Marketing Associate - Innovation Execution Excellence

Job Title: Innovation Execution Excellence Specialist

Reporting to: Senior Manager, Innovation Execution Excellence

Location: Woking, UK

Salary: £45,500 - £50,000

The strategic guardian of execution for the hub, maximising innovation success. This role owns the end-to-end commercialisation process, translating strategic visions into market reality by orchestrating the cross-functional ecosystem and ensuring profitable delivery of the innovation pipeline (The Last Mile of Innovation). You provide the critical technical mastery that grounds all brand strategy in operational and commercial feasibility.

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Key Responsibilities:

1. Launch Orchestration (The "Project Lead")

• End-to-End Project Management: Serve as the central project manager for all innovation and renovation projects. Own the timeline from "Product Lock" to "On-Shelf," ensuring no slippage in critical path milestones.

• Cross-Functional Alignment: Act as the primary connector between the Hub and the Division/Global Supply Chain, R&D, and Legal teams, translating commercial needs into operational actions.

• Process Guardianship: Act as the expert on the "Gateway Process" (the stage-gate innovation process), ensuring all stakeholders adhere to the discipline required for a successful launch.

2. Go to Market Execution

• GTM Process: Lead cross-functional GtM meetings and communication to track project timeline and review any risks/solutions

• GTM Toolkit Execution: Deliver impactful GtM and innovation storytelling (leveraging Innovation playbook). Create the toolkit (GTM story, samples, e-content assets etc) and engagement internally, and ready for CD execution..

• Artwork (AW) Execution: Manage the end-to-end packaging and artwork workflows, ensuring regulatory compliance, translations, with timely release.

3. Technical Commercialization Mastery

• The "SKU Architect": Own the technical backbone of the brand. You are responsible for SKU creation, country pairings (determining which markets get which packs), and volume consolidation.

• Complexity Management: Manage the simplification agenda by identifying low-performing SKUs for delisting and ensuring the portfolio remains efficient and profitable.

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Required Skills & Competencies:

• Operational Discipline: Execution Excellence mindset with an obsession for timelines, critical paths, and details.

• Agility & Project Leadership: Ability to manage multiple complex projects simultaneously (e.g., major NPD launches alongside packaging renovations) and lead cross-functional teams without direct authority.

• Commercial Architecture Mastery: Deep, practical expertise in SKU logic, technical commercialization, and understanding exactly how a product physically reaches the market in multi-market clusters.

• Collaborative Influence: Proven ability to drive progress across key support teams (Supply Chain, Regulatory, Legal) through influence rather than direct reporting authority.