Strategic Demand Leader – Innovation & Launch

Mars Incorporated in; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 154,000 - 211,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Mars University

Company bonus

Competitive salary

Benefits package

Job summary

Mars Incorporated is seeking a Senior Manager, Strategic Demand Leadership (SDL) – Innovation to bridge brand innovation and marketplace realities. You’ll lead multi-channel launches for portfolios up to $800M NSV, coordinating Sales, Innovation Marketing, R&D, Consumer Insights, and Revenue Growth Management to translate consumer whitespace into growth.

You’ll shape how new products appear on shelves and screens, driving trial, awareness, distribution velocity, and profitability across key

Qualifications

• Minimum of 5 years of commercial experience in CPG marketing, innovation commercialization, commercial strategy, category management, or demand planning.
• Proven experience leading commercialization, go-to-market planning, and customer activation of new product launches.
• Consultant-style analytical toolkit with structured problem solving and ability to shift between strategy and execution.
• Experience developing consumer, shopper, and customer strategies, activations and promotional plans.
• Fluency in category trends, competitive dynamics, shopper behaviors, translating insights into advantages.
• Ability to influence, align, and mobilize cross-functional partners and senior stakeholders without direct authority.
• Excellent interpersonal, stakeholder management, storytelling and presentation capabilities.
• Nice-to-have: S&OP processes and RGM principles knowledge.

Responsibilities

• Innovation Strategy & Development: identify consumer needs and whitespace; shape pipelines and commercialization strategies.
• Innovation Launch Excellence: create omni-channel launch plans and activation strategies across channels.
• Sales Plan Execution: drive annual sales strategy to meet brand and innovation objectives.
• Channel & Customer Leadership: understand channels and optimize AMPS strategies; advocate for the customer.
• Trend & Competitive Intelligence: monitor industry trends and competitor launches to stay differentiated.
• Innovation Performance Management: track post-launch performance and provide actionable scaling recommendations.
• Forecast & Revenue Growth Management: translate sales trends into reliable demand signals; collaborate on forecasts.

Skills

Commercial Experience

Launch Track Record

Analytical Skills

Customer & Shopper

Market Insights

Leadership & Influence

Communication Skills

S&OP Knowledge

RGM Principles

Tools

Mars University

Job description

Mars Incorporated is seeking a Senior Manager, Strategic Demand Leadership (SDL) – Innovation to bridge brand innovation and marketplace realities. You’ll lead multi-channel launches for portfolios up to $800M NSV, coordinating Sales, Innovation Marketing, R&D, Consumer Insights, and Revenue Growth Management to translate consumer whitespace into growth.

You’ll shape how new products appear on shelves and screens, driving trial, awareness, distribution velocity, and profitability across key