Job Purpose
As theDesign & Innovation Leader,youwilllead a team ofpackaging innovationexpertsresponsible foridentifying, driving and leading innovative and disruptive packaging designinitiativesthat will be instrumental in delivering novel, competitively advantagedsolutions across the Kraft Heinz North America portfolio. Theteam’s objective is to deliverpackagingdesign strategies,translating brand strategiesandconsumer Jobs-To-Be-Done (JTBD)intoviable design solutions to meet growth, innovation and sustainabilityobjectives. In this role, youwillbe responsible forestablishing capabilities todevelop,prototype, consumer test and pilot novel pkg design solutions. This individual will lead the team to buildplatformablepkg innovation solutions, identifying modular,platformabledesigns across brands and categories to fuel sustainable BU innovation pipelines. You will partnerwith the Innovation, Process and Platform packaging teams as well as cross functional stakeholders to translateconsumer insightsand sustainabilityrequirements intocommerciallyviable,manufacturable solutions. The role includes identifyingpackaging designsolutions, leveraging external design partners and internal consumer experience teams to translate insights into viable designs that resonate with consumers. The ideal candidate combines deep technical packagingcommercializationexpertise with strongdesign and innovationknowledge and proven experience managing complexdesignprojects and technical teams
EssentialFunctions &Responsibilities
Leadand prioritize a portfolio of packagingdesignstrategies andinitiativesto deliver againstshort and long termbusiness objectives in the retail andfoodservicebusinesses. Gain alignment across key functions and prioritize initiatives and resources appropriatelyby balancing external partnerships with designthinking, leveraging DVF (Desirability, Viability, Feasibility)
Build, coordinate and managecomplex partnerships across the value chaintodemonstratevalue and business case, address technicaland designhurdles, drive speed to market andenable competitive advantage.
Represent Kraft Heinzexternallyon critical industrycommitteesand forums,servingas oneexternalvoiceto advancepackaging design and innovation, making Kraft Heinz become recognized for packaging design and innovation leadership in the industry
Develop strategic packaging design requirements(playbook)across NA categories
Work directly, interface and influence cross-functional team (Marketing, Procurement, Operations and Supply Chain) and vendors.
Work across enterprise (mentor and/or teacher) to expand capabilities of developers in area(s) of expertise – Design and Innovation
Lead efforts to prioritize external design agencies, managing relationships with suppliers, design and innovation partners, to drive pkg disruptive, innovation solutions
Lead/direct team to leadpkg design/technology award submissions with external sponsors, working with R&D platform teams and suppliers to build submissions for leadership/comms/marketing alignment
Manage multiple/large initiatives with complex scopes and/or cross enterprise platforms concurrently
Partnerwithlegal to build robust IP strategies, conduct explorationand helpbuild IP portfolio todrive competitive advantage
Own project andportfolio-level budgets, resourcing strategies and capacity planningtoensuredelivery within approved financial guardrails.Developand maintain detailed project plans, schedules, budgets and resource allocationstomonitor progress, assess risk, escalate tradeoffs,and drive corrective actions.
Serve as an accountable owner for governance, escalation and go/no-go decisions. Representpackaginginsteering forums and influencestakeholders.Provide technical leadership and oversighton packagingreviewstoensuredesign decisions align with enterprise standards, manufacturability, sustainability, and long-term platform strategy
Serve as Subject Matter Expert by leading and driving functional training and process improvements for the pkg organization.
Mentor, coach and trainjunior team members
People Management Responsibilities
Team (salaried):targeting 3direct reports