Riviana Foods Inc. is a world class leader in the rice sector and is America’s largest processor, marketer, and distributor of branded and private label rice products. Riviana brands are well known for their quality and excellence. Key brands include Adolphus®, Blue Ribbon®, Colusa Rose®, Carolina®, Comet®, Gourmet House®, Mahatma®, Minute®, River®, RiceSelect®, Sello Rojo®, Success® and Water Maid®. Riviana Foods is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ebro Foods, S.A., a multinational food group operating in the rice, pasta and sauces sectors. Based in Spain, Ebro Foods has commercial and/or industrial presence in more than 25 countries in Europe, North America, Asia and Africa, through its extensive network of subsidiaries and brands.

Our global reach is an important factor in Riviana's success.  As a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ebro Foods, S.A., the world leader in rice sector, we take a world view of the rice business and draw upon the global resources of our parent company.

Senior Innovation Manager

The Sr. Innovation Manager leads  the development of all New Product Development (NPD) projects for Riviana U.S. organization.  There have been, on average, 5-6 SKU annual launches per year.  As the project champion, the Sr Innovation Manager owns the development timeline and liaises closely with multiple departments such as R&D, Procurement, Operations, Sales/Trade and Brand Marketing to ultimately take the product to market. This position is required to motivate cross functional partners as well as key research vendors to prioritize activities, be accountable for tasks, define problems and innovate around solutions to achieve planned results.  The Sr Innovation Manager is an integral position within the entire corporate structure requiring interaction with all international EBRO business units.

Essential Responsibilities

• Lead the generation of innovation concepts based on key market trends, consumer insights and Brand strategies
  • Collaborate with the Brand team to develop NPD concepts (3 year pipeline) based on segment, brand and consumer target strategies, on each of the 6 retail brands:  Minute, Success, Mahatma, Carolina, RiceSelect, Tilda
  • Drive key consumer insights based on primary Riviana commissioned equity & segmentation research, IRI, Data Essentials purchased data, and secondary market information
  • Gain critical knowledge of the U.S. retail market, competitive product gaps versus Riviana portfolio to support the assessment of innovation concepts
  • Accountable to define and conduct actionable research to identify best concepts and to prioritize
     
• Drive the development phase of the shortlist of innovation concepts utilizing best practice project management skills:
  • Lead and coordinate with cross functional teams to ensure development of:
    • Project plan with key milestones/timelines & accountabilities - requires consistent updates and tracking
    • Preliminary volume & COGS targets
    • Technical feasibility assessment:  Make vs Buy
    • Lead product development with R&D and execute product sampling at the Houston head office with the part-time culinary chef on site
    • Final product specifications
    • P&L development – including volume, pricing, trade rates
    • Logistics and operations plan including system set-up and finalization of ingredient and packaging ordering
  • Ensure final Executive Go/No Go approval of the NPD launches
     
• Accountable for the final delivery of the NPD packaging artwork:
  • Ensure regulatory requirements are met in labelling
  • Build critical knowledge to leverage against future NPD launches
  • Coordinate with Brand team on the packaging graphic design to meet brand standards and strategies

• Ensure launch with executional excellence:
  • Lead and collaborate with Sales and Brand teams to determine regions to launch and expansion regions for Year 2 and beyond for each SKU
  • Define and evolve the forecasting process for Year 1 launch and immediate years after
  • Provide critical input to sales presentation and consumer launch plan working with the brand team
  • Ensure all Sales tools are developed and meet critical timelines:
    • Sales presentation, sell sheets, NPD product sample kits and packaging mock-ups
       
• Develop strong relationships with global counterparts and global R&D teams to ensure project timelines are adhered to and motivate cross collaboration of ideas and capabilities across international business units
  • Gain intimate knowledge of Riviana’s integration within Ebro network in Spain, U.S., Argentina, Thailand and India
  • Understand Riviana Procurement roles & responsibilities within this network to clearly define various accountabilities in NPD development
  • Robust tracking of tasks and timelines required
  • Ensure visibility with Executive Management when risks are presented and provide recommended actions
     
• Define and optimize the working processes against NPD development, commercialization & launch for the organization

Key Attributes Required for Success

• Leader, driver, persuasive, strong interpersonal skills to work cross-functionally
• Analytical, accountable, results oriented
• Proactive, innovative, thought leader, trustworthy

Education

• Bachelor's Degree

Experience

• 5 Years or more Marketing experience
• Experience in Innovation roles –3 years or more
• Excellent project management skills – a must
• Passion for team building
• Effective and persuasive communication skills
• Financial acumen
• Understanding of U.S. retail market
• Exposure to package design
• Exposure and experience with R&D, Procurement, Operations – some knowledge in following areas a plus:
  • Food science and regulatory
  • Food operations
• Strong skills in Microsoft Project and Office packages (predominately Excel and PowerPoint

Riviana Foods Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is firmly committed to Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and to compliance with all Federal, State and local laws that prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of actual or perceived race, color, creed, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, age, military/veteran status, disability, predisposing genetic characteristic, marital status, sexual orientation/gender identity, citizenship where legally permitted to work, or any other protected category under federal, state or local law, regulation or ordinance.  This policy applies to all employment decisions including, but not limited to, recruiting, hiring, training, promotions, pay practices, benefits, disciplinary actions and terminations.