Head of Innovation & Research

Summary

The Head of Research & Innovation leads the organization’s product innovation and consumer insight agenda, translating emerging trends into commercially viable concepts. This role is responsible for end-to-end innovation pipeline management, from strategy and idea generation to execution and post-launch evaluation. A core accountability is to ensure the innovation dashboard and stage-gate process are rigorously maintained, providing executive visibility and enabling strategic decision-making.

Benefits

• • Health Insurance
• • Life Insurance
• • Pension
• • Lunch Subsidy
• • Others

Responsibilities

• • Lead the full innovation lifecycle—from opportunity identification and ideation to launch and post-launch evaluation.
• • Manage the innovation portfolio and stage-gate process, ensuring alignment with commercial strategy and timely execution.
• • Maintain real-time visibility through dashboards and trackers covering status, resources, timelines, and KPIs.
• • Partner cross-functionally to align on priorities, feasibility, and go-to-market plans.
• • Commission and apply consumer, category, and market research to guide innovation and support brand and portfolio decisions.
• • Monitor brand health and market trends to shape both pipeline development and ongoing brand strategy.
• • Drive prioritization and scenario planning across short-, mid-, and long-term innovation streams.
• • Lead post-launch reviews to capture learnings and optimize future initiatives.
• • Represent Innovation in strategic forums (S&OP, brand planning, portfolio reviews).
• • Coach and develop team members to foster a culture of innovation, discipline, and continuous improvement.
• • Perform other related duties as assigned.

Required Skills

• • Proven ability to lead cross-functional innovation projects from ideation through launch
• • Skilled in building and managing structured innovation pipelines and scorecards
• • Strong analytical thinker with experience translating insights into growth strategies
• • Able to influence and engage senior stakeholders across multiple department

• Other Personal or General Characteristics:

  • • Visionary with a strong sense of purpose and direction
  • • Committed to fostering a culture of innovation and curiosity
  • • Calm under pressure and confident navigating ambiguity
  • • Passionate about delivering meaningful, consumer-centric innovation
  • • Thrives when working under pressure

Qualifications

• • Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Business, Food Science, or a related field is required
• • Master’s degree in Innovation, Consumer Research, Business Strategy, or a related field is an asset
• • Minimum of 5 years' experience in innovation, product development, or consumer insights within FMCG or a similar industry
• • Demonstrated experience leading cross-functional innovation projects and managing a structured stage-gate or pipeline process
• • Familiarity with research methodologies (qualitative and quantitative) and tools for brand health tracking and market analysis
• • Strong analytical skills with experience using innovation dashboards, KPIs, and reporting platforms (e.g., Excel, Power BI, or similar)

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