Senior Marketing Manager - Innovation, Taste/Pipeline

KFC is the No1 Restaurant Brand in Thailand. We are the biggest QSR in Thailand by market share. The KFC Innovation team forms a central pillar of the business and is responsible for a 12-month rolling calendar of innovation across all product platforms. The Senior Marketing Manager of Innovation will manage a team of 2 direct reports (2 x Senior Brand Managers).This role will report into the Head of Brand & Innovation KFC Thailand and will have wing-to-wing responsibility from Innovation Strategy, Ideation, Consumer Research, Store Testing, Portfolio Sales Management, Agency and Franchisee capability building. The Role will be required to build strong relationships, effectively influence and lead key stakeholders – across Senior Franchisee leaders, cross functional teams and agencies
 

Qualifications:

•As a member of the Marketing Leadership Team, the candidate will be expected to demonstrate real accountability in delivery results, strong business acumen, think strategically, act tactically and have a strong level of influencing skills. 
•Minimum 7 years Brand Management experience across leading FMCG and/or Retail brands
•Must have experience in managing a team and leading/ influencing cross functional and external stakeholders
•Strong track record of in market campaigns that have delivered against sales and brand metrics
•Culture builder and People Grower – proactively defines & leads culture; inspires, coaches and develops others, not just the direct team
•Ability to thrive in super-fast paced, sometimes ambiguous environment and adapt to change
•Entrepreneurial spirit – strong lateral thinker with courage to challenge status quo and constantly innovate
•Bilingual – Thai & English
•Requires strong leadership for indirect reports/ stakeholders: Brand Communications team, Franchisees, Agencies, Cross Functional Project Teams

Responsibilities:

•Drive Sales & Transactions – key accountability in ensuring Beat Year Ago deliverable of campaigns & sales
•Strategy Development – short & long-term brand vision, market/ industry analysis, consumer insights from research & reports, trend observation
•Taste & Brand Experience – shape innovation initiatives that reinforce KFC’s taste leadership and deliver compelling product experiences that strengthen consumer relevance, drive excitement, and support brand growth.
•Innovation Pipeline Management – manage the innovation pipeline across the 12-month rolling calendar, ensuring a steady flow of market-relevant launches that support portfolio vitality, brand priorities, and business growth.
•NPD Process & Protocol Management – end to end management across Innovation team and cross functional teams; putting strategy into action via product brief; linking positioning & strategy with consumer opportunity
•Ideation & Insight Generation – lead & train teams to effectively brainstorm for ‘On Trend’ and ‘Trend product concepts for research’
•Project & Team Management – lead team for effective accountability against timeline & stage gate management, research, business case, campaign reporting etc
•Cross Functional Leadership – cross functional team leadership, Brand Comms transparency & clarity in team communication, research agency management & FZ accountability
•Budget Management – ensure team deliver accurate & timely management of the budget
•Understanding Consumer & Stores – advocate of being out & about to gain insights into consumers & stores – defining reality at store level