Innovation Manager

Tyson Foods; Springdale (AR); On-site; USD 105,000 - 135,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid time off

401(k) plans

Health, dental, vision benefits

Prescription drug benefits

Job summary

Tyson Foods in Springdale, Arkansas is seeking an Innovation Manager to drive sustainable growth by developing and executing a consumer-led innovation pipeline. You will translate consumer and marketplace insights into actionable growth strategies and lead cross-functional teams to bring differentiated products to market.

The role requires balancing strategic thinking with execution excellence, influencing without direct authority, and delivering measurable business impact in a fast-paced

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required; MBA preferred.

Responsibilities

• Growth Strategy & Pipeline Development – Identify opportunities and build strategies that deliver growth.
• Consumer-Led Innovation – Translate consumer insights into differentiated solutions and lead development.
• End-to-End Innovation Execution – Manage initiatives from opportunity to launch and post-market review.
• Leadership & Influence – Build relationships and influence without direct authority to accelerate decisions.

Skills

Strategic thinking

Cross-functional leadership

Stakeholder management

Communication

Analytics

P&L exposure

Education

Bachelor's degree

MBA

Job description

Job Summary

The Innovation Manager drives sustainable business growth by developing and executing a consumer-led innovation pipeline. The Innovation Manager identifies emerging opportunities, translates consumer and marketplace insights into actionable growth strategies, and leads cross-functional teams to bring differentiated products and experiences to market. Success requires a balance of strategic thinking and execution excellence. The ideal candidate thrives in a fast-paced corporate environment, builds trusted relationships, can influence despite not owning final decision, and turns insights into commercially successful innovation. This position sits full time onsite in Springdale, Arkansas.

Key Responsibilities

• Growth Strategy & Pipeline Development Develop and manage a robust innovation pipeline aligned to brand, category, and business growth objectives. Identify opportunities through consumer insights, trends, competitive intelligence, and analytics. Build short- and long-term strategies that deliver sustainable revenue, profit, and share growth. Prioritize opportunities based on consumer relevance, business impact, and feasibility.
• Consumer-Led Innovation Champion the voice of the consumer throughout the innovation process. Partner across Insights, Marketing, R&D, Sales, and various cross-functional teams to translate unmet needs into differentiated solutions. Develop compelling value propositions and positioning that create a meaningful competitive advantage. Lead concept development, validation, optimization, and commercialization.
• End-to-End Innovation Execution Lead innovation initiatives from opportunity identification through launch and post-market evaluation. Align cross-functional teams around clear objectives, milestones, and business outcomes. Proactively manage risks, remove barriers, and drive decisions to maintain momentum. Deliver initiatives on time, on budget, and with strong marketplace results.
• Leadership & Influence Build trusted relationships across functions and organizational levels to accelerate alignment and decisions. Influence stakeholders through insight-driven storytelling, business acumen, and collaboration. Navigate competing priorities and complex business dynamics with confidence and balanced persistence.

What Success Looks Like

• Builds a pipeline that fuels future Enterprise growth.
• Identifies opportunities before competitors.
• Turns consumer insights into action with winning innovation.
• Creates alignment across diverse stakeholders.
• Delivers measurable business impact through strategy and execution.

Requirements

• Education: Bachelor's degree required; MBA preferred.
• Experience: Minimum of 3 years of experience in Innovation, Brand Marketing, Product Development, Consumer Insights, Strategy, or a related field. Demonstrated success developing and commercializing innovation pipelines that drive growth. Strong strategic thinking, analytical, problem-solving, and financial acumen, P&L exposure. Proven ability to lead complex cross-functional initiatives and influence without direct authority. Exceptional communication, relationship-building, and stakeholder management skills. Ability to balance long-term strategic vision with near-term disciplined execution.
• Travel: 10-15%
• Must reside in the United States to be considered. Sponsorship is not available for this position. Relocation Assistance Eligible: Yes. Work Shift: 1ST SHIFT (United States of America). Certain roles at Tyson require background checks. If you are offered a position that requires a background check you will be provided additional documentation to complete once an offer has been extended.

Equal Opportunity & Diversity Statement

Tyson is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will be considered without regard to race, national origin, color, religion, age, genetics, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or veteran status.

Physical Requirements

The successful candidate(s) must be willing and able to perform the physical requirements of the job with or without a reasonable accommodation.

Benefits & Perks

• We provide our team members and their families with paid time off; 401(k) plans; affordable health, life, dental, vision and prescription drug benefits; and more.

Company Culture & Values

Unsolicited Assistance: Tyson Foods and its subsidiaries do not accept unsolicited support from external recruitment vendors for open positions within the United States. Any resumes or candidate profiles submitted by recruitment vendors or headhunters to any employee or applicant tracking system at Tyson Foods or its subsidiaries, without a valid written request and search agreement approved by HR, will be considered the property of Tyson Foods. No fees will be paid if the candidate is hired due to an unsolicited referral.

Our team members make the difference. If you are ready to grow your career with an industry leader and want to positively impact the team and community around you, then join us in helping us in raising expectations. Join us on the journey. At Tyson, we feed the world like family. Our Talent Strategy is to Attract, Grow, Reward and Retain the best talent, and we believe that our Culture is the connecting thread that drives that strategy! We strive to be a talent magnet to establish a reputation for being a talent rich organization where team members can grow their career while growing the business. We are a high performing organization where team members are rewarded (Pay, Benefits and Recognition) for their contributions, and given the opportunity to support and/or volunteer with programs that help Tyson make a lasting social impact in the communities where we live and work. To learn more about our culture, please read Our Purpose.

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