Kettle Cuisine is seeking a strong, dynamic Innovation/Culinary leader to drive the next chapter of growth for the Business. The Vice President of Innovation & Culinary Development will be a customer-first advocate responsible for leading innovation, culinary and menu R&D for Business in alignment with the Brand and business strategy to achieve customer, sales, and growth targets. He/she will be responsible for developing differentiated and customer-focused culinary strategies that improve Kettle’s perception and maximize long-term sales growth, while driving increased brand equity and customer lifetime value. This role will join the Sales & Marketing leadership team and oversee the Culinary Team, Continuous Product/Recipe Improvement, and Innovative Platform Development.
Responsibilities
Duties and Responsibilities (other duties as assigned)
Create an environment that inspires innovation and consistent execution while addressing the needs of the business.
Be recognized as a culinary subject matter expert with an insatiable appetite for culinary innovation and recipe development, always staying ahead of culinary trends.
Serve as a primary leader of culinary direction for the company by continually evolving our brand through recipe optimization, revitalization, and innovation.
Ensure Kettle Cuisine can grow, evolve, and connect with new and existing consumers by focusing on craveable food with our marketable differentiation across all Plants, Platforms and Capabilities.
Lead the development of Kettle Cuisine’s product pipeline (concepts & product platforms) that is grounded in the Company Values and strategic business framework. Working closely with the VP of Sales & Marketing, he/she will support Kettle’s Stage Gate/New Product Development process.
Act as the culinary ambassador representing Kettle’s culinary principles and values; provide leadership and creative thinking in concept design, food trends, development and implementation of new products and services.
Manage consistent standards around recipes development and culinary training.
Lead the design and deployment of culinary standards, concepts, and standard recipe development that will ensure optimized costs, financial performance, operational consistency, as well as customer resonance.
Work with supply chain to identify quality products that meet business needs and leverage volume.
Lead on existing product improvements, formulary changes or enhancements, and cost improvement initiatives, this includes complete product evaluations, refinements, and documentation.
Align with Marketing to lead the connectivity between consumer insights, innovation, strategic prioritization, and execution.
Understand current and future trends in the industry to ensure the company stays ahead of trends and leads with innovation and change.
The Qualifications
Enterprise Culinary leadership experience with a professional reputation for innovation.
Proven experience utilizing data from multiple sources to drive clear culinary and new product/platform objectives.
Proven leadership experience, with keen self-awareness and the ability to lead by example.
Ability to command respect through leadership presence and professional maturity.
Impeccable judgment and ability to make sound decisions in a fast-paced, dynamic setting.
Executive-level presentation skills and ability to handle high-level internal and external communications.
Highly persuasive leader, and a natural relationship builder with strong interpersonal, relationship-building, and negotiating skills.