Innovation Manager

Shape the future growth of one of New Zealand's leading FMCG businesses.

This isn't a traditional innovation role. It's an opportunity to identify future growth opportunities, build a pipeline of consumer-led innovation and bring commercially successful products to market. Based in Auckland, this is a full-time position with a minimum of 40 guaranteed hours per week.

Working across Retail, Foodservice and Private Label, you'll partner with Marketing, R&D, Commercial, Supply Chain and Manufacturing. It's a large and complex business, so you'll need to be confident influencing others and comfortable working under pressure.

You'll create and manage the innovation funnel, driving ideation and identifying new consumer and market opportunities. Through market research, consumer insights, testing, prototyping and business case development, you'll scope, test and prioritise opportunities with the greatest commercial potential. You'll lead innovation projects from concept through to pre-launch, working closely with Brand teams through commercialisation.

You'll take ownership of the stage-gate process and innovation governance, driving continuous improvement across tools, templates, KPIs and performance tracking. You'll also champion an insights-led innovation culture, develop consumer innovation territories and contribute to multi-horizon strategic planning, identifying and securing support for opportunities that will transform the business.

About you

You'll have at least 5 years' experience in innovation, NPD or marketing within consumer goods, including managing end-to-end NPD projects in a business that owns its brands and manufacturing operations. You'll have taken projects from concept through to commercialisation and have a strong technical understanding of consumer research and insight generation.

You'll have a professional Marketing qualification or similar.

You'll bring a proven commercial mindset, project management excellence and strong P&L understanding. You'll be confident in stakeholder engagement, communication and leadership across functions, with experience empowering and leading cross-functional teams. You'll also have familiarity with stage-gate systems, innovation governance and performance tracking.

You'll combine strategic thinking and conceptual thinking with vision creation, storytelling and influencing skills. You'll be comfortable bringing the unknown to life, getting others excited about new opportunities and turning great ideas into commercial success.

You'll have a growth mindset, embrace challenges, learn from setbacks and collaborate constructively. You'll enjoy supporting the growth of others, taking ownership and leveraging opportunities to transform the business.

Most importantly, you'll be someone who delivers results, delivers fast and enjoys turning great ideas into commercial success.

Why apply?

This is a rare opportunity to influence the future direction of a market-leading FMCG business, working with experienced teams and playing a key role in delivering future growth. We offer a competitive salary, employee benefits and a discretionary bonus.

If you're passionate about innovation and creating products that make a commercial impact, we'd love to hear from you.

Apply now, or contact Kevin O'Shannessey at Synergy Consumer on 021 533 558 for a confidential conversation.