Director of Innovation

About the role

The Director of Innovation will lead a high‑visibility function that builds and operates a scalable innovation engine for a fast‑growing restaurant brand. Reporting into Marketing, this leader sits at the crossroads of strategy, consumer insights, commercialization, and operational execution.

Key responsibilities

• Design and manage an end‑to‑end innovation pipeline covering ideation, testing, commercialization, and post‑launch optimization for menu items, flavors, occasions, and experiences.
• Drive a structured test‑and‑learn agenda using consumer insights, cultural trends, analytics, and performance data to identify growth opportunities.
• Partner with Finance, Culinary, Operations, Digital, Supply Chain, and Analytics teams to evaluate opportunities, define success metrics, and ensure operational scalability.
• Establish innovation scorecards, revenue hypotheses, and performance frameworks to measure traffic, profitability, adoption, and long‑term impact.
• Maintain a balanced portfolio of initiatives, making data‑driven decisions to scale, refine, or discontinue projects.

Required profile

• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business, Innovation or related field (MBA or advanced degree preferred).
• 10+ years of experience in innovation, brand strategy, product development, or marketing, preferably in QSR, restaurant, retail, or CPG.
• Proven track record of taking concepts through commercialization and delivering measurable business results.
• Strong analytical and commercial acumen with experience in consumer insights, testing methodologies, and business case development.
• Exceptional leadership, communication, and cross‑functional influence skills.

Required skills

What we offer

• Opportunity to shape innovation for one of the fastest‑growing brands in its category.
• High visibility and partnership with executive leadership across the organization.