Innovation Manager

Welcome to Daiya Foods, where we are reimagining comfort foods that are irresistible and better for you. Today, as dairy-free food grows in popularity, that spirit of innovation continues to inspire our team. Our diverse portfolio of great tasting foods invites everyone to the table.

Our dedication to minimizing environmental impact extends across our operations. We operate in a manufacturing facility and office that is LEED certified, embodying our commitment to sustainability through the leadership in energy and environmental design principles.

Join our team of food-loving Daiyans, where our shared passion, vision, and ability to bring smiles to each other's faces fuel our journey of dairy-free exploration.

SUMMARY

The Sr. Manager, Innovation, is a key driver of Daiya’s growth agenda. Reporting to the Director of Innovation & Insights, this role owns the end-to-end commercialization of our innovation pipeline - translating high-potential ideas into successful, consumer-centric product launches.  This leader sets the commercial product agenda, aligns cross-functional stakeholders around clear priorities, and secures the organizational focus and resources required to win.  Day-to-day, the Sr. Manager orchestrates cross-functional delivery with rigor and pace -  shaping product development, packaging design, business cases,  learning plans, and integrated go-to-market strategies to ensure every launch lands with impact.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

Lead the Development of Innovation Projects

• Build a forward-looking, multi-year pipeline of business-driving ideas and projects grounded in consumer insights, category dynamics, and market opportunities
• Partner with Insights & Ideation to translate high-potential concepts into defined projects with clear priorities, success criteria, strategic objectives.
• Oversee projects through the stage-gate process, including establishing the scope of the project, and partnering with Project Management to ensure projects meet key milestones and objectives
• Lead and influence cross-functional teams to advance innovation with pace - providing direction on priorities and briefs, simplifying complex problems & making decisions at critical project junctures
• Manage the learning plan and understand methodologies to deepen consumer understanding and derive new insights, optimize new launches, and validate project action standards

Lead the Commercialization & Launch of New Platforms & Products:

• Oversee commercialization plans, including partnering with Sales team to develop winning strategies at the customer level and category level
• Parter with Insights, Category Management, and Business Development to create compelling sales stories that secure distribution on new launches
• Serving as key expert/resource for marketing, sales, and customers.
• Support & participate in development of communications briefs on new launches, ensuring consumer insight and business and marketing objectives are accurately captured and addressed through integrated communication plan development

Deliver Business Results

• Develop and manage a pipeline of projects that delivers against Innovation growth targets while strengthening brand equity and overall business performance.
• Own the P&L for new launches, ensuring projects meet financial criteria for commercialization
• Manage the innovation budget with discipline - partnering closely with suppliers and internal teams to deliver learning plans on time & on budget.

Leadership & Development

• Responsible for the leadership and development of 1 direct report
• Lead & Inspire the Marketing department in delivering high performance, as a member of the Senior Marketing Leadership team
• Act as a steward for the Daiya brand and positively impact Daiya’s reputation directly with external partners, such as key retailers, buyers, brokers, and suppliers

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor’s degree in Business; MBA strongly preferred.
• Minimum 15+ years of progressive experience across brand management, innovation, product development, marketing, or general management, with a track record of delivering commercially successful launches and leading cross-functional teams.
• Demonstrated success launching new products into market, ideally within food & beverage or consumer-facing categories
• Experience leading cross-functional teams and projects from inception to completion
• Strong understanding of Stage Gate or other structured innovation processes
• Familiarity with consumer insights & research methodologies

RELATED SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE & ABILITIES

• Strategic Thought Leadership: Unconstrained thinking & Ability to see the big picture; You leverage your deep understanding of the marketplace, consumer, and customer dynamics to connect dots across disparate data points, and define clear innovation roadmaps that align with company objectives.
• Insights & Analytical Prowess: Interest in, and deep understanding of consumer, customer, and external forces that influence demand; You are adept at developing strategic & sound business cases to support growth initiatives, and can develop learning plans to validate hypotheses and answer critical business questions
• Executional Excellence: Strong project management and organizational skills; ability to juggle multiple priorities in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment. You maintain focus, manage timelines and budgets effectively, and deliver on what you promise.
• Consumer-Centric Mindset: Passionate about understanding consumer needs and behaviors; ability to translate insights into meaningful innovation.
• Collaborative Leadership: Skilled at building trust, influencing without authority, and working effectively across departments and with external partners. You bring people together to create exceptional outcomes.
• Communication Skills: Strong written and verbal communicator, capable of crafting compelling narratives and presenting ideas with clarity and influence.

DAIYA’S CORE COMPETENCIES

• Emotional Intelligence – You possess the ability to manage emotions, as well as seek to understand the emotions of others around you.
• Growth Mindset – You find opportunities and possibilities when challenged, embrace continuous learning, and constantly strive to grow and improve.
• Effective Communication – You effectively listen, assess, and adjust your communication to align your intention and impact.
• Collaboration – You work with and through others to create great results for Daiya.
• Driving Results – You take the initiative to find solutions, deliver results, maintain focus, and drive accountability.
• Service Excellence – You understand and serve the needs of others (Daiyans, consumers, and our communities)

Daiya’s compensation offerings are based on a pay-for-performance philosophy. The pay range for this position is from $120,000–$140,000 annually; the base pay offered is based on market location and may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and internal equity. At Daiya, investing in our people is a top priority. We believe in building a flexible, hybrid model to make work-life harmony a reality. We strive to build diverse and high performing teams and empower continuous learning to grow and improve ourselves.

• 3 weeks’ vacation
• Flex Days
• Extended health benefits
• Retirement savings matching program
• Flexible spending account
• Fun and creative environment
• On-site fitness studio
• Inspiring and innovative work
• Making people and the planet a healthier place

At Daiya Foods, we are committed to fostering a diverse, inclusive, and equitable work environment, one in which employees can bring their whole selves to work everyday.  We welcome and celebrate differences because we believe a multitude of perspectives fosters innovation and will help us achieve our vision.

Daiya Foods is an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE) and prohibits discrimination of any kind.  We are committed to building a representative workforce and encourage applications reflecting diversity of sex, sexual orientation, gender identify or expression, racialization or ancestry, disability, religion, marital or family status, age and/or status as a First Nation, Metis, Inuit, or Indigenous person.  We endeavor to recruit, develop, and retain the best talent from a diverse candidate pool and truly believe that diversity, equity, and inclusion among our team members is vital to our success as a company.  We trust that in applying for a role with us you value this as well!

Daiya Foods humbly acknowledges that the land on which we work, live, and play is the unceded traditional territory of the Coast Salish peoples, including the Tsleil-Waututh, Squamish, and Musqueam Nations. This connection to the land is not only a source of inspiration but also a guiding force in our journey towards greater environmental stewardship and community engagement.