Innovation Manager

OVERVIEW

Icelandic Provisions is an early-stage healthy food company that provides essential nutrition rooted in the Nordic Food Philosophy.The flagship product, dairy Skyr, is the only authentic Icelandic style yogurt brand in the United States that uses heirloom Skyr cultures and the original recipe that is beloved across Iceland.

The Nordic way of life is not only deeply rooted in the quality of the Icelandic Provisions’ products but runs deep in the organizational culture through the WÁOO (pronounced WOW!) values.When we are attracting talent to join our growing organization, a natural question we ask is whether the candidate brings the “wáoo” factor?We describe is as: Welcoming, Ámbitious, Optimistic, and On with the butter!

Innovation Strategy overseas all new product innovation and renovations from business need to final product execution and partners closely with our Marketing and R&D teams. The ambition of the department is to create products and platforms that address the unmet needs of consumers, compel retailers to expand our presence, and positively impact people’s health while limiting our impact on natural resources.

The Innovation Manager is a cross functional leader and the analytical data point person for the team. This role will work on all stages of innovation, from ideation to deployment, and will be responsible for creating momentum and alignment cross-functionally and with the leadership team. The ideal candidate is passionate about their food choices and is inspired to bring nutritious and sustainable options to the market that consumers will truly enjoy. Motivated by a natural curiosity, the Innovation Manager is focused on marketplace performance, paying attention to consumer reviews, competitive activity, and food trends, always pushing the company to punch above their weight in driving innovation to the next level.

QUALIFICATIONS

Business Acumen and Entrepreneurial Mindset: point person for data analysis used to inform business recommendations and decisions.Expectation that this role organizes the data into a funnel of information that informs key insights that helps support the answer to a broader question. When asked to dig into an unknown territory, this individual thrives on defining and tackling the plan, outlining the steps to take, making assumptions, and pressure testing the scenarios, ultimately landing on an informed recommendation.

• Uses consumer panel and scan data (e.g., Nielsen, IRI) to extract and analyze sales data. Organizes data exploration to extract key insights, supporting a decision-making process and piloting projects.
• Understands consumer insights methodologies, with experience organizing various types of ad hoc research (e.g., qualitative, quantitative, omnibus).Strong ability to quickly perform research on the Internet is a plus.
• Understands product P&L and most of the components including pricing strategy and COGS structure.

Cross Functional Leadership:

• Strong process orientation with demonstrated experience leading multi-functional teams including Operations, Sales, Logistics, R&D and CI. Strong ability to structure projects with timelines, costs, tasks and driving clarity around ownership for the work.
• Ability to motivate and influence people without direct authority across departments and at all organizational levels.

Budget Management: point person for the Innovation department for budgeting, including planning and ongoing updates to the Finance department, as well as coordination with R&D colleagues.

Strategic and Critical Thinker

• Benchmarks and motivates self and the team to pay attention to consumer behaviors and trends, monitoring market dynamics and food trends, and staying in tune with the competition and shelf context in store. Leverages this information to guide your thought processes and improve decision making for the entire Innovation team.
• Provides regular feedback on food tastings and actively watches product performance in the market (e.g., retail stores, online channels etc.); demonstrates a passion for food and specifically dairy products.

Perseverance: consistently demonstrates resilience and the ability to manage the ups and downs of new product development and long innovation timelines.The successful candidate never takes “no” for an answer or pushes through challenges with a solutions orientation, putting in the effort required to understand roadblocks, accept constructive feedback, and deliver alternative approaches to create better innovation. Takes a balanced approach to actively sharing a point of view and listening to others, always seeking out new perspectives and information that will strengthen business recommendations and decisions.

Sustainability Partner: as the Innovation Manager, this role is at the forefront of designing sustainable practices and products and demonstrates creativity in how sustainability is introduced into innovation platforms and challenges the status quo around how we are managing sustainability within our existing product platforms.

EXPERIENCE

• Minimum of 4 years of relevant experience in strategy consulting, innovation, product management or brand management.
• MBA preferred, or BA in Business management, Economics or related fields with solid experience.
• Excellent research, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills to collaborate effectively and lead cross-functional teams.
• Naturally driven by strong personal values for healthy and sustainable living, and passionate about making a difference in the food system.
• Ability to continuously and proactively learn by embracing challenges, persisting through obstacles, and developing by applying constructive feedback.
• Ability to deal with ambiguity and “getting to the answer” with limited direction at any stage of the strategy or implementation process.
• Creative and strategic thinker who excels at finding effective and innovative solutions and driving collaboration across the organization.
• Ability to work independently and manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Proficiency in Satori, Nielsen, IRI, Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
• Positive and enthusiastic mindset with team player attitude
• Experience in food and consumer packaged goods is a plus.

WHAT ICELANDIC PROVISIONS OFFER:

• $120k to $150k compensation, depending on experience.
• Exciting work environment in a small team and a great deal of autonomy.
• Cozy office in Chelsea NY with rooftop and community spaces along with hybrid work policy (in office 2 or 3 days/week).
• Competitive benefits package including health, dental, vision insurance and 401k matching.
• Flexible paid time off allowing to manage your time as it works for you.
• Delicious Skyr available (for free) in the office.