OneDemand Insights Director (Chicago)

As part of the Mars Food & Nutrition OGSM, Driving Relevance is a key strategic pillar, and Consumer & Market Insights (CMI) plays a critical role in enabling and executing this by region. This role will lead the North America OneDemand regional insights team, delivering data-based insights to drive action and provide an objective, future-focused view of the category, consumer, and shopper landscape. By identifying emerging trends, headwinds, and tailwinds, this role will inform brand strategy, unlock creative opportunities across category, innovation, and channel development, and help reduce blind spots in decision-making. With a focus on speed and agility, particularly when working with incomplete data, the CMI lead will empower the business to act with foresight-transforming insights into commercially successful propositions that drive transformational growth. This role will focus on strategic priorities across the U.S. and support Canada as a follower market, ultimately inspiring and provoking action that fuels brand, category, and overall business growth.

What are we looking for?

• Degree in Market Research or other related area (business, communication, marketing)or equivalent
• Experienced CMI professional (min 8-10 years) with deep understanding & experience of quant and qual ad hoc research methodologies, and understanding & utilizing syndicated dat
• In-depth food category experience is preferred
• To include research experienceof:strategic insight planning, brand research, human and cultural insights, innovation and market/channel development research.
• Experience in entrepreneurial, start-up businesses or another functional area is useful (Marketing, R&D, S&F)
• Fluent in English. Other languages appreciated

What will be your key responsibilities?
Within Food & Nutrition North America, clear customer & portfolio choices will be made as part of the regional operating model& IVCP process. The OneDemand CMI Lead role will focus on thesestrategicpriorities, and support/prioritize accordingly.

• Shape and lead the insight agenda across North America through the identification of critical adhoc research (eg bespoke studies, utilisation of self-serve credits), continuous data needs (eg Nielsen) and co-funded growth projects across regions. Trade off prioroities and provide clarity on what won't be supported.
• Proactively scope and drive globally identified growth transversals (eg Foresight Pathways, Future of Eating, Consumer Meal Journey) across the region - providing thought leadership and creating pull through shared consumer-centric vision
• Support One Demand team by sharinginsights, and lead insight & trend/foresight sharing & action-ability, eg identification of white space for H1/H2 projects & inform category vision
• Drive HPC culture across CMI team to unlock top performance in newly created team and synergies across Global CMI
• Partner with Global and broader CMI team to drive efficiency of budget and resource, alongside shaping the optimum North American CMI budget to focus on fewer, bigger, better and prioritise strategic needs of team, alongside tactical research.
• Elevate quality Growth Plans through driving and embedding Growth Process as a continuous cycle across the business from Stimulate to Diagnose to Build & Finalise phase, including co-ordination of the Flywheel
• Deeply understand the NA consumer, shopper & categoryto identify market-winning opportunities (eg price/promo & market activation initiatives) in service of OP delivery.
• Provide externally friendly, customer ready insights to support category management & customer development.Co-create opportunities withEuropean partner customers, with sales & category.
• Lead consumer-centric innovation design & collaborate on delivery on the strategic cells - particular focus on H1 and H2 being absorbed into region
• Lead the North American business in consumer closeness, ensuring consumer remains at the heart of the business across all brands

Data Analytics

• Elevate analysis for North American reporting, alongside inputting into GFNLT reporting and forums by bringing together One Demand inputs, with CMI commentary & provocations& providing a holistic story across consumer, brand, category, customer
• Apply knowledge of existing and emerging AI analytical tools to inform business decisions, interrogating root cause of issues (connecting with other segments)
• Own the Nielsen relationship: prioritizethe Nielsen agenda, manage a highly engaged Nielsen team, ensure Mars F&N buy the optimaldata-setto predict the future and generate deep insight. Own continual optimization of this spend.
• Drive continuation of data lake integration and Sprint (Red Slim) adoption for self-reporting across globe, scoping out further brand ingestion

What can you expect from Mars?

• Work with diverse and talented Associates, all guided by the Five Principles.
• Join a purpose driven company, where we're striving to build the world we want tomorrow, today.
• Best-in-class learning and development support from day one, including access to our in-house Mars University.
• An industry competitive salary and benefits package, including company bonus.

The base pay range for this position at commencement of employment is expected to be between the range listed below, however, base pay offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including but not limited to, market location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.The total compensation package for this position mayalso include other elements, if eligible, including variable pay, medical and dental benefits, participation in 401k plan, and paid time off benefits. Eligibility for these additional elements depend on the position offeredand the employee's work schedule (i.e., part-time schedule, store associate). Details of participation in these benefit plans will be provided if an applicant receives an offer of employment.

$152,141 - $180,000 + 20% bonus

#TBDDT

Skills:

Action Planning, Analytical Processes, Customer and Market Analysis, Data Collection and Analysis, Data Control, Planning and Organizing, Policy and Procedures, Research Methods, Research Specifications, Verbal Communication

Competencies:
Action Oriented, Business Insight, Collaborates, Cultivates Innovation, Decision Quality, Drives Results, Manages Complexity, Optimizes Work Processes, Strategic Mindset, Tech Savvy

The base pay range for this position at commencement of employment is between the range listed below, however, base pay offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including but not limited to job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.The total compensation package for this position will include variable pay, medical and dental benefits, participation in 401k plan, and paid time off benefits.Details of participation in these benefit plans will be provided if an applicant receives an offer of employment.

The pay range shown is applicable to all locations listed within the job posting:USD 152,142.00 - USD 209,202.00