Senior Associate Brand Manager, Innovation

Wells Enterprises; Illinois; Hybrid; USD 104,295 - 146,013; Full time

Job summary

A leading consumer goods company is seeking a Senior Associate Brand Manager, Innovation to drive key projects from concept to shelf. This role involves identifying growth opportunities through market insights and collaborating with cross-functional teams. The ideal candidate has 3–5 years in brand marketing or innovation and possesses strong analytical and communication skills. The position offers a base pay range from $104,295 to $146,013 annually with a hybrid work model.

Qualifications

• 3–5 years of experience in CPG, focusing on brand marketing, innovation, or product development.
• Strong understanding of consumer and shopper behavior, category dynamics, and market trends.
• Experience managing cross-functional projects with multiple stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead key innovation projects from concept development through commercialization.
• Partner with teams to identify emerging trends and unmet needs.
• Present innovation strategies and updates to senior leadership.

Skills

Consumer insights

Brand strategy

Analytical skills

Cross-functional project management

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business, or related field

MBA preferred

Tools

Nielsen

IRI

Job description

Senior Associate Brand Manager, Innovation

The Senior Associate Brand Manager, Innovation plays a key role in identifying growth opportunities, developing new product ideas, and executing innovation initiatives from concept to shelf. This role needs someone who is passionate about consumer insights, category trends, and building compelling brand experiences. Partners cross-functionally with R&D, Insights, Sales, Finance, and Supply Chain to deliver breakthrough innovation that meets consumer needs and drives business impact.

Responsibilities Include:

• Lead key innovation projects from concept development through commercialization, including business case development, product positioning, and launch strategy
• Partner with Consumer Insights and Category teams to identify emerging trends, unmet needs, and whitespace opportunities
• Translate consumer, category, and competitive insights into product concepts with strong brand fit and commercial potential
• Collaborate with cross-functional partners (R&D, Sales, Finance, Supply Chain) to drive timely and efficient project execution
• Build and manage project timelines, budgets, and internal approval processes
• Support annual strategic planning and innovation pipeline development
• Monitor in-market performance of new launches and recommend optimizations
• Present innovation strategies and project updates to senior leadership and key stakeholders
• P&L Management: Demonstrate comfort and fluency with managing a full brand P&L, including understanding key financial levers (e.g., pricing, trade, COGS, advertising) to drive brand profitability and growth.
• Data Analysis & Insights: Leverage syndicated data sources such as Nielsen, IRI, and other retail measurement tools to analyze category and competitive trends, identify growth opportunities, and inform innovation strategy

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business, or related field; MBA preferred
• 3–5 years of experience in CPG, with a focus on brand marketing, innovation, or product development
• Strong understanding of consumer and shopper behavior, category dynamics, and market trends to identify and develop growth-driving innovation.
• Familiarity with the CPG commercialization process—from concept to shelf is essential.
• Brand strategy, new product development, and go-to-market planning, with a working knowledge of research methodologies, financial modeling, and cross-functional project management.
• Strong analytical skills with business acumen to assess market potential and ROI.
• Experience managing cross-functional projects with multiple stakeholders.
• Excellent communication, storytelling, and presentation skills.
• Comfortable operating in a fast-paced, matrixed environment.
• Proven ability to translate insights into action and deliver consumer-relevant innovation.

The base pay range for this position is $104,295 to $146,013 annually. Actual compensation will be determined based on experience, qualifications, and other job-related factors permitted by law. This pay range represents the anticipated salary for this position at this time.

Wells Enterprises is an EEO/AA employer M/F/Vet/Dis

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