Senior Innovation Manager Jobs

Are you hungry to innovate? To do things differently? To work with a company that’s real, thoughtful and very forward-thinking?

Meet Riverside. We are an organic, “better for you” snack company, manufacturing award-winning, nutritious, allergen-free snacks. Your kids know us as MadeGood, tasty school-safe snacks. Your buddies on the go grab our GOOD TO GO delicious and nutritious snacks. And your pup begs for a Cookie Pal treat, our human-grade, vegan dog treats.

At Riverside, we make delicious snacks that are good in every way. From our ingredients to our manufacturing practices, we’ve raised every bar on every aspect. We’re friendly and focused on creating foods that are good for you and good to the planet as well. Riverside Natural Foods is B-Corp certified, Triple-Bottom Line, Zero Waste, and Canadian owned and operated.

Come work with a Canadian leader! We value teamwork, humility, respect, ownership, adaptability, passion and fun.

You can learn more about us at www.riversidenaturalfoods.com

We continue to grow and today are looking for a committed, talented, star to join our team as our Senior Innovation Manager.

Overview:

The Innovation Sr. Manager is responsible for fueling the growth of the business, instilling a culture of innovation, emphasizing cross-functional collaboration, disciplined yet flexible processes, and calculated risk-taking to foster creativity and breakthrough thinking. This role will deliver a robust 3-year innovation pipeline to fulfil Riverside’s growth objectives.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Oversees the development and maintenance of a comprehensive three-year innovation pipeline that aligns with the company's annual business strategic planning.
• Leads the team in conducting technical feasibility trials using existing equipment or in partnership with equipment vendors.
• Accountable to make happen all the activities that are part of the innovation cycle with the objective to deliver outstanding innovation that support achieving Riverside purpose to inspire a healthier and more compassionate world.
• Effectively communicates the opportunities, challenges, and progress of technical innovation projects to all relevant stakeholders, ensuring transparency and proactive problem-solving.
• Actively seeks partnerships with ingredient and equipment suppliers to explore innovative technologies that could provide a competitive edge for current or prospective products.
• Stays abreast of emerging trends and technologies in the food industry, especially within the snack category.
• Develops and implements robust systems and processes for capturing and prioritizing new ideas and feedback from cross-functional teams, consumers, customers, equipment and ingredient suppliers, market research, etc.
• Demonstrate and uphold Riverside’s Core Values and Purpose
• Being a key participant of the growth of the business
• Liaises with the operations team to evaluate the technical feasibility of new concepts.
• Serves as a technical advisor to both internal and external partners, offering insights and solutions based on the latest food technology and trends.
• Aligns innovation efforts with the company’s sustainability goals, considering the environmental impact of new products and packaging.
• Lead/ coach a team of food scientists to help them make technical and leadership decisions.
• Provides effective project management, creating a structured framework for a consistent innovation calendar synchronized with the existing business strategic planning process.
• Leads the technical New Product Development (NPD) process, managing all stages from ideation to concept approval, ensuring effective communication and stakeholder involvement.
• Keeps a close eye on the competitive landscape, identifying opportunities to enhance existing products or develop novel concepts considering taste, texture, nutrition, quality, cost, yield, and convenience.
• Works closely with the marketing team to identify untapped market opportunities, devising innovation strategies to expand existing brands and cultivate new ones.

Education & Qualifications:

• 10 years of CPG experience in Research & Development and Innovation
• Master in business or studies in entrepreneurship is a plus.
• Undergraduate degree in Food Science, Engineering, Chemistry, and biology.

Skills & Abilities:

• Actively collaborative and seeks to build strong relationships with partners.
• Demonstrated teamwork, collaboration, management ability, capable of working on and leading a diverse team.
• Self-starter with a high level of initiative and ADAPTABILITY
• Passion/strong personal drive for innovation. Finding better ways to do things.
• Strong communication and problem-solving skills
• TEAM player with a positive attitude and the ability to keep things light and FUN.
• Resourceful, Flexible, and ADAPTABLE
• In Riverside, we appreciate leaders that can “fly high and low”. Leaders that enjoy getting their “hands dirty”, while being able to define strategies for their departments.
• High level of curiosity and creativity
• Demonstrates HUMILITY and Respect for our people and for our planet on a day-to-day basis.

Reporting Relationship:

• Reporting to this role is a team of food scientists and engineers with different levels of seniority.
• Reports to VP Technical Design

What We Offer:

• Develop your career further through our Riverside University program and with our Tuition Reimbursement Program
• An open concept work environment that embodies our Values
• Immerse yourself in our comprehensive benefits program, with Riverside taking care of the costs!
• RRSP matching or IRA matching for an empowered financial journey
• Join Employee-Led Resource Groups (ERGs) championing mental health, sustainability, diversity, women, and LGBTQ+ rights

How to Apply:

If you have the commitment to excellence, the energy, the attitude and experience we need, then click the apply button!

Riverside Natural Foods is committed to providing an inclusive and accessible environment for everyone. If you have a disability and require accommodation in the interview process, please let us know when you apply.

We thank all applicants for their interest; however, due to volume, please note that only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.