Front-End Innovation Manager (m/f/d)

Nestlé; Singen (Hohentwiel); On-site; EUR 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Development meetings

Onboarding plan

30 days vacation

Bike leasing program

Job summary

Nestlé is seeking a Front-End Innovation leader at the Nestlé Product Technology Centre for Food in Singen, Germany. You will shape and steer an innovation portfolio, guiding opportunities from exploration through concept validation and into the Idea-to-Launch pipeline across multiple regions.

You will define FEI priorities, governance, and budgets while leading a cross-functional team and collaborating with R&D, CMIA, and commercial units to maximize business value.

Qualifications

• Fluent English is required.
• German language is an advantage.

Responsibilities

• Shape a strong innovation portfolio aligned with business priorities.
• Drive opportunities from exploration to concept validation.
• Define Front-End Innovation (FEI) priorities and roadmaps, governance, and budgets.
• Lead and develop the FEI team, fostering an agile, entrepreneurial culture.
• Mobilize Strategic Business Units, Zone, Market, R&D, CMIA and related functions around shared priorities.

Skills

Fluent English

German language

Job description

Welcome to the Home of Food at Nestlé! Together with 220 experts at our Nestlé Product Technology Centre for Food (NPTC Food), we are responsible for the innovation and renovation of culinary products. Every day, we embody the entrepreneurial mindset and transform science into technologies with the aim of delivering tasty and balanced meals with the highest levels of freshness and convenience.

Most important facts at a glance:

Location: Singen, Germany

Department: Research and Development

Working time: full-time

Contract: permanent

Start: as soon as possible

How You'll Contribute And Help Us Grow

• Shape a strong innovation portfolio and pipeline: Build and steer a high-quality portfolio of opportunity spaces, innovation territories and validated concepts aligned with business priorities
• Drive innovation forward: Guide opportunities from exploration through concept validation, ensuring strong learning, feasibility and concept quality, and enabling successful progression into the Idea-to-Launch pipeline, and multi region launches
• Set strategic direction and governance: Define Front-End Innovation (FEI) priorities and roadmaps, establish effective governance, lead portfolio reviews, and manage budgets, resources and investment choices to maximize portfolio impact and business value.
• Drive stakeholder alignment: Mobilize Strategic Business Units, Zone, Market, R&D, CMIA and relevant functions around shared priorities, clear accountabilities and timely, evidence-based decision-making.
• Stay hands-on in innovation development: Lead strategic projects and actively contribute to opportunity framing, territory development, ideation, concept creation and critical project decisions.
• Lead the FEI team and capability: Lead, coach and develop the FEI team; strengthen innovation capabilities, methodologies and ways of working; and foster an agile, entrepreneurial culture.

What will make you a great fit:

• Innovation & Business Impact: Strong innovation and business acumen, with an extensive track record of identifying growth opportunities, translating them into compelling consumer propositions, and delivering business impact through scalable innovation.
• Strategy & Portfolio: Strategic and operational innovation leadership within Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG), preferably food industry, with experience shaping innovation portfolios and roadmaps, balancing long-term innovation strategy with hands-on delivery and business impact.
• FEI Expertise: Hands-on FEI expertise, with a proven track record of leading opportunities end-to-end, from opportunity framing and innovation territories through ideation, concept creation, testing, validation and progression into the Idea-to-Launch pipeline, supported by a strong command of FEI methodologies, governance and stage-gating.
• Cross-functional Leadership: Strong cross-functional leadership with experience working across R&D, commercial, operations, finance and consumer insight functions.
• Strategic & Portfolio Thinking: Strategic and portfolio thinking, with the ability to prioritize across multiple horizons, categories and stakeholders.
• Leadership though Influence: Leadership through influence, with the confidence to align senior stakeholders, challenge constructively and turn ambiguity into action.
• Building High-Performing Teams: People leadership and coaching capability, with experience building high-performing teams and developing talent.
• Spotting Future Opportunities: External orientation and curiosity, connect consumer trends, market shifts, emerging technologies and innovation ecosystems to future business opportunities.
• Accelerating Innovation through Data & AI: Digital, data-driven and AI-enabled innovation, leveraging consumer signals, analytics and Generative AI to accelerate insight generation, learning and decision-making.
• Communication: Strategic storytelling and communication, with the ability to translate complex consumer, technology and business insights into compelling narratives that drive alignment, informed decisions and action.
• Language skills: Fluent English is required; German or another relevant language is an advantage.

Your Benefits

• Development: With our annual development meetings with your manager, we find out where your professional journey can go.
• In good hands: To help you settle in quickly and learn everything you need to know right from the start, we'll create an individual onboarding plan for you.
• 30 days of vacation: Taking breaks and recharging is important. That’s why everyone at Nestlé enjoys more vacation days than required by law.
• Ready to ride: Our bike leasing program makes it easy for you to get your new bicycle or e-bike and enjoy a more sustainable way of getting around.

Become part of something big

Nestlé offers endless possibilities for you. We are a leader in nutrition, health and wellness with our brands that are loved around the world. A real opportunity to positively impact the lives of millions. From breakfast to dinner, from medical nutrition to healthy snacks for four-legged friends, from sustainable farming to eco-friendly packaging. So much is already here, nowmakeit even better. In a team of diverse characters learning with and from each other - be a force for good.