Brand Manager, Innovation

Join Riverside Natural Foods Ltd., a $300 million+ Canadian-based, family-owned, and globally operating business, committed to leaving the world better than we found it. As a B-Corp certified, Triple-Bottom Line company, we proudly manufacture nutritious, 'better-for-you' snacks such as MadeGood and GOOD TO GO. We value teamwork, humility, respect, ownership, adaptability, grit, and fun.

We're on an ambitious mission to double our business by 2027, and we need talented individuals like you to help us reach new heights. At Riverside, you'll have the opportunity to chart your own path to success while contributing to ours. We believe anything worth doing is worth doing right, and our values will guide us through the rugged terrain - and yes, it will get rough. But that's what makes the journey worthwhile.

So, lace up your boots and let's tackle the climb together.

**Job Description: Brand Manager, Innovation (12-Month Contract)**

**Position Summary/Objective**:
**Primary Responsibilities**:

- **Leadership of Innovation Projects**:Lead disruptive and new platform innovation projects from concept to sales ready, collaborating with cross-functional teams including R&D, Engineering, Category, Sales, Supply Chain, Finance and Regulatory. Key responsibilities include:

- Develop product concepts and strategic positioning based on consumer and market data, aligning with brand strategy and vision.
- Brief R&D on innovation concepts, incorporating brand guardrails and consumer trends.
- Conduct risk assessments to mitigate challenges during development.
- Define Go-To-Market strategies considering competitive landscapes, consumer needs, and market dynamics across brand, category, and channels.
- Develop P&L models and forecasts in collaboration with Finance and Sales Planning.
- Prepare gate approval documentation, presenting actionable recommendations to stakeholders to gain alignment.
- Create data-driven sales materials such as sales decks and sell sheets to support innovation launches.
- Manage the end-to-end execution of commercialization plans for new product launches, ensuring seamless implementation across sales, marketing and operations.
- **Innovation Pipeline Generation**:

- Be the expert on consumer and market trends through in-depth research, category analysis, and competitive insights.
- Collaborate with the Senior Brand Manager in identifying whitespace opportunities for innovation driven by consumer insights.

**Education & Qualifications**:

- Degree in Business, or related fields.
- 3-5+ years' experience in CPG/retail or other consumer facing organization working in Brand Management.
- Proven track record of managing innovation development from idea to launch with a consumer-first mindset.
- Collaborative cross-functional partner with experience working with Sales, R&D, Engineering, Supply Chain, Finance and Regulatory teams in the development and commercialization of new product innovations.
- Strong analytic skills - fluent with Nielsen/SPINS and Numerator (a bonus), distilling data into tangible actions and innovation forecasting.
- Strong financial acumen, including P&L understanding
- Excellent oral, verbal and written communication skills.

**Skills & Abilities**:

- Strong leadership skills and an ownership mentality.
- Team player with the ability to work effectively across functions and cross culturally, interfacing with all levels of management and possessing the strong ability to influence.
- Strong project management skills
- Comfortable navigating ambiguity and can leverage both qualitative insights and intuition for informed decision-making.
- Self
- starter individual, with an entrepreneurial spirit who enjoys working in a start-up-like work environment and is motivated to create an impact on the organization.
- Demonstrates strong strategic and critical thinking, is creative, and has problem-solving capabilities.
- Embraces, demonstrates, and upholds Riverside's values of teamwork, humility, respect, ownership, adaptability, passion, and FUN

**What we expect**:

- **Values-led**: You'll be a member of a thoughtful and compassionate team that prioritizes respect, teamwork and resourcefulness along with a good dash of fun. Sometimes, even making granola bars is hard, and life's too short to take ourselves so seriously that we don't enjoy the journey.
- **Unparalleled experiences and opportunities**: We're still determining who we are and what we can be. Help us shape what this organization will look like and what we'll offer the world, into the future. This means rolling up your sleeves and sometimes building the process - fast - while employing it. At Riverside, progress occasionally means proceeding imperfectly, and we're okay with that, as long as we're staying true to our values and learning and improving along the way.
- **Access to everyone**: We're a flat organization with few silos which means you'll have full access to everyone from our founders to our production staf