Innovation Manager

Tyson Foods; Springdale (AR); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Tyson Foods is seeking an Innovation Manager to drive sustainable growth by turning consumer insights into actionable strategies and leading cross-functional teams to bring differentiated products and experiences to market.

This role sits onsite in Springdale, Arkansas, demanding strategic thinking, execution excellence, and the ability to influence without direct authority to deliver measurable business impact.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required; MBA preferred.
• 3+ years in Innovation, Brand Marketing, Product Development, Consumer Insights, Strategy, or related field.
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional initiatives and influence without direct authority.
• Strong communication, relationship-building, and stakeholder management skills.

Responsibilities

• Develop and manage a robust innovation pipeline aligned to brand, category, and business growth objectives.
• Identify opportunities through consumer insights, trends, and analytics; translate into growth strategies.
• Lead concept development, validation, optimization, and commercialization; ensure on-time delivery.

Skills

Strategic thinking

Analytical skills

Problem solving

Financial acumen

Cross-functional leadership

Communication

Relationship-building

Stakeholder management

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.

Job Details

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%

Position Specific Requirements

• 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.

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

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.

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.

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