Innovation and Insights Manager

Weekly travel to Castlemaine
- DON Caring Everyday - 2 volunteer days per year
- Global Career Opportunities

**About Us**

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GWF is one of Australia and New Zealand’s largest food manufacturers employing around 6,000 people across 60 sites. GWF’s product range is diverse and includes leading brands of breads, baked goods, smallgoods, flour, milled products and animal feed. GWF’s business units include: Tip Top, Don, Yumi's, MAURI anz and Jasol.

DON’s heritage goes back to the late 1800’s and we have always been passionate about meat and making meat even better
- transforming it into delicious tasting Ham, Bacon, Salami, Smallgoods and Fresh Pork.

Our heritage is expertise in meat, and we have taken great pride in our skills, techniques and our brands form the very beginning. Our journey has been one from small family businesses to large ones and now as part of the GWF family, which is still largely owned by the Weston family.

**About the Role**:
We are currently seeking an Innovation and Insights Manager to join our Commercial team, reporting to the Head Innovation and Marketing.

Based at Port Melbourne, this role will champion New Product Development (NPD) and act as the consumer voice within our business to deliver on our long-term business agenda. Please note this role will require travel to Castlemaine, approximately once per week.

**Key Responsibilities**

Innovation
- Develop Innovation strategy based on Marketing Strategy & BBS
- Convert category Insights and growth opportunities into a 3yr Innovation Pipeline
- Lead, develop and assess Innovation projects (Step Out & Core Growth) in Stage Gate
- Manage the Castlemaine based Innovation Technical Lead
- Fostering cross functional interaction and networks for Innovation Technical Leads
- Working with sales team, engage with key customers, identify opportunities, develop & execute joint innovation plans
- Ensure all key business stakeholders are updated and aligned on NPD portfolio initiatives.
- Inspire an innovation culture within Don by bringing trends & external inspiration and new ways of operating to business

Insights
- Partner with agency suppliers to design, manage and embed bespoke research projects on time and budget
- Establish competitive benchmarking and preference testing for all NPD
- Communicate research insights to SLT and broader business, particularly BUs and Castlemaine Site
- Bring the consumer to life through insight driven thinking
- Manage Insights budget across sensory and consumer understanding
- Key contact for trend and insights agency e.g. Mintel, The Food People, Stylus

**Benefits**:

- Flexible working
- Free secure parking on site
- DON Caring Everyday - 2 volunteer days per year
- Global Career Opportunities
- Study Assistance Program

**About You**
- Bachelor’s Degree in Business, Commerce or similar with a Marketing focus
- Demonstrated proven success in bringing Innovation to market
- NPD and project management experience
- Ability to multitask and prioritise competing deadlines
- Management experience preferred
- Ability to negotiate and influence cross-functionally from brief to execution
- Commercial acumen
- Excellent internal and external stakeholder management skills
- You are passionate about our business, brand and products and will bring an understanding of how to bring innovation to market
- We are seeking a creative, adaptive and ambitious individual who will bring long term strategic thinking to this new role. You will be confident in your decisions and able to ‘sell’ your ideas to key stakeholders.

**Applications**:

- At DON and George Weston Foods, we are an equal opportunity employer. We embrace inclusion and diversity and celebrate what makes us unique. We are committed to the principles of equal employment opportunity and the provision of a safe and healthy work environment._
- In accordance with the current Public Health Order in Victoria (COVID-19 Mandatory Vaccination (Workers) Directions) you are required to be vaccinated to work at our sites in Victoria, and as such will be required to provide us evidence that you are vaccinated against Covid 19._
- Applicants for this position will be required to undertake pre-employment screening tests including a pre-employment medical including drug and alcohol test and a security / background check which may also include a criminal record check._