When it comes to being wild, we know a thing or two. We’re not afraid of trying something new or the hard work it takes to make it happen. It’s in our DNA. We’ve turned a family recipe into the world’s largest meat snack business, that’s still proudly family owned and operated.

We’re a company built by innovators, and are driven to not only satisfy your hunger, but to also feed your journey – whether that journey is on the road, on the run, at the campground, at the playground, in the office or in the moment. It’s a journey we share with you. It’s the journey forward of our people, of our communities, of our category…with a reverence for quality and an irreverence for the status quo.

At Jack Link’s Protein Snacks, we see every moment of every day as an opportunity to move forward, to forge new ground, to realize our vision of becoming the World’s #1 Protein Snack Company. We never give up. You never give up. Together, we keep going. Are you wild enough to join us?

Join the team, make a difference, be part of something bigger.

Link Snacks, Ink (“Jack Link’s”) is the #1 Meat Snack brand in the U.S. Headquartered in Minong, Wisconsin, Link Snacks is a family-owned and operated company that represents a heritage of quality, safety and innovation. The company is made up of passionate team members who share an uncompromising commitment to delivering awesome products. Sold in more than 40 countries, the Link Snacks’ family of companies owns a portfolio of brands that includes Jack Link’s®, Lorissa’s Kitchen®, Wild River®, Golden Island®, MATADOR®, BiFi®, and Peperami®.

Join Jack Link's as a Brand Manager, Long-Term Innovation on our Innovation Team!  In this role, you be responsible for defining and delivering our multi-year pipeline of transformational product and platform innovation to deliver incremental and profitable growth across our entire portfolio of brands (Jack Link’s, Lorissa’s Kitchen, Wild River and Golden Island).  You’ll lead a mix of projects which will enable you to build and showcase your breadth and depth of leadership, strategic & analytical thinking, project management, and creative skills in this critical role.

Key duties of this role are leading cross-functional teams, driving differentiated, new-to-the world initiatives and collaborating with a variety of internal and external partners, including our research and development teams, brand equity teams, white space and creative agencies, insight partners, sales teams and retailers.  Additionally, you will evaluate consumer, category, financial and market performance to develop and implement strategies and key performance tracking to deliver consumer preference, interest, revenue, profit and market share objectives.

Specifically you will work across these areas: 

Product Innovation:  The Brand Manager of Long-Term Innovation is responsible for building, executing, and managing our long-term product pipeline including idea generation, opportunity assessment, product development and initial commercialization.

• Develops, implements, and delivers long-term, differentiating innovation strategies and plans that deliver on our business strategy and objectives
• Adopts and advocates white space/what-if thinking and constructs and inspires innovative thinking within the cross-functional teams
• Collaborates with Research & Development and Insights teams and leverages consumer, customer and category insights to transform what-if ideas to realistic solutions that deliver on consumer needs and long-term profitable growth
• Leads diverse teams of cross-functional partners from concept to commercialization for new products/platforms inclusive of product development, forecasting and P&L management, channel planning, manufacturing, sell-in, marketing support, and early in-market performance tracking to optimize ensuring solutions are commercially and financially sustainable
• Develops product positioning, packaging, and pricing strategies to support launches
• Develops and maintains strategic relationships with external partners and agencies
• Collaborates with sales and brand equity partners to prepare and present innovation process/outlook customized to key retailer partners

Innovation Process - This position is also responsible for partnering with the Director of Innovation, innovation team and cross-functional teams to help build, manage and refine the short and long term product innovation process.

• Adopts and portrays a continuous improvement mindset to drive effectiveness of product white space identification, development, and commercialization processes, leveraging external best practices, tools, and techniques, agency and insight partners
• Stewards effective use of innovation process; help train/coach cross-functional team members
• Develops and maintains effective KPIs and performance tracking as a core part of the innovation process.  Prepares report outs and updates for senior leadership

Marketing Communications: Develops and implements integrated communications plans that drive viable market share growth for test markets/launch

• Sets communications objectives and strategy for integrated customer and consumer launch
• Partners with Brand Equity team to develop integrated communications plans to include advertising, social media, direct & event marketing, sales materials, public relations and promotional campaigns targeted at retailers and consumers
• Partners with brand equity teams to deliver relevant sell-in information for test markets/launch to sales and retail partners through presentations, sell-in materials and in-market visits
• Leverages in-market performance tracking to optimize product proposition

Leadership: Be an effective leader who is able to lead with flexibility to capitalize on opportunities and solve problems in an ever-changing workplace.

• Coaches and develops junior members of the team, growing their marketing skill set
• Builds and motivates effective cross-functional relationships in a highly matrixed organization
• Responsible for leading an Associate Innovation Manager

• Undergraduate Degree in Marketing or related field with 5+ years marketing experience. Preferred: MBA with 2+ years’ experience.
• 3-5 years related consumer packaged goods (CPG) work experience preferred
• Experience with innovation development and process preferred
• Demonstrated experience thinking and executing like a business owner: someone who can take initiative and get things done while having fun in an entrepreneurial environment
• Analytic horsepower with a relentless orientation on the results, and the capacity to respond quickly to changing marketplace dynamics
• Strong influencing skills: working well with others and leading in a cross functional environment
• Strong business acumen, with a knack for turning data into insights and recommendations
• Strong communication skills (verbal and written) and project management skills
• Strong consumer empathy to build compelling solutions and consumer connections
• Budget management experience
• Demonstrated knowledge and understanding of marketing and finance, P&L management,
• Proven track record in managing and meeting volume and profit targets through creative marketing of existing lines, and new product introductions
• Proficiency in Nielsen/IRI syndicated data
• Demonstrates Jack Link’s Values: Be Real, Speed Matters, Stewardship, Relationship Driven, Self- Discipline, Show Awesome Character

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER:
Jack Link’s provides equal employment opportunity (EEO) to all persons regardless of age, color, national origin, citizenship status, physical or mental disability, race, religion, creed, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, genetic information, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, veteran status, or any other characteristic that is protected by federal, state or local law.

E-VERIFY:
Jack Link’s is participant in the federal E-Verify program to confirm the identity and employment authorization of all newly hired employees.  For information about the E-Verify program, please visit:  http://www.uscis.gov/e-verify/employees

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.