Director, Innovation & Brand Change Commercialization

About the Function:

Supply Innovation and Brand Change

Our Supply Chain and Manufacturing team are problem-solvers, sourcing, producing, and delivering our much-loved brands to delight customers around the globe. Over half of Diageo’s 30,000+ people work in Supply Chain and Manufacturing. It’s an intricate and sophisticated operation that’s the product of logistical, manufacturing, and technical collaborations.

Our teams in 100 sites in over 30 countries cover production facilities, supplier relationships, customer collaborations and third-party agreements. We’re committed to realising our ‘Society 2030: Spirit of Progress’ goals, to protect the environment and support our farmers and suppliers. Whatever your skills and experience, we’ll help you to thrive in our inclusive culture.

About the role:

The North American Innovation & Brand Change (I&BC) agenda continues to grow, yielding several hundred programs each year.  With Innovation pressing for groundbreaking packs and liquids, existing Brands aspiring to maintain relevancy, and global partners attempting to pull more and more products from North America, it is an exciting time to be part of the IB&C team.  The purpose of this role is to deliver leadership via portfolio management, capability analysis/development and continuous improvement in support of the delivery of North American I&BC agenda.  In addition, this role is recognized as the voice of Supply within the Innovation team, to help evaluate and prioritize programs as appropriate. These programs can range in value and complexity, cutting across Innovation, global brand renovations and cost optimization projects.

Job Summary:

The Director of Innovation & Brand Change will focus on delivery in three primary areas:

I.      Holistic I&BC Portfolio Management

•      Facilitating project prioritization discussions with Innovation and Brand teams, respectively
•      Ensuring effective resource utilization
•      Ownership of I&BC pipeline tools and reporting – both regionally and North American input to Global

d.     Act as the primary point of contact for Global I&BC ideation search and spin

II.     Gap Analysis –Collaborating with Diageo North America’s Technical and Conversion teams for Future I&BC

•     Packaging formats, liquid capabilities, conversion capabilities and strategy
•     Technical capabilities within our labs, conversion sites and our personnel
•    Key relationship bridge between Procurement, Technical Innovation, Brand and our Commercial partners

III.   Process Improvement

•     Continuously monitor and provide recommendations to optimize NA’s operating model as it relates to I&BC
•     Embedding and continuously enhancing our core I&BC capabilities (i.e. World Class Commercialization)
•     Primary point of contact for exporting and importing of best in class practices between North America and Diageo’s Global regions

This role will work with a diverse set of internal and external customer teams across Diageo’s Supply and Innovation/Demand organizations, including key partners within North American Innovation Marketing and Brand Marketing.  It will also work across Innovation & Supply Project leads to ensure alignment and execution of all packaging and liquid concepts through commercialization to launch. 

Roles Responsibilities:

• Strategic oversight of the total NA Innovation portfolio and all