IMC Marketing Manager

JOB SCOPE & CORE DELIVERABLES

The Innovation Manager is a senior individual contributor and project leader responsible for the end-to-end management of the innovation pipeline in China cover both Retail and Food Service channel, from concept to shelf, ensuring to deliver superior consumer value, align with brand strategy, and achieve commercial success. Success requires a unique blend of food science expertise, consumer-centric thinking, and exceptional cross-functional and cross-cultural project leadership to navigate between global resources and local market needs.

RESPONSIBILITIES – WHAT DOES SUCCESS LOOK LIKE?

•     End-to-End Innovation Project Management with Local & Global Orchestration

-      Lead the entire Stage-Gate process for China-specific innovation projects, from idea generation and feasibility request to commercialization and post-launch review.

-      Managing group NPD project system contribution and maintenance

-      Develop and manage detailed project timelines, resource plans, P&L and risk assessment

-      Bridge between China marketing team and the Global R&D and Innovation teams. Clearly articulate China's consumer needs and market requirements to global partners

-      Liaise closely with the China local factory on production trials, capacity planning, quality standards, and cost optimization, ensuring manufacturability of new products.

-      Participant with OEM project to ensure business objects and product brief be clearly transferred to OEM partners and on time delivery new initiatives

•     Consumer-Centric & Technical Development

-      Leverage market data, trend analysis, and consumer research (working with brand marketing and insights teams) to identify white-space opportunities and generate winning product concepts

-      Emerging in market to understand consumer and customer needs to define new opportunity and solutions 

-      Organize new product test to validate product superiority with consumer or customer.

-      Translate consumer /customer insights into clear, actionable product briefs for R&D (including target cost, nutritional profile, shelf-life, etc.).

-      With the support of R&D, Quality and Regulation team to evaluate technical feasibility, review prototypes, and make informed decisions on ingredients, formulation.

•     Cross-Functional Leadership & Stakeholder Management

-      Act as the project core team leader, mobilizing and aligning resources from Marketing, Sales, Supply Chain, Quality, Regulatory, and Finance.

-      Present project progress, key decisions, and business cases to the China Leadership Team and Global Innovation stakeholders.

-      Proactively manage and resolve conflicts or bottlenecks, ensuring projects stay on track for launch.

•     Portfolio & Pipeline Strategy Contribution

-      Contribute to the development of the 3-Year Innovation Roadmap for China

-      Monitor innovation performance (e.g., trial, repeat, profitability) and derive lessons learned to fuel future projects.

POSITION REQUIREMENTS:

Minimum education and experience required:

• Bachelor’s degree and or equivalent experience; MBA preferred,
• No limitations on major, marketing, business management or with food science or a closely related field are more than welcome.
• 8+ years of experience in FMCG food and beverage company, with proven track record of managing NPD project from concept to launch in China market
• Strong experience with working with factory to industrialize products in market
• Exceptional project skills on stage- gate management
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in both Chinese and English, with the ability to effective communication with global team

HIGHLY PREFERRED:

•      Direct experience in the dairy or adjacent (snacking, chilled foods) categories

•      Experience innovating for **both retail and food service/ b2b channels

•      Demonstrated experience acting as a key liaison between regional/local and global headquarters.

•      Strong commercial acumen and understanding of P&L drivers for innovation.

PERSONAL COMPETENCIES:

• Strategic thinker: very active and sensitive on new marketing trend, can foresee the high potential business growth opportunities.
• Resilient & solution-oriented: navigates ambiguity and overcomes obstacles in a fast-paced environment.
• Excellent project manager: leads without direct authority, highly organized, able to manage multiple projects and deadlines simultaneously.
• Good communication and interpersonal skills with stakeholders and multi-cross function team.
• Collaborative spirit: a team player who can work effectively with diverse groups, both internally and externally.
• Creative problem-solver: able to develop innovative solutions to marketing challenges. Quick learner, proactive thinking quick learner, proactive thinking, independent working ability with self-motivation
• Business travel mobility to for customer meetings, when food service channels play a key role in driving future pipeline growth
• Cultural bridge: can navigate working between western corporate and local Chinese business environments.
• Dare to change and challenge
• Passion on food category and exploring new things