Job Description:
Are you energized by turning breakthrough ideas into market-defining realities? As the Senior Manager, Strategic Demand Leadership (SDL) – Innovation, you will sit at the dynamic intersection of strategy, commercialization, and execution. Serving as the vital commercial bridge between brand innovation and marketplace reality, you will champion multi-channel launch strategies for brand portfolios with a scope of up to $800M NSV. You will orchestrate cross-functional teams across Sales, Innovation Marketing, R&D, Consumer Insights, and Revenue Growth Management to translate consumer whitespace into high-impact growth.
In this pivotal role, you will shape how new products show up on shelves and screens—driving trial, brand awareness, distribution velocity, and sustainable profitability across key retail partners. If you are an agile, commercially minded leader who thrives on navigating complexity, shaping category-first selling stories, and delivering measurable business results, this is your opportunity to leave an enduring mark on iconic brands.
What are we looking for?Experience: Minimum of 5 years of commercial experience in CPG marketing, innovation commercialization, commercial strategy, category management, or demand planning.
Launch Track Record: Proven experience leading the commercialization, go-to-market planning, and customer activation of new product launches within a consumer-packaged goods (CPG) environment.
Analytical & Strategic Agility: Consultant-style analytical toolkit with structured problem-solving skills and the ability to move seamlessly between long-term strategic vision and hands-on execution.
Customer & Shopper Acumen: Demonstrated expertise in developing comprehensive consumer, shopper, and customer strategies, activations, and promotional plans.
Market Insights: Strong fluency in category trends, competitive dynamics, shopper behaviors, and translating consumer insights into commercial advantages.
Leadership & Influence: Proven ability to influence, align, and mobilize cross-functional partners and senior stakeholders without direct authority.
Communication Skills: Exceptional interpersonal, stakeholder management, storytelling, and presentation capabilities.
Preferred / Nice-to-Have: Working knowledge of Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) processes and Strategic Revenue Growth Management (RGM) principles.
Innovation Strategy & Development: Partner closely with Innovation Marketing, Consumer Insights, and R&D to identify consumer needs, whitespace opportunities, and emerging category trends. Help shape innovation pipelines, product concepts, packaging, and commercialization strategies that deliver meaningful growth.
Innovation Launch Excellence: Develop and execute omni-channel launch strategies that maximize awareness, trial, and sustainable adoption. Ensure customer activation plans, selling stories, assortment strategies, and launch tactics are optimized across all go-to-market channels and key accounts.
Sales Plan Execution: Drive the annual sales strategy to deliver net sales and operating profit goals for assigned brands and innovation initiatives. Assess sales plans for risks and opportunities, craft solutions, and make trade-off decisions across channels to balance the business.
Channel & Customer Leadership: Develop a deep understanding of assigned channels (SWOT, target consumer, competitive landscape, customer strategy) and apply it to channel plans. Own the AMPS strategy (Availability, Merchandising, Pricing, Space), champion the voice of the customer, and co-create bespoke pack and channel solutions.
Trend & Competitive Intelligence: Maintain an active pulse on industry trends, category performance, competitor launches, and evolving consumer habits to ensure innovation pipelines remain differentiated and commercially relevant.
Innovation Performance Management: Track and evaluate post-launch performance across the commercialization lifecycle (evaluating distribution, velocity, trial/repeat, and financial metrics), delivering actionable recommendations to scale winning initiatives and optimize future launches.
Forecast & Revenue Growth Management: Partner with Sales and Demand Planning to translate sales trends into reliable demand signals, collaborating with Finance to build accurate volume and revenue forecasts.
Deliver Business Results: Drive volume, market share, and profit delivery against division financial targets while managing marketing and overhead budgets to ensure innovation investments maximize ROI.
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 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 US locations listed within the job posting:USD 153,600.00 - USD 211,200.00Skills Required
- Minimum 5 years of commercial experience in CPG marketing, innovation commercialization, commercial strategy, category management, or demand planning.
- Proven experience leading commercialization, go-to-market planning, and customer activation for new product launches in a CPG environment.
- Consultant-style analytical toolkit and structured problem-solving skills.
- Ability to move between long-term strategic vision and hands-on execution.
- Expertise developing consumer, shopper, and customer strategies, activations, and promotional plans.
- Strong knowledge of category trends, competitive dynamics, shopper behaviors, and consumer insights.
- Ability to influence, align, and mobilize cross-functional partners and senior stakeholders without direct authority.
- Exceptional interpersonal, stakeholder management, storytelling, and presentation skills.
- Working knowledge of Sales and Operations Planning processes.
- Working knowledge of Strategic Revenue Growth Management principles.
Mars Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Mars and has not been reviewed or approved by Mars.
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Healthcare Strength — The benefits package is positioned as comprehensive, with broad medical coverage and additional protections like life insurance and short- and long-term disability. Mental health support is emphasized, including free mental health services and wellbeing programming under initiatives such as Mars Be Well.
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Parental & Family Support — Paid parental leave is highlighted as market-leading in the U.S., with an example of 18 weeks fully paid for both parents. Additional family-related leave types such as sick time for caregiving and bereavement leave are also described as part of the overall package.
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Retirement Support — Retirement offerings are described as strong, including 401(k) matching (with a 6% match cited) and pension plans in some cases. The broader package also references retirement savings options and contributions aligned to local market practice, supporting long-term financial security.
Mars Insights
What We Do
For more than a century, Mars, Incorporated has been driven by the belief that the world we want tomorrow starts with how we do business today. This idea is at the center of who we have always been as a global, family-owned business. Today, Mars is transforming, innovating and evolving in ways that affirm our commitment to making a positive impact on the world around us. Across our diverse and expanding portfolio of confectionery, food, and petcare products and services, we employ 133,000 dedicated Associates who are all moving in the same direction: forward. With $40 billion in annual sales, we produce some of the world’s best-loved brands including DOVE®, EXTRA®, M&M’s®, MILKY WAY®, SNICKERS®, TWIX®, ORBIT®, PEDIGREE®, ROYAL CANIN®, SKITTLES®, WHISKAS®, COCOAVIA®, and 5™; and take care of half of the world’s pets through our pet health services AniCura, Banfield Pet Hospitals™, BluePearl®, Linnaeus, Pet Partners™, and VCA™. We know we can only be truly successful if our partners and the communities in which we operate prosper as well. The Mars Five Principles – Quality, Responsibility, Mutuality, Efficiency and Freedom – inspire our Associates to take action every day to help create a world tomorrow in which the planet, its people and pets can thrive.
