Senior Director Consumer & Innovation Insight

Have you ever enjoyed Arnold®, Brownberry® or Oroweat® bread? A Thomas’® English muffin or bagel? Or perhaps snacked on a Sara Lee®, Entenmann’s® or Marinela® cake or donut? If the answer is yes, then you know Bimbo Bakeries USA! More than 20,000 associates in bakeries, sales centers, offices and on sales routes work to ensure our consumers have the freshest products at every meal. In addition to competitive pay and benefits, we provide a safe and inclusive work environment that appreciates diversity, promotes development and allows our associates to be their authentic selves. #LI-SO1 Come join the largest baking company in the world and our family of 20,000 associates nationwide! Top Reasons to Work at Bimbo Bakeries USA: Salary Range: $181,600 - $254,200 Annual Bonus Eligibility Comprehensive Benefits Package Paid Time Off 401k & Company Match Position Summary The Senior Director, Consumer Innovation & Insights is responsible for building a deep understanding of consumers, customers, and market trends to drive growth across BBU’s portfolio. This leader serves as the voice of the consumer and strategic partner to Marketing, Innovation, Category Leadership, Sales, and R&D, transforming insights into winning innovation, brand strategies, and business decisions. This role leads the development of a consumer-centric culture by integrating primary research, advanced analytics, AI-enabled insights, syndicated data, and future trend forecasting to identify growth opportunities and accelerate innovation. The Senior Director will establish the consumer and innovation learning agenda, lead a high-performing insights team, and ensure insights are translated into actionable recommendations that drive business results. Key Job Responsibilities Consumer & Market Insights Strategy Lead the enterprise-wide consumer insights strategy to create a consumer-obsessed organization. Develop a deep understanding of consumer behaviors, attitudes, needs, and motivations across categories, occasions, and demographics. Identify emerging consumer trends, cultural shifts, and market opportunities to inform long-term growth strategies. Translate complex data into clear, actionable business recommendations for executive leadership. Innovation & Growth Lead insights for the innovation pipeline, from early-stage opportunity identification through commercialization. Develop and manage innovation learning agendas that support breakthrough and incremental innovation. Partner with Marketing, Category Leadership, and R&D to evaluate concepts, product ideas, packaging, pricing, and go-to-market strategies. Drive future-focused opportunity assessments and whitespace identification to fuel sustainable growth. Research & Analytics Leadership Oversee qualitative, quantitative, syndicated, and advanced analytic research programs. Leverage AI-enabled tools, predictive analytics, and emerging technologies to enhance speed, quality, and scalability of insights. Establish best practices, governance, and methodologies to ensure research excellence and data integrity. Integrate multiple data sources into a cohesive view of consumer behavior and business performance. Strategic Business Partnership Serve as a trusted advisor to senior leaders on consumer trends, innovation opportunities, and strategic decisions. Influence portfolio strategy, brand positioning, and investment prioritization through evidence-based recommendations. Partner closely with Sales, Category Management, Customer Planning, Supply Chain, and Finance to align consumer insights with business objectives. Present findings to executive leadership, providing clear recommendations and implications. Team Leadership & Capability Building Build, develop, and lead a high-performing Consumer Innovation & Insights organization. Foster a culture of curiosity, innovation, collaboration, and continuous learning. Enhance organizational capabilities in consumer understanding, research methodologies, and insight activation. Champion adoption of new tools, technologies, and analytic approaches across the organization. Leadership Competencies: Situational Adaptability: Adapts approach and attitude in real time, according to the changing demands of different situations. Drives Engagement: Creates a climate where people are motivated to do their best to help the organization achieve its objectives. Ensures Accountability: Holds self and others accountable to meet commitments. Manages Complexity: Makes sense of complex, high quantity, and sometimes contradictory information to effectively solve problems. Education and Work History: Required Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Business, Psychology, Sociology, Consumer Behavior, Market Research, Statistics, or related field. 12+ years of progressive experience in consumer insights, marketing strategy, innovation, analytics, or related disciplines. 5+ years leading teams and developing talent. Demonstrated success leading consumer research and innovation programs in a CPG, food, beverage, retail, or related industry. Experience translating insights into business, brand, and innovation strategies. Preferred Master's degree (MBA or related field). Experience leveraging AI-enabled insights platforms and advanced analytics. Expertise with syndicated data sources (e.g., Circana/IRI, Nielsen, Numerator, Kantar). The physical and mental demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an associate to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be requested to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. Bimbo Bakeries USA is an equal opportunity employer with a policy that provides equal employment opportunity for applicants and employees regardless of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity), national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, veteran status, any other classification protected by law. It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.