Innovation and Program Portfolio Manager - Cookies, Cones and Crusts

Job Location: Chicago

Company Description

Ferrero is a family-owned company with a truly progressive and global outlook and iconic brands such as Nutella®, Tic Tac®, Ferrero Rocher®, Raffaello®, Kinder Bueno® and Kinder Surprise®. As the love for our brands continues to grow, so too does our global reach. Represented in more than 50 countries, with products sold in more than 170, the Ferrero Group is loved by generations around the world. The secret to our global success? 40,000 dedicated employees who celebrate care and quality to craft a business, careers and brands we are proud of. Join us, and you could be one of them.

About the Role:

Are you passionate about driving innovation and bringing delicious new products to life? Join us as the Innovation and Portfolio Program Manager - Cookies, Cones & Crusts, where you'll be in charge of supporting and facilitating the design and development of innovation within the portfolio. You'll manage optimization and communication of any capital requirements for innovations.

In this dynamic role, you'll be the local liaison with our global Ferrero team, aligning on the innovation pipeline and capital requirements within the marketing and cross-functional team to deliver updates to our global team. As the Innovation and Program Portfolio Manager, Cookies, Cones & Crusts, you'll be leading the team in preparation for any capital approval. As the local expert and liaison of our Ferrero commercialization process, you'll evaluate incoming requests for new developments in terms of golden rules, complexity and technical feasibility.

This role is based in Chicago, IL and is hybrid. This position reports into the Cookies Porfolio Development Director.

Main Responsibilities:

• Local Liaison for Category Capital Budget with Ferrero Central Team
• Maintain capex budget for innovations, working closely with the Innovation Brand Team, Brand Management and R&D Technical Project Managers. Manage budget and approvals throughout the year
• Create long term plan for large capex initiatives for the local team, working closely with Innovation Brand Team, Brand Management and R&D Technical Project Managers
• Partner with category planning to understand capital needs for growth and kick off feasibility with engineering and industrial

• Supports Portfolio Analysis and Optimization Activities
• Evaluate full Cookies, Cones & Crusts portfolio annually and provide overarching view of performance
• Work with the cross-functional team to bring proposals to leadership
• Tracks project volumes and financials, helping the PM and cross-functional team perform post launch analyses to ensure the team continuously improves in our commercialization process

• Local Liaison for Commercialization Process with Ferrero Central Team
• Local expert and key point of contact for the Cookies, Cones & Crusts Ferrero Commercialization Process
• Train marketing team on process and understanding when projects need to be kicked off

• Act as Project Manager for Key Initiatives; Supports Category Plan and Major Brand and Cross-Brand Developments
• Develop and manage project timelines, success criteria, issues, risks, opportunities and assumptions
• Communicate project status updates to Senior Management when requested
• Hold cross functional team members accountable for delivering his/her tasks on time
• Ensure effective use of resources, communicate organizational priorities, and drive timely execution of strategically important projects
• Evaluate and recommend go/no-go action based on the viability of a strategic initiative
• Handle multiple initiatives simultaneously and work under pressure to meet deadlines
  

Who we are looking for:

• Bachelor’s Degree required, preferably in Business, Engineering, or related discipline
• 3+ years of Project Management experience; preferably in CPG
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Well-practiced at building very strong, respectful, relationships with all levels of an organization
• Experience with a project gating process
• Experience with the product development process, preferably in food preferred
• Familiarity with Marketing key principles, particularly within the Innovation and Pipeline building space
• Strong work ethic with high sense of urgency, accountability, and initiative
• Ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines with an ownership mentality
• Excellent software skills: Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, Word, Outlook; Microsoft Project and ERP/SAP knowledge is a plus
  
  

How to be successful in the role and at Ferrero:

Consumers, quality and care are at the heart of everything we do. So, to be successful at Ferrero, you’ll need to be just as consumer and product centric as we are - dedicated to crafting brilliant results for consumers around the world.

#FNA

Diversity Statement

Ferrero is committed to building a diverse and inclusive culture in which all employees feel welcomed and appreciated and have the same opportunities. We believe all of our people are equally talented in their own way. In nurturing the curiosity and natural abilities of our employees, we provide them, generation after generation, the means to succeed personally and professionally, enabling them to craft their journey at Ferrero. The diversity of our talents is what makes our work environment multicultural, innovative and highly rewarding.

Ferrero U.S.A. provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetics.