Design Innovation Senior Manager

PepsiCo Design Innovation Senior Manager

At PepsiCo design, we have a saying: "We're crazy enough to think we can inspire the future." This is what drives us, in everything we imagine, develop and execute.

Our goal is clear: to connect PepsiCo's beverage, snacks and food portfolios, with consumers hungry for meaningful, authentic and relevant brand and product experiences across multiple touch points and regions of the world.

Our mission is to drive the innovation agendas for PepsiCo's Global brands and businesses to help it grow and transform beyond its core.  We drive innovation by researching, defining, prototyping, learning and launching strategically aligned and commercially viable new products, services, retail experiences, brands and systems - while eating Cheetos.  We introduce new ways of working and develop new tools and processes so we can achieve our goals more nimbly and with higher quality. We challenge and seek to change how PepsiCo works to drive true business innovation with more sustainability and purpose.

We are a creatively driven team that leverages the power of Design Thinking to solve business problems that drive meaningful growth.  We innovate with intent; to solve real problems, for real people, in the real world. We innovate to incite positive change – for people, brands, business and the world around us.  We know what it takes to make ideas a reality and bring that into everything we do.

You are…

• Self-starting with entrepreneurial spirit
• Adept managing ambiguity
• Resilient with hustle
• Energized by challenges
• Always questioning & improving
• Optimistic & curious
• A creative multi-disciplinary fluid thinker who never gives up
• Someone who lives to bring your ideas to life
• Able to toggle between strategy & execution
• Empathetic to consumers and internal stakeholders
• Fluent in business & design and conversant on emerging design, sustainability, food, and nutrition trends
• Good at storytelling, visually & verbally
• Comfortable multitasking
• Passionate about enacting change to improve the world and how we nourish ourselves

Responsibilities

Reports to the Senior Director, Global Design Innovation, the Senior Manager works in collaboration with cross functional team members to effectively develop and deliver business & design strategies and compelling designed experiences (brand, product, packaging, retail, merchandising) that have strategic business value.

Seasoned Innovation & Design Thinking Practitioner: The Design Innovation Senior Manager is responsible for the delivery of effective design thinking & innovation projects for PepsiCo's businesses.  Successful candidates will demonstrate superior ability to partner with teams in delivering strategies that can identify new opportunities, new products, and new experience that deliver against business goals.  They understand how to translate those strategies into testable prototypes and evaluate them against desirability, feasibility, viability, and sustainability.  They are adept at managing highly complex assignments and concurrent initiatives across varied project types.  They are driven to 'crack the code' on corporate innovation.

They are comfortable managing the ambiguity, inherent in innovation & design processes. The Senior Manager understands innovation & design methodologies (tools, techniques) and can provide input into innovation & design proposals, in order to execute against creative engagements and visualize the desired creative output.

They understand and are expert at design thinking, which underpins all our engagements. They pollinate design thinking within the organization through practical design methodologies, solving complex business problems and uncovering transformation opportunities to help brands & regional businesses get the most out of their resources. They apply design thinking broadly – thinking about the needs across the entire system – consumers, customers, business, supply chain, manufacturing, environment.

Strategic Project Manager & Collaborator: Working on projects that have critical business significance you will demonstrate the agility to lead strategy, planning, project management. You will be familiar with working in a multi-disciplinary environment, leading interdisciplinary teams.

Partnering with the Design Innovation Director and working alongside the cross functional innovation team, they are expected to lead projects and engage with a variety of stakeholders to get input and assess options. They work across all aspects of strategic design development leading opportunity identification projects to design strategies for new brands or product opportunities. They will synthesize research and business needs to ensure identified opportunities & design strategies result in sustainable growth and returns for the business.

• Be a great practitioner & coach
• Champion design thinking across the organization, educating while collaborating
• Draw on diverse perspectives to solve design problems and drive effective solutions
• Articulate design vision through prototyping, scenario modeling, strategic roadmaps, etc.
• Collaborate closely with researchers, marketers, media teams to cross-pollinate ideas, methods, and approaches
• Build and evolve methodologies, nurture the maturity of the design & innovation capabilities
• Provide mentorship and support the professional development to junior team members
• Work collaboratively to build relationships and get things done through formal and informal channels
• Proven ability to effectively incorporate research (including primary and secondary research) in strategic design processes

Compensation and Benefits:

• The expected compensation range for this position is between $118,700 - $198,800.
• Location, confirmed job-related skills, experience, and education will be considered in setting actual starting salary. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range during the hiring process.
• Bonus based on performance and eligibility target payout is 15% of annual salary paid out annually.
• Paid time off subject to eligibility, including paid parental leave, vacation, sick, and bereavement.
• In addition to salary, PepsiCo offers a comprehensive benefits package to support our employees and their families, subject to elections and eligibility: Medical, Dental, Vision, Disability, Health, and Dependent Care Reimbursement Accounts, Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Insurance (Accident, Group Legal, Life), Defined Contribution Retirement Plan.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience, with a minimum of 6 years (recent) in a strategic design role
• Degree(s) in Product Design, Graphic Design, Architecture, Engineering, and/or Business

Preferred Qualifications:

• Proven experience in Brand Strategy, Design Strategy, Innovation & Product Development.
• Proven track record of strong leadership, team management skills and a strategic acumen
• Superior project management and design management skills; attention to detail
• Compelling presentation and proposal skills
• Proven ability to multi-task, work in ambiguous and dynamic work environment; is comfortable with risk and uncertainty
• Must be willing and able to travel 20% of the time