Senior Manager - Innovation Process & Planning

As the Senior Manager of Innovation Process and Planning at KDP, you will play a pivotal role in driving the company's growth and market leadership through the establishment and continuous improvement of both processes and enabling digital capabilities to maximize innovation-driven growth.  You will work across the business to convert consumer-focused, multi-year innovation pipelines into winning products.  This key leadership position requires a strategic thinker with a proven track record in driving innovation, managing cross-functional teams, and ensuring the successful delivery of new and improved hot and/or cold beverages offerings.

What you will do:

Process Optimization:

• Support development, deployment, and continuous improvement of our Portfolio Management & Stage Gate processes.
• Generate enabling tools, including digital capabilities, to support the process and drive consistency across the business.
• Refine metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the effectiveness of innovation initiatives and the innovation process.
• Integrate tracking to measure the progress against defined KPIs.
• Establish common business case framework, including cost-benefit analysis, resource requirements, etc. to enable evaluation and prioritization of the pipeline.
• Partner with our Business Unit (BU) teams to integrate the process and tools into their operating cadence and ways of working.
• Collaborate with owners of supporting processes (e.g., Strategic Planning, CAPEX, Supply Chain Integration, Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP), Financial Planning, etc.) to ensure appropriate process and integration.
• Work with functional partners (e.g., R&D, Marketing, Supply Chain, etc.) to streamline key enabling processes and increase innovation speed to market.
• Facilitate regular cross-functional Stage Gate and Portfolio reviews; manage steering committees’ composition, discussions, and escalation.

Cross-Functional Collaboration:

• Foster a collaborative environment by working closely with cross-functional teams to bring ideas from concept to execution.
• Facilitate communication and coordination between departments to ensure smooth execution of innovation initiatives.

Risk Management:

• Assess risks associated with innovation projects, partnering with business leads and cross-functional teams to help develop and track progress against mitigation plans.

Business Impact Tracking:

• Prepare regular reports and presentations to communicate the status, impact, and value of innovation initiatives to senior management and stakeholders.
• Monitor financial performance and ensure cost-effective execution of innovation initiatives.

Stakeholder Engagement:

• Collaborate with BU and Enterprise leadership to provide regular updates on innovation initiatives and their impact on the company's overall strategy.
• Engage with external partners, vendors, and industry experts to stay abreast of the latest trends and technologies.
• Champion best practices and innovation methodologies, such as design thinking, agile development, and design to value (DtV).