Description:
Senior Director – Portfolio Snacking, you'll set the global insights agenda that powers category growth and cements our brand leadership. You'll champion McCain's demand space framework, journey mapping and archetypes, bringing them to life across markets and embedding them as the way we think about our consumers.
You'll own the insight learning plan for our priority Snacking platforms and innovation pipelines, ensuring every big bet is grounded in real understanding of the people we serve. And you'll set the standard—modelling best-in-class insight practices across global projects to deliver speed, quality and impact that moves the business forward.
What You’ll Be Doing.
Lead Consumer & Shopper Insights, Snacking/Appetizers
- Shape the future of our global Snacking/Appetizers portfolio by leading consumer, shopper and operator insight generation that informs brand, innovation and go-to-market strategy worldwide
- Partner with the Senior Director – Portfolio Snacking to drive the global insights agenda and fuel category growth and brand leadership
- Champion McCain's demand space framework, journey mapping and archetypes, embedding them across markets as the way we understand our consumers
- Build and lead the insight learning plan for priority Snacking platforms and innovation pipelines
- Set the standard by modelling best-in-class insight practices across global projects, driving speed, quality and business impact
Global Snacking Insight Strategy & Leadership
- Partner with the Senior Director – Portfolio Snacking to shape the overall insight strategy and learning agenda for the Snacking business
- Develop and execute a consumer- and operator-centric learning curriculum that tackles strategic priorities and closes knowledge gaps across markets and channels
- Lead foundational primary research, syndicated data analysis and macro trend/foresight work to generate insight the business can act on
- Drive continuous improvement in ways of working, sourcing new methods, tools and techniques—including AI-enabled approaches—to deliver insight with greater speed, frequency and scale
- Create and maintain a regular cadence of distilled, source-of-truth materials that get to root cause and answer the "so what, now what" for the business
Cross-Functional Partnership & Supplier Management
- Collaborate closely with Brand, Innovation and Go-to-Market teams to understand emerging priorities and translate them into customized learning plans
- Build trusted relationships so Insights is seen as a strategic partner, not just a data provider
- Manage relationships with external research vendors and suppliers, from contracting through to delivery
- Own the relationship with key external data suppliers (e.g. Circana, Nielsen), guiding reporting and delivering timely, actionable business reviews
Demand Science Activation for Snacking
- Hold deep expertise in the Demand Spaces insights framework and its application to the Snacking portfolio
- Coach regional and market teams on toolkits and frameworks that translate insight into demand-led commercial and brand plans
- Drive further embedding of Demand Spaces thinking into Snacking innovation and brand development processes
Category & Channel Expertise
- Develop deep understanding of consumer, shopper and operator needs across channels relevant to Snacking, including retail, foodservice and emerging channels
- Serve as the source of truth for Snacking category performance data and macro trend implications
- Bring forward best practice in data analytics, reporting and category forecasting to guide business outlook
What You’ll Need To Be Successful.
- A Bachelor's degree, demonstrating strong analytical ability
- 5+ years of Marketing/Consumer Insights experience, with CPG or foodservice background a real plus
- A track record leading qualitative and quantitative research end to end, from sampling and project design through analysis and presentation
- Hands-on proficiency with syndicated data/tools (e.g. Circana/IRI, Nielsen, Mintel, Technomic, Datassential) and visualization platforms like Power BI and/or Tableau
- Experience working across multiple markets and geographies is a plus
- Sharp PowerPoint and Excel skills, paired with the ability to be a strategic storyteller in conversation, in presentations and with data
- A self-starter who's comfortable with autonomy, shaping and driving learning plans while thriving as part of a broader Insights team
- Genuine curiosity and empathy, with a real passion for understanding the "why" behind what consumers and operators do
- A natural collaborator who builds strong relationships cross-functionally and at all levels, both internally and with external agencies
- Experience managing an insights/research budget is a plus, along with strong organisational skills and an eye for detail