Brand Manager, Innovation

Role Purpose

 

The Marketing Brand Manager, Innovation is responsible for leading the long-term innovation strategy and early development of innovation across the portfolio, identifying new growth opportunities and translating them into compelling propositions that drive future business growth.

This role connects brand strategy, consumer insight, and market opportunity to define the next sources of growth for the portfolio. The Brand Manager, Innovation will identify emerging consumer needs, whitespace opportunities, and category trends, translating them into clear innovation territories and platforms that strengthen brand equity and expand the portfolio into new areas of growth.

The role leads the early development of innovation concepts from insight to proper handoff to the brand for commercialization, partnering closely with Insights, R&D, Sales, Supply Chain, and Finance to ensure ideas are consumer-relevant, operationally feasible, and commercially viable. The Brand Manager, Innovation will guide initiatives through early stage-gate processes while maintaining strong alignment with enterprise growth priorities and brand strategies.

Success in this role requires a curious and entrepreneurial marketer who is energized by identifying what’s next for the business and a deep passion for understanding consumer’s unmet needs. The ideal candidate combines strategic thinking with strong executional discipline, balancing creative ideation with rigorous validation and commercial accountability.

 

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Innovation Strategy & Opportunity Identification
  • Identify whitespace opportunities and emerging consumer needs through analysis of category trends, consumer insights, and competitive landscapes.
  • Translate enterprise growth strategies into clear innovation and renovation territories that expand brand relevance and portfolio growth
  • Monitor evolving consumer behaviors, macro trends, and competitive activity to uncover new areas for innovation and brand expansion.
  • Develop strategic opportunity areas that guide future innovation platforms and product development initiatives
• Concept Development & Ideation
  • Lead the development of innovative product concepts that address unmet consumer needs and support portfolio growth. Translate consumer insights and data into compelling product propositions and innovation platforms.
  • Facilitate ideation sessions and collaborate with cross-functional partners to generate and refine breakthrough ideas.
  • Build strong project charters that clearly articulate consumer value, brand fit, and commercial potential including proforma P&L that proves financial guardrails and viabliity
• Consumer Validation & Market Learning
  • Develop learning plans to validate innovation concepts through consumer research, concept testing, and product feedback.
  • Partner with Insights team to design and execute research that informs concept refinement and prioritization. Translate research findings into actionable recommendations that strengthen product propositioins and support decision making.
• Pipeline & Portfolio Management
  • Contribute to the development and maintenance of a multi-year innovation pipeline aligned with strategic growth priorities.
  • Prioritize and manage innovation initiatives to ensure a balanced portfolio of near-term, adjacent, and longer-term opportunities.
  • Continuously refine innovation initiatives based on new insights, business priorities, and market learning.
  • Support the development of strong business cases and financial projections for innovation initiatives to ensure portfolio sufficiency
• Cross-Functional Leadership
  • Lead cross-functional teams through early stage gate and commercialization processes.
  • Manage projects through stage gate and commercialization processes to ensure initiatives progress efficiently and successfully launch.
  • Partner with internal stakeholders to ensure innovation concepts are operationally feasible, financially viable, and aligned with broader business objectives.
  • Translate research insights into actionable recommendations that strengthen product propositions and support decision making.
  • Monitor post-launch performance and identify key learnings to inform future innovation initiatives.

Qualifications

Education and/or Experience

 

Required:

• Minimum 5 years work experience within the Consumer-Packaged Goods Industry with a minimum of 2 years’ experience in Brand Management with a focus in Innovation (developing and commercializing new products and platforms). 
• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business, or related field.  

Preferred:

• MBA strongly preferred

Competencies and Proficiency Requirements

• Brand Strategy & Stewardship: Strong ability to define and evolve brand equity while prioritizing the initiatives with the greatest business impact
• Consumer & Market Insight: Ability to analyze consumer, category, and market data to identify growth opportunities and translate insights into actionable innovation platforms.
• Strategic Thinking: Act as an extension of our brand teams: ability to connect trends, insights, and business priorities to identify innovation opportunities that drive portfolio growth.
• Creative Problem Solving: Curious and entrepreneurial mindset with the ability to generate and refine new product ideas that address unmet consumer needs.
• Project & Process Leadership: Strong project management skills with the ability to manage multiple initiatives, prioritize effectively, and drive projects forward through the innovation and commercialization process.
• Influence & Communication: Strong storytelling and communication skills with the ability to influence stakeholders and build alignment across a matrixed organization.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Proven ability to work effectively across functions and levels of the organization to advance innovation initiatives.
• Commercial and Financial Acumen: Deep understanding of P&L drivers, pricing, trade, and portfolio management
• Entrepreneurial Mindset: Comfort operating in ambiguity with a bias toward action creativity and resourcefulness
• Execution in Ambiguity: Comfortable operating in fast-moving or ambiguous environments with the ability to organize complexity and deliver results.

Scope

 

Financial/Budgetary Responsibility: Responsible for managing project budgets related to innovation initiatives including research, concept development, and commercialization planning.

Team Size: Individual contributor role with significant cross-functional leadership responsibility.

 

Conditions of Role:

• Travel Requirements: Limited travel required, typically once per quarter for team collaboration, research, or commercialization activities.

• Work Environment: Remote, with collaboration across cross-functional teams and periodic travel for research, development, and commercialization activities.

 

 

Compensation And Benefits

• $96,000 - $135,000 (commensurate with experience and location)
• Medical, Prescription, Dental, Vision Coverage
• Flexible spending accounts
• Disability coverage
• Life insurance
• Critical illness and accident insurance
• Legal and identity protection insurance
• Pet insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Commuter benefits
• Tuition assistance
• Adoption assistance
• 401(k)
• PTO
• Parental Leave

Hain Celestial is an equal employment opportunity/affirmative action employer. The Company does not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, expression, genetic information, protected veteran status or any other characteristics protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.
If you need accommodations for any part of the employment process because of a disability, please send an e-mail to talent@hain.com or call 516-587-5000 to let us know the nature of your request. EEO/AA/M/F/Veteran/Disabled.