Beam Suntory is Crafting the Spirits that Stir the World. Rooted in two centuries of family heritage, Beam Suntory has evolved into the world's third largest leading premium spirits company ... where each employee is treated like family and trusted with legacy. With our greatest assets - our premium spirits and our people - we're driving growth through impactful marketing, innovation and an entrepreneurial spirit. Beam Suntory is a place where you can come Unleash your Spirit by making an impact each and every day.

Gin & Irish Innovation manager (maternity Cover)  

The following position is is open in Scotland, United Kingdom.

What makes this a great opportunity?

It is a pivotal role within the Brandhouse marketing team working with brand, finance and distillery teams to develop innovation strategy and then bring the strategy to life by creating new products. It is very varied, provides plenty of expposure and opportunity for autonomy in a rapidly growing category (Gin)

The role sspans marketing, and commercial disciplines

Role Responsibilities

PURPOSE & SCOPE OF ROLE:

The SGI Global Innovation team are responsible for the innovation strategy & global product & pack development for a suite of single malt Scotch whisky brands (Laphroaig, Bowmore, Auchentoshan and Ardmore), Blended Scotch, Irish Whiskey (Kilbeggan, Connemara & Tyrconnel) & Gin (Sipsmith & Larios). The SGI Innovation Manager will lead the innovation strategy agenda and develop the innovations across all brands they are responsible for, responding to the brand´s strategy, consumer needs & market/channel opportunities.

The Innovation manager is the project lead of individual innovation projects – developing new liquids and new packaging – coordinating a diverse cross-functional team (innovation, consumer insights, brand marketing, R&D, operations, Packaging team, external suppliers etc.) to successfully deliver strategically aligned, consumer-led and commercially impactful innovation projects. In leading these projects, the SGI Innovation Manager will ensure all projects under her/his responsibility progress smoothly through the Beam Suntory Seed to Sip Innovation process in a timely manner.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Innovation strategy development: taking the ‘asks’ from the brand team and their direction on the overall brand strategy to create and then update an innovation strategy that delivers on the needs of the brand.
• Project lead:  Responsible for leading the translation of the ‘ask’ into an idea, then responsible for the overall direction and management of each innovation project to ensure timely delivery against the objectives. Coordinating with project stakeholders and the project managers to bring innovations to life.
• Be accountable for the leadership, development and flawless delivery of a range of strongly strategic and commercially viable Innovations for Beam Suntory’s portfolio.
• Individual responsibility of a significant number of innovation projects conducted across a range of categories (Scotch, Gin & Irish) & numerous brands each year for both global domestic and GTR markets.
• Inspire key marketing, Production and R&D partners in the earliest stages of innovation projects to facilitate the development of products that target emerging and unmet consumer needs.

• Ensure the correct application of all Beam Suntory innovation processes and standards globally. To also ensure all project materials submitted to the Seed to Sip gate committee are of the highest quality and demonstrate the opportunity being addressed.
• To take additional responsibility for additional innovation projects on smaller brands as required in conjunction with the rest of the innovation team.
• Utilize superb project management skills to plan and prioritize overall team resources and execute a broad variety of projects according to agreed timelines and budget constraints.
• Coordinate cross functional, multi-market teams under the direction of Innovation Managers to deliver projects efficiently and effectively, from initial ideation, through concept development, liquid and packaging design, to commercialization in market.
  • Work closely with brand team to create a solid innovation proposition to satisfy consumer needs, brand strategy & market/channel opportunities.
  • Coordination with brand & project team to ensure innovation development runs smoothly & timely by completing all necessary tasks to meet innovation launch dates.
  • Coordination with Finance team to build P&Ls in time for the Pre-alignment and Gate submission.
  • Coordination with brand to get market and channel alignment on innovation propositions.
  • Preparation of Innovation documents for bi-weekly Innovation submissions to gate meetings for pre-alignment with brand & approval from gate committee.
• Presentation of innovation projects in pre-alignment & gate meetings to seek approval for innovations to be kicked off, to progress & to be finally launched.
• Input of projects & required updated into Planisware project management system – to trigger the creation of key action and timeline for each project.
• Direct and influence the R&D product and packaging development teams in creating excellent tasting liquids and impactful pack presentations.
• Monitor consumer trends in needs, occasions, flavors and drink experiences, and recommend activities and projects to maintain our position of leadership within the spirits industry.
• Identify and implement best practices within innovation, to develop even better ideas and a more efficient development cycle.
• Offer recommendations and creative solutions to solve project obstacles.

Qualifications & Experience

KEY SKILLS & COMPETENCIES:

• Ability to connect brand to innovation strategy & bring it to life via the innovations.
• Good understanding of P&L.
• Impeccable organisational skills with a resilient, positive mental attitude.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, with ability to communicate effectively in a multicultural, cross functional organization. Empathetic & engaging people skills spanning many nationalitie, differing attitudes & levels of experience and seniority.
• Ability to flex to suit business priorities & adapt to potential change in direction for innovation projects.
• Proven Project management skills managing a number of business-critical projects.
• Self-starter with a strong sense of ownership to drive the successful & timely development of innovation projects, flexible & comfortable working in unstructured environment, and able to manage multiple priorities. Proactive way of working and ability to work remotely and independently from stakeholders and colleagues in a matrix organization.
• Ability to operate under pressure in a fast-paced business environment.
• Project management software skills.
• Conflict resolution/team working in a highly matrixed environment.
• Agency/outside partner management.
• Good verbal and written English.
• Close attention to detail and outstanding process management and development skills.
• Passionate and determined, committed to delivering projects on-time and above expectations.

EXPER

EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS

• 6+ years’ experience in Alcobev/FMCG Marketing of Food/Drink Innovation roles.
• Ideally experience working for an alcoholic drinks brand or luxury/premium food/drink brand.
• Innovation project management experience OR proven experience managing multi-dimensional projects with multiple inputs & outputs in Spirits or other consumer led categories.
• Track record of cross functional team leadership & generating motivation/enthusiasm for innovations & other projects across functions.
• Proven experience working in a multi-cultural environment & working remotely and independently.

At Beam Suntory, people are our number one priority, and we believe our people grow together in diverse and inclusive environments where their unique insights, experiences and backgrounds are valued and respected. Beam Suntory is committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity, military veteran status and all other characteristics, attributes or choices protected by law. All recruitment and hiring decisions are based on an applicant’s skills and experience.