Consumer Insights Associate Manager, Yogurt Business Unit - General Mills

OVERVIEW

Are you a relentlessly curious, data-savvy individual who thrives in ambiguity and loves connecting the dots? Do you dream of shaping brand and innovation strategy by blending the power of human insights with syndicated data? Then this role within the Yogurt Consumer Insights team is your perfect match!  

We're seeking a passionate individual with a balance of primary research and syndicated data analytics experience to drive growth for our iconic yogurt brands – Yoplait, Go-Gurt, Oui and Ratio. You'll be a key player in helping the Yogurt team deeply understand their businesses, translating data and insights into actionable strategies, influencing decisions across multiple functions, and shaping the future of our marketing and innovation efforts. This role is based in Minneapolis, MN and is not remote-eligible.  

This role offers a unique opportunity to leverage your primary and secondary research expertise to drive strategic decision-making for America’s most well-known yogurt brand. If you're a creative problem-solver who thrives on challenges and enjoys connecting the dots, we encourage you to apply! 

KEY ACCOUNTABILTIIES

Strategic Business Partner: Understand top business challenges, synthesize knowledge, and develop learning plans that will deliver actionable recommendations, create remarkable consumer experiences, and lead to business growth. Be a truth-teller and the voice of the consumer, ensuring that cross-functional team members are empowered to make consumer-first business decisions. Illuminate opportunities and challenges by staying on top of the consumer and competitive landscape. 

Innovation/Renovation Primary Research: Participate in an agile innovation process to develop a pipeline of new product ideas that solve the trifecta of product-consumer-brand fit. Steward and refine ideas through qualitative and quantitative consumer learning loops that build a body of evidence supporting the launch of new products. Create post-launch learning plans that track performance of new products in market, enabling an “always on” learning mentality to develop remarkable products.  

Brand Strategy/Communications Primary Research: Lead key initiatives across top brands to enhance brand strategy, packaging refreshes and advertising resonance. This includes running brand health tracking studies, advertising pre-testing, moderating interviews, consumer deep dives, and empathy building to uncover insights that inspire our creative agencies to build strong advertising campaigns.  

Business Performance Assessment: Leverage your subject matter expertise with syndicated data sources (Nielsen, Circana/IRI, Numerator, etc.) to inform strategic decisions, including diagnosing business issues and identifying market trends, competitive landscapes, and growth opportunities. You will help develop and maintain reports to track key performance indicators (KPIs) and communicate findings to stakeholders. 

KEY SKILLS

Research Synthesis & Storytelling for Impact: Blend primary research with syndicated data to create holistic, compelling consumer narratives and actionable insights that influence decision-making. This will involve working closely with research vendors and internal teams to ensure data quality and consistency. 

Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner closely within the Consumer Insights team as well as with Marketing, Marketing Communications, Sales, and R&D to translate data-driven insights into actionable strategies and influence product development, marketing campaigns, and overall business strategy. 

Be a Positive Agitator: Be a strategic and trusted partner with Marketing and R&D that consistently supports bold decision-making by productively challenging & bolstering ideas with objectivity & creativity. 

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Bachelor's degree in Market Research, Marketing, Data Analytics, or a related field.
3+ years of experience in a consumer insights or analytics role, with a proven track record of translating data into actionable insights and recommendations

Primary research experience in either communications-related insights roles OR in innovation-related insights roles  
Must have ability to create learning plans that prioritize the most critical business questions 
Must have experience in a range of qualitative and quantitative methodologies, vendors and tools  
Experience pulling and synthesizing syndicated data (Circana/IRI, Nielsen, Luminate/Scintilla, Numerator, etc.)
Demonstrated storytelling skills, with the ability to synthesize complex data, build compelling narratives, and communicate insights simply and clearly to cross-functional teams
Strong analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills
Experience working in an agile environment with shifting priorities and multiple concurrent workstreams
Relentless learner and team player looking to have an outsized impact

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

MBA or Master's degree in a related field 
5+ years of experience in a consumer insights or analytics role, with a proven track record of translating data into actionable recommendations
Experience with a variety of traditional and modern qualitative and quantitative research techniques, including self-serve research platforms (Qualtrics, Ipsos Digital, Luminate/Scintilla, Suzy, Ipsos Creative Sparks, etc.)
Experience with advanced qualitative interviewing techniques, including projective exercises
Experience working with and building empathy for multi-cultural consumers
Passion for leveraging innovative methods to solve business problems
Self-starter who’s able to proactively find ways to add value

ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS 

International relocation or international remote working arrangements (outside of the US) will not be considered 
Applicants for this position must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis.

General Mills will not sponsor applicants for this position for work visas