McCormick & Company, Incorporated, a global leader in flavor, is seeking a full timeConsumer Insights and Innovation Facilitator in its Technical Innovation Center (TIC), located at 202-204 Wight Avenue in Hunt Valley, MD. This person will report to the Manager of McCormick’s Create IT® Group.
With more than $3 billion in annual sales, the Company manufactures markets and distributes spices, seasoning mixes, condiments and other flavorful products to the entire food industry – retail outlets, food manufacturers and foodservice businesses. Every day, no matter where or what you eat, you can enjoy food flavored by McCormick. McCormick brings passion to flavor™!
As an employer recognized for our exceptional commitment to employees, McCormick & Co., Inc. offers a wide variety of benefits, programs and services which address the needs of employees and their families. Benefits include, but are not limited to tuition assistance, medical & dental, disability, group life insurance, 401(k), defined contribution plan, paid holidays and vacations.
McCORMICK’S TECHNICAL INNOVATION CENTER (TIC)
McCormick R&D has an unparalleled record of successful innovation creating flavors for products that matter. Today, more than ever, our team of top sensory, analytical, & materials scientists and research chefs – our innovation enablers – are helping us develop a new generation of tools to create products to satisfy consumers’ quests for authentic, premium flavor, to meet the exploding demand for positive nutrition, and to address the critical need for sustainable manufacturing and food safety.
We provide a high quality R&D environment with an emphasis on teamwork, customer satisfaction, and interdepartmental cooperation. State-of-the-art equipment and facilities exist in laboratories devoted both to basic and applied research and product development with excellence in chemistry, microbiology, microscopy, molecular biology, engineering, sensory science, culinary science, & flavor and seasoning creation and applications. Our “passion for flavor” extends to customers around the globe.
POSITION OVERVIEW:
McCormick’s Create IT®, a global competency that helps Product Development and Marketing teams navigate the front end of innovation via processes and tools, is looking to expand its team with a Consumer Insights and Innovation Facilitator. The Create IT Competency is responsible for helping project teams: 1) identify insights and areas of opportunity from which to ideate against; 2) with concept creation and rapid prototyping; and, 3) engage with consumers throughout the entire process for discovery, guidance, and feedback. These 3 phases most often occur via an Ideation or Innovation Summit.
The Consumer Insights and Innovation Facilitator will be asked to take a lead role in the production of these Ideation events; more specifically, this person will focus on contributing to the planning and execution of immersion, consumer interaction, ideation, concept development and concept validation events. In addition, s/he will be asked to seek ways to optimize the process and tools and to promote growth of the function that will increase and expand the relevancy of the Create IT Competency to the business. The Consumer Insights and Innovation Facilitator will be a highly engaged individual contributor and will work with and support internal and external marketing and product development teams; providing assistance to them through their guided navigation of the front end PD innovation process. With experience and training, this person may grow into a Facilitation and Project Lead role.
RESPONSIBILITIES
- Provide support for Ideation/Innovation projects for a wide variety of internal and external customers
- assisting in objective setting, project scoping and planning
- taking the lead in coordination of resources and execute according to plan
- processing and packaging the output/results
- Coordinate consumer programs for Front End of Innovation project use
- owning all communication with the consumers, monitoring and reporting on their use
- assessing the quality of their contributions
- developing and executing training modules to maintain and grow their skills
- Develop facilitation skills to serve as a back-up facilitatior for projects as needed and to take on primary facilitation roles with growth and experience
- Assist with and possibly lead methods and tool development activities
- Maintain and manage the Create IT Center facility and equipment
- Lead process improvement and efficiency activities
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
- BS Degree in a Business, Marketing, Research or Communications related field
- Minimum of 3 years in consumer insights, marketing research, communications and/or innovation related role(s)
- Minimum of 1 year of experience facilitating or leading groups
- General marketing knowledge
- Experience with customer service and/or event management
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Experience with qualitative methodologies and/or consumer interaction
- General understanding of front end innovation practices with CPG
- Experience with formal training in a collaborative problem solving model (Creative Problem Solving, TRIZ, Synectics, etc.)
- Minimum of 1 year in the Food manufacturing industry
- Active learner with a desire to understand the forces at play for any challenge
- Desire to work in a multi-disciplinary environment and to work collaboratively in cross-functional teams
- Excellent communication (oral and written) skills
- Curious, insightful, and creative, with a strong entrepreneurial mindset
If interested, please visit www.mccormickcorporation.comand apply for position #100279.
