between the marketing/business and science/technology environments, converting scientific and technical discoveries across R&D into consumer-focused concepts. Connect, exchange, and build innovation best practices with internal & external networks. Provide coaching to project teams on the innovation process and agile methodologies.

Job Qualifications: (Minimum Education, Experience, and Knowledge):Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, or related field. Minimum 5 years of CPG marketing, insights, or brand innovation & renovation ideation and concept generation expertise. Highly entrepreneurial (demonstrates business mindset, initiative, resourcefulness, and agility).Track record of building internal innovation capabilities and helping to shape a culture of creativity, strategic problem solving, and innovative thinking within an organization. Experience in consumer insights with exposure to a variety of consumer testing techniques, including test and learn and rapid experimentation. Deep knowledge of human centered Design Thinking and experience with Innovation Sprints. Experience guiding product and packaging design & prototyping Impactful oral, written, and interpersonal communication, presentation, and storytelling skills with ability to effectively interact with all levels and functions across the organization; both on the commercial and technical side. Ability to lead teams without direct line management Strong stakeholder management skills Strong project management skills Strong facilitation skills Strong concept writing skills Strong ability to prioritize and manage various day-to-day activities, working to a timeline. Excels in a collaborative team environment, with the ability to lead and facilitate cross-functional teams. Global experience preferred. Ability to travel 10 - 20%, domestically and internationally (in line with prevailing travel governance)To our veterans and separated service members, you're at the forefront of our minds as we recruit top talent to join Nestl. The skills you've gained while serving our country, such as flexibility, agility, and leadership, are much like the skills that will make you successful in this role. In addition, with our commitment to an inclusive work environment, we recognize the exceptional engagement and innovation displayed by individuals with disabilities. Nestl seeks such skilled and qualified individuals to share our mission where you'll join a cohort of others who have chosen to call Nestl home. The Nestl Companies are an equal employment opportunity and affirmative action employer seeking diversity in qualified applicants for employment. All applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, color, gender, gender identity, age, religion, national origin, ancestry, disability, perceived disability, medical condition, genetic information, veteran status, sexual orientation, or any other protected status, as defined by applicable law. Prior to the next step in the recruiting process, we welcome you to inform us confidentially if you may require any special accommodations in order to participate fully in our recruitment experience. Contact us at accommodations@nestle.com or please dial 711 and provide this number to the operator: 1-800-321-6467.This position is not eligible for Visa Sponsorship.