About The Role
We’re looking for an ambitious and commercially minded Innovation Marketing Manager to lead the GB & International Innovation agenda for some of the UK and Europe’s most loved brands — including our iconic Strings & Things brand. In line with Kinisla’s renewed ambition, this is a new role within an expanding function, focused on delivering innovation that unlocks new growth opportunities for the portfolio.
The Innovation Marketing Manager is the end-to-end owner of the branded innovation agenda, responsible for setting the innovation vision, strategy, and priorities, and ensuring delivery of a high quality, consumer led innovation pipeline that drives short, mid and long term growth. This role acts as the Innovation Lead, translating strategic growth ambitions into clear innovation platforms, pipelines, and launch plans.
Reporting into the Head of Innovation, Insights, Category Management & Transformation the role provides leadership, clarity, and pace across the innovation funnel — from insight led opportunity identification through to in market execution — while developing and coaching a high performing innovation team.
Joining us means stepping into a fast-paced, agile and ambitious environment where ideas are welcomed, ownership is encouraged, and development is continuous. This is a hybrid role, with 2 days per week in our Staines offices (Tuesday & Wednesday) and requires occasional travel to our partners in London and our sites across Ireland and the UK.
What You’ll Be Doing
Innovation Strategy & Leadership
- Own and lead the Innovation Strategy, aligned to Business Strategy across priority portfolios
- Define clear innovation platforms, guardrails, and playing fields for brands and categories
- Provide strong innovation leadership and direction, ensuring the business moves from innovation participation to innovation performance
- Act as the senior innovation voice across the organisation, influencing key stakeholders at all levels
Innovation Pipeline Ownership & Governance
- Accountable for the health, quality, and value of the innovation pipeline across short and long term horizons
- Lead innovation forums ensuring gate discipline, pace, and quality of decision makingEnsure innovation projects progress effectively from insight to launch readiness, balancing ambition, feasibility, and commercial return
- Maintain a robust, prioritised portfolio that reflects resource, capacity, and strategic focus
Consumer Led Proposition Development
- Ensure all innovation is rooted in strong consumer insight
- Oversee development of compelling concepts, propositions, and brand appropriate solutions
- Manage key agency and external partners to support breakthrough thinking, concept development, and delivery
- Bring outside in innovation inspiration and best practice into the business
Commercial & Brand Impact
- Ensure innovation supports brand equity growth and delivers against commercial KPIs (value, margin, success rate)
- Shape innovation launch strategies, ensuring clear roles for brand, innovation, and activation
- Track in market performance and embed learning loops to strengthen future pipelines
- Partner closely with Insights, Brand, Category, R&D, Finance and Commercial teams to translate ideas into winning, executable propositions
Team Leadership & Capability Building
- Lead, coach, and develop the team including Senior Innovation Managers and Innovation Manager, setting clear objectives and development pathways
- Create a high performing innovation team with strong standards, clarity of ownership, and accountability where people feel empowered, supported and energised
- Foster a culture of curiosity, pace, and constructive challenge
- Build innovation capability, mindset, and confidence across the wider organisation
Success Measures
- Strength and value of the innovation pipeline (short / medium / long term)
- In market success rate of innovation launches
- Delivery of innovation contribution to growth targets
- Stakeholder confidence and alignment behind the innovation agenda
- Capability, engagement, and progression of the innovation team
What You Can Bring To The Role
- Significant experience in Innovation, Marketing, or Brand roles within FMCG (ideally food / dairy / chilled categories)
- Proven track record of leading complex innovation pipelines from insight to launch
- Experience managing and developing senior team members
- Strong commercial acumen with experience building and evaluating business cases
- Strategic thinker with the ability to simplify complexity
- Strong influencer with gravitas across functions and leadership teams
- Consumer obsessed, insight driven, and commercially grounded
- Comfortable with ambiguity; able to set direction where it doesn’t yet exist
- Collaborative, decisive, and outcomes focused
- Curiosity, resilience and a hunger to learn, grow and push boundaries
What We Can Offer
- 25 days annual leave (excluding bank holidays)
- Health Care
- Matched pension scheme
- Benefits platform offering discounts and cashback on major retailers
Our recruitment, selection and assessment process are based on the skills and competencies of the specific roles and based entirely on merit. We are committed to and value Diversity and Inclusion in all recruitment processes within Kinisla and do not discriminate based on gender, race, class, economic status, ethnic background, sexual orientation, age, political beliefs, veteran status, marital status or any other protected characteristic.
#J-18808-Ljbffr…