Future Strategy & Innovation Lead

PepsiCo Inc.; Municipal District of Cobh; On-site; EUR 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

PepsiCo Inc. is seeking a Future Strategy & Innovation Lead to identify long-term market trends, technology developments, and sustainability considerations across the ingredients portfolio.

You will shape Horizon 3 procurement strategies, partner with R&D and Strategy teams, and build external partnerships to secure resilient supply chains. The role will influence category strategies, drive supplier-enabled innovation, and translate foresight into actionable recommendations for leadership over a

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree is required in related field.
• 10+ years of procurement/strategy experience.
• Strong knowledge of global ingredient supply chains.
• Experience turning market insights into strategy.
• Successful innovation through suppliers or partnerships.
• Understanding of sustainability and traceability principles.

Responsibilities

• Develop long-term perspectives on ingredient markets and supply ecosystems.
• Monitor trends through a procurement and resilience lens.
• Partner with R&D, Product Development, Commercial and Strategy teams.
• Build supplier innovation pipelines and external partnerships.
• Assess future supply security and competitiveness risks.
• Identify opportunities in regenerative agriculture and sustainability.
• Lead horizon planning across strategic ingredient categories.
• Embed long-term thinking into category and business strategies.
• Own Horizon 3 Procurement Strategy and long-term value creation.
• Identify opportunities, disruptive risks, and emerging ecosystems.
• Translate foresight into actionable strategic recommendations.

Skills

Years of procurement experience

Strategic thinking

Market intelligence

Innovation & partnerships

Sustainability & resilience

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business, Procurement, Supply Chain, Food Science, Agriculture, Economics, or related field

Job description

Overview

PepsiCo's future growth depends on securing sustainable, innovative, resilient, and competitive ingredient supply chains that can support evolving consumer preferences, product innovation, and business strategy.

The Future Strategy & Innovation Lead is responsible for identifying and translating long-term market, ingredient, technology, sustainability, and supply chain trends into actionable opportunities for PepsiCo's Strategic Ingredients Procurement Team.

The role will lead Horizon 3 thinking across the ingredients portfolio, shaping procurement strategies that anticipate future disruptions and position PepsiCo to access emerging ingredients, technologies, supplier capabilities and business models before they become mainstream.

Working as a peer to Senior Category Managers, the role will influence category strategies, drive supplier-enabled innovation, and build external partnerships that strengthen PepsiCo's competitive advantage over the next 3-10 years.

Responsibilities

• Develop long-term perspectives on global ingredient markets, supply ecosystems, and emerging technologies.
• Monitor consumer, regulatory, climate, geopolitical, and agricultural trends through a procurement and supply resilience lens.
• Partner with R&D, Product Development, Commercial, and Strategy teams to anticipate future ingredient requirements and growth opportunities.
• Build and maintain supplier innovation pipelines, strategic external partnerships, and emerging ecosystem networks.
• Assess future supply security, resilience, and competitiveness risks across key ingredient categories.
• Identify and drive opportunities related to regenerative agriculture, sustainability, transparency, and traceability.
• Lead future-state reviews and scenario planning exercises across strategic ingredient categories.
• Challenge existing sourcing assumptions and embed long-term (Horizon 3) thinking into category and business strategies.
• Own the Horizon 3 Procurement Strategy, ensuring a sustained focus on long-term value creation beyond annual objectives and category execution.
• Establish a structured approach for identifying future growth opportunities, disruptive risks, emerging supplier ecosystems, and breakthrough technologies.
• Translate foresight and market intelligence into actionable strategic recommendations for procurement leadership and business stakeholders.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Procurement, Supply Chain, Food Science, Agriculture, Economics, or a related field.
• 10+ years of experience in procurement, category management, strategy, innovation, market intelligence, or a related discipline.
• Strong understanding of global ingredient supply chains, agricultural markets, and emerging industry trends.
• Experience evaluating market, technology, consumer, regulatory, and sustainability developments and translating insights into business strategy.
• Demonstrated success identifying and delivering innovation opportunities through suppliers, partnerships, or new business models.
• Knowledge of sustainability, regenerative agriculture, traceability, and supply chain resilience principles.