**Position Title**:Mexico Innovation Manager
**Dept.
/ Function**:Marketing
**Location**: Guadalajara, Jalisco (Hybrid)
**Advanced English required**
**Summary**:
To identify, design, and deliver innovation strategies that unlock future growth for the business.
The Senior Innovation Manager leverages consumer, shopper, and market insights to shape the innovation pipeline, working cross-functionally to translate unmet needs and category opportunities into breakthrough products, services, and business models that strengthen brand relevance and drive long-term competitiveness.
**Major Duties/Responsibilities**:
- 25% Innovation Strategy & Pipeline Building
- 20% Consumer & Market Insight Translation
- 30% Cross-Functional Leadership & Execution
- 15% Commercialization & Launch Impact
- 10% External & Future Focus
**Minimum knowledge, skills and abilities required to successfully perform major duties/responsibilities**:
- **1.
Innovation Strategy & Pipeline**
- Define and manage the long-term innovation strategy in line with brand, category, and business priorities.
- Build a robust pipeline of short-, mid-, and long-term innovation projects to fuel sustainable growth.
- Identify white spaces, future growth platforms, and disruption opportunities beyond current product lines.
- **2.
Consumer-Centric Growth**
- Translate consumer, shopper, and cultural insights into innovation opportunities.
- Ensure all innovation is rooted in real human needs and market trends.
- Anticipate future behaviors, lifestyles, and sustainability demands to future-proof the portfolio.
- **3.
Portfolio & Category Development**
- Shape innovation platforms that expand the brand's reach into new segments, channels, or categories.
- Balance incremental innovation (line extensions, reformulations) with breakthrough,



transformational ideas.
- Partner with category and commercial teams to ensure innovations contribute to long-term category leadership.
- **4.
Cross-Functional Leadership**
- Lead collaboration with R&D;, Supply Chain, Finance, Sales, and Marketing to bring innovations from concept to market.
- Own the stage-gate / innovation funnel process, ensuring rigor, speed, and scalability.
- Act as the connector between creativity (ideas) and execution (feasibility, profitability, and speed-to-market).
- **5.
Commercial Impact**
- Build business cases for innovations, aligning with P&L;, pricing, and channel strategies.
- Partner with Finance and Sales to size opportunities and ensure strong launch ROI.
- Drive post-launch evaluation and learning to continuously improve the innovation process.
- **6.
External & Future Focus**
- Monitor competitor and category innovation activity, technology trends, and startup ecosystems.
- Build partnerships with external agencies, startups, suppliers, and research partners to access new ideas and capabilities.
- Champion sustainability, digital, and future-forward consumer trends within the innovation agenda.
- **Key Skills & Competencies**
- Strategic vision: ability to link long-term brand and business growth to innovation platforms.
- Consumer-centric mindset: passion for uncovering insights and translating them into opportunities.
- Creativity & curiosity: ability to challenge norms, think disruptively, and explore new business models.
- Commercial acumen: strong P&L;, financial, and business case development skills.
- Influence & leadership: skilled at leading cross-functional and integral/local teams in a matrix organization.
- Agility & execution: able to balance big-picture thinking with hands-on project deliver
**Education**: Bachelor
**Experience**: +7-10 years
LI-GB1

📌 Innovation Manager (Experience In Confectionery Industry, Cpg Or Fmcg) Mexico Scope (Guadalajara)
🏢 The Hershey
📍 Guadalajara