CMI Associate Manager, Innovation - General Mills

OVERVIEW 

Come join a newly created team focused on building the future of the growing and dynamic Mexican food space! We’re looking for a Consumer & Market Intelligence Leader to support this high-growth, global priority focus area for the company. In this newly-created role, you will join the new Mexican Innovation Teamfocused on front-end innovation. You will work closely with cross-functional partners (R&D, Brand Management, Product Design Accelerators, etc.) with focus on the strategy and discovery phases of the innovation process.  Through insights grounded in a holistic understanding of consumers and the external marketplace your strategic guidance will build the future of Mexican food. 

As your team navigates low-knowledge spaces you will be indispensable in driving understanding of where to play, identifyingkey consumer targets, and building agile learning plans vet desirability.  Throughout the process, you will implement best-in-class innovation tools to increase speed and chances of success for sustaining innovation. 

 
This role provides unique opportunity for:  

• Creating and guiding strategy through insights for innovation in the Mexican category  
• Working with a small, dedicated team with subject matter expertise on innovation 
• “Run fast” and explore new spaces and opportunities 
• Visibility to leadership with frequent Mexican Steering Team and leadership team check-ins 

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES 

Innovation Strategy 

• Guide innovation growth strategies through ‘Where to Play’ leadership, identifyingcompelling whitespace opportunities 
• Bring the outside in by monitoring competitive innovation activity and broader trends to influence direction of Mexican innovation 
• Participate, lead, and influence to bring the voice of the consumer into consideration and decision-making 

Insight Discovery, Synthesis, and Storytelling 

• Leverage Consumer First Design (CFD)to lead team from Where to Play (opportunity space identification) through Discovery & early Build phases of the CFD process 
• Develop and lead learning agenda in partnership with cross-functional pod team and partner on experimentation  
• Leverage and analyze existing primary and secondary research to uncover fact-based insights 
• Manage research partners to design and field learning, synthesize findings into concise learning summaries and present results to team, advocating for appropriate business action 

Cross-Functional Collaboration 

• Proactively collaborate across functions with pod team –R&D, Brand, Brand Experience, etc – to break down siloes and build together 
• Work across boundaries to effectively leverage breadth of Consumer and Market Insights (CMI) and innovation ecosystem – inclusive of but not limited to Applied Analytics, Competitive Intelligence, Global Insights Community, and broader CFD partners as relevant 

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS 

• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Market Research, Anthropology, Sociology, Psychology, Statistics, Data Analytics, or other related field
• 3+ years of Consumer Insights experience  
• Previous experience in New Product Innovation, ideally in an insights/research capacity
• Strong presentation skills and ability to communicate strategy clearly and simply
• Experience translating research results and influencing a cross-functional team, bringing a strong consumer and market perspectivethroughout the innovation process
• Self-starter with a bias for action and ability to thrive in ambiguity
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to synthesize data and build and tell a compelling consumer story with credibility and confidence
• Demonstrated success interviewing consumers in various settings (1:1, prototyping sessions, in-home, virtually, etc.) 

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS 

• MBA or master’s degree in related field preferred
• 5+ years of experience in Consumer Insights
• Experience in a variety of traditional and modern qualitative & quantitative research techniques, specifically for strategy, innovation, renovation, and holistic consumer understanding
• Experience with syndicated data sources (e.g. Nielsen Scanner/Panel data)
• Previous interviewing and or moderation training
• Strong prioritization skills
• Experience working in an agile environment with shifting priorities and multiple concurrent work streams

ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS

• This role’s primary work location is onsite at our Minneapolis World Headquarters 2-3 days per week, with flexibility to work from home based on business and personal needs
• International relocation or international remote working arrangements (outside of the US) will not be considered

We exist to make food the world loves. But we do more than that. Our company is a place that prioritizes being a force for good, a place to expand learning, explore new perspectives and reimagine new possibilities, every day. We look for people who want to bring their best — bold thinkers with big hearts who challenge one other and grow together. Because becoming the undisputed leader in food means surrounding ourselves with people who are hungry for what’s next.