Agile Innovation Manager

Job Title: Agile Innovation Manager
Location: Chicago IL 60601 (Hybrid)

Description:
Must Haves:
Food industry experience (non-negotiable) - NOT DIGITAL physical product commercialization.
Physical Product Development focused innovation project management background.
Experience in supply chain development factory engineering or packaging related innovation delivery.
Physical Product Commercialization process knowledge
Understand packaging changes formula changes feasibility constraints machinery timelines.
Agile project management experience (emphasis)
2-3 years of experience leading agile ceremonies and managing projects through sprint-based delivery models.
Comfortable facilitating sprint events and creating review materials.
Self-driven proactive working style
Able to identify stakeholders processes and solutions independently.
Strong communication & relationship building skills
Must navigate between technical and non-technical teams translating needs in both directions.

Agile Innovation Manager:
About the Position: Were seeking a highly collaborative and proactive Agile Innovation Manager to join our cross-functional agile pod focused on driving innovation and growth in the Disruptive Innovation team.
In this role youll be responsible for enabling fit-for-purpose agile ways of working removing barriers to progress building timelines and ensuring continuous delivery of high-impact solutions that are right-sized for our global innovation team.
This role will be embedded within a tight-knit team of R&D Packaging Supply Chain Marketing Finance and Strategy leads all working together to bring the next big thing on innovation to the marketfaster and smarter.
This role is ideal for a project leader with experience in physical product innovation commercialization manufacturing readiness packaging changes and cross-functional program management within the Food & Beverage industry.

Key Responsibilities:
Lead sprint planning daily stand-ups retrospectives sprint reviews and other agile rituals to keep the team focused aligned and on track.
Partner with Project Owner and Marketing Lead to manage end-to-end innovation & commercialization process from initial concept to successful market launch.
Build and manage timeline of the project and product development; Align POD members on their commitments with the timelines to ensure on time delivery
Coach the pod on agile principles flex when needed and helping the team balance speed and structure while adapting quickly to feedback and new insights.
Identify and resolve impediments that hinder progresswhether operational organizational or resource-relatedto keep the initiatives moving forward.
Tracking key agile metrics such as CSat Maturity Capacity of the team reporting progress and making adjustments as needed to ensure project success.
Maintain clear documentation of sprint goals backlog items decisions and velocity. Ensure the team and stakeholders have visibility into progress risks and timelines.
Guide the team in retrospectives to continuously improve delivery and collaboration.
Ensure alignment across all pod members including R&D Supply Chain Finance and Marketing while fostering an environment of shared ownership and rapid iteration.
Tailor agile workflows to reflect the unique physical product innovation characteristics helping the team move quickly from insight to execution while navigating pack simplification retail constraints and test-and-learn launches.
Help the team align on the highest-impact initiatives by working closely with the Pod Lead and cross-functional partners to manage and refine the product backlog.

Requirements:
Bachelors degree in Business Engineering or related.
MUST HAVE: 5 years of project management agile leadership or scrum master experience within the Food & Beverage industry.
MUST HAVE: experience with physical product innovation in Food & Beverage with packaging projects aligned with operations & manufacturing side: engineering changing of machines alignment with supply chain etc.
Strong knowledge of Agile/Scrum methodologies or proven experience in product development and commercialization
Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional teams in a fast-paced ambiguous environment.
Strong experience in building timelines for projects with uncertainty that demands a lot of changes multiple times throughout the project.
Excellent communication facilitation and conflict-resolution skills.
Experience supporting test-and-learn innovation cycles or commercialization processes.
Passion for team empowerment iterative learning and removing barriers to execution.

Required Experience:

Manager