Senior Innovation Strategy Leader

Nestlé S.A.; Arlington (VA); On-site; USD 170,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401k with company match

Healthcare coverage

Broad range of benefits

Job summary

Nestlé USA seeks a Senior Manager for Commercial Innovation Strategy and Capability Leadership to translate innovation priorities into division-level action. The role partners across brands, Commercial Development, Sales, Finance, Consumer Insights & Foresight, Digital, R&D, TAG, and external partners to build strategy, rolling pipelines, and disciplined commercialization.

It combines strategic leadership with hands-on execution, moving opportunities from ambition to prioritized concepts and

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required; MBA or Master's preferred.
• 8+ years of progressive experience in CPG innovation, marketing or strategy.
• Experience building innovation strategies and pipelines in a matrixed organization.
• Knowledge of front-end innovation, portfolio management, stage-gate governance, and performance tracking.
• Ability to translate inputs into clear recommendations and actions.

Responsibilities

• Translate business strategy and brand priorities into long-term innovation strategy and rolling three-year pipelines.
• Lead opportunity assessments and align with Brand Building the Nestle Way to strengthen growth platforms.
• Incorporate consumer insights and foresight into strategy, concept development, and pipeline decisions.
• Drive adoption of The Nestlé Way, FEI processes, governance, and stage-gate reporting.
• Coach cross-functional teams through opportunity framing, prioritization, and experimentation.
• Partner with Learning & Development to embed innovation capability into ways of working.
• Support monthly innovation scorecards and governance routines with clear insights and actions.
• Collaborate with R&D, TAG, Commercial Development, Sales, Finance, and divisions to accelerate launches and scale.
• Act as an integrator across functions, clarifying roles and ownership to move innovation forward with speed.

Skills

Strategic thinking

Influencing without authority

Consumer orientation

Results orientation

Innovation

Analytical storytelling

Portfolio management

Change leadership

Coaching and capability building

Budget and partner management

Education

Bachelor's degree

MBA or Master's in Marketing / Business / Innovation

Job description

Nestlé USA seeks a Senior Manager for Commercial Innovation Strategy and Capability Leadership to translate innovation priorities into division-level action. The role partners across brands, Commercial Development, Sales, Finance, Consumer Insights & Foresight, Digital, R&D, TAG, and external partners to build strategy, rolling pipelines, and disciplined commercialization.

It combines strategic leadership with hands-on execution, moving opportunities from ambition to prioritized concepts and