Associate Manager, Food Innovation Technology (FIT)

KFC Corporation; Town of Florida (NY); Hybrid; USD 99,200 - 146,360; Full time

Job summary

KFC Corporation in Florida is seeking an Associate Manager, Food Innovation Technology (FIT) to support LA&C regional innovation plans. This hybrid role focuses on developing and launching new products in a fast-paced environment.

You will lead commercialization for regional windows, manage a test kitchen, coordinate nutrition data, and align with QA and supply chain to use approved ingredients and suppliers.

Qualifications

• B.S. or higher in Food Science or related subject.
• Minimum five years’ experience in food related industry.
• Fluent in English and Spanish preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead commercialization for regional innovation windows; develop product guides and training materials.
• Oversee test kitchen management and ingredient logistics with cross-functional partners.
• Support regional innovation calendars, timelines, and local approvals.
• Coordinate with Quality Assurance and Supply Chain to use approved suppliers.
• Track nutrition data and consolidate samples for global sharing.
• Partner with KFC Global to cascade beverage platform for the region.
• Manage local innovations and provide feedback to franchisees or suppliers.

Skills

Food Science

Project Management

Leadership

Cross-functional Collaboration

Supplier Management

Education

Bachelor's in Food Science

Master's degree preferred

Job description

Associate Manager, Food Innovation Technology (FIT)

FL, United States (Hybrid)

Job Description

Assoc Manager, FIT is responsible for supporting the initiatives and strategic objectives associated with innovation plans for LA&C as a region. Responsible for supporting key business initiatives throughout the region including development and implementation of new products in a highly competitive fast-paced environment.

Responsibilities

• Lead commercialization for innovation windows at regional calendar – develop product guides, add ingredients information, lead calls with markets for rollout, support training and OPS with training materials
• Lead test kitchen management – support buying and receiving ingredients, cleaning material and managing test kitchen cook. Manage along with Marcela all services that must be done in the kitchen
• Responsible for Caribbean innovation process – supporting markets to finalize their calendars and technical projects (core products/ win on taste)
• Lead cross functionally Pipeline meeting – tracking all regional innovation and supporting RSCS and Calendar to run smoothly and lead approval of all local innovation requests
• Support on developing new concepts for testing (gathering ideas from global, suppliers or food trends/ social, developing concepts description and testing with MDI)
• Innovation Hub – add all LA&C products in the system and get global ideas to be tested
• Lead consolidating all nutritional information data from markets to send global
• Support CPT tests we will do in markets – sending and tracking ingredients and preparing material for testing
• Proactively align with Quality Assurance and Supply Chain to use approved suppliers and develop key ingredients as needed.
• Demonstrate ability to analyze technical data, anticipate project next step and make recommendations.
• Partner with KFC Global to cascade Beverage platform for the region.
• Project Manage local innovations, validating samples from local innovation products, sharing feedback if necessary to franchisees or suppliers
• Co-lead annual Planning Meeting product showing execution for Franchisees

Qualifications

• B.S. or higher in Food Science or related subject. Master degree preferred.
• Minimum five (5) years’ experience in food related industry.
• Ability to communicate effectively, work with a wide range of people, and influence teams. Strong leadership and coaching skills.
• Demonstrated experience and success in product development/roll-outs.
• Ability to prioritize and successfully manage multiple projects simultaneously within aggressive timetables.
• Fluent in English and Spanish preferred.

Salary Range: $99,200 to $146,360 annually + bonus eligibility.

This is the expected salary range for this position. Ultimately, in determining pay, we'll consider the successful candidate’s location, experience, and other job-related factors.