Innovation & Growth Manager
Skills
About the role
POSITION TITLE - Innovation & Growth Manager – South Korea
DIVISION - Specialized Nutrition
FUNCTIONAL AREA - Marketing
Location - Seoul, Korea
LINE MANAGER - SN Country Manager – South Korea
KEY INTERNAL RELATIONSHIPS
Marketing, Digital, Sales teams
IPRO Team
Cross functional teams: Supply Chain, QFS, Finance, RA, R&I, Medical Affairs…)
KEY EXTERNAL RELATIONSHIPS
Marketing & Research Agencies
Distributors
BUSINESS OVERVIEW
Dedicated to “bringing health through food to as many people as possible”, Danone is a leading global food & beverage company building on health-focused and fast-growing categories: Essential Dairy & Plant-Based Products, Waters and Specialized Nutrition.
We are passionate in our commitment to sustainability with the belief in building a healthier future through food. Our eating and drinking choices have an impact on our own health, the health of our society and the health of our planet.
Danone commits to operating in an efficient, responsible and inclusive manner; it holds itself to the highest standards in doing business, as reflected by its ambition to become one of the first multinationals certified as B CorpTM.
Danone North Aisa is a combination of our business in South Korea & Japan. Current South Korea business is a mix of our Specialized Nutrition Business mainly focused on Early Life & Medical Nutrition with main top brands including Aptamil & Fortimel plus our current Dairy Joint Venture with a strong local company Pulmuone. Our business in Japan sits in the Essential Dairy & Plant-Based category with top brands that include Oikos, Bio, Petit Danone, Baby Danone and Alpro. We produce these leading products for Japan at our Tatebayashi factory in Gunma prefecture. More information can be found at www.danone.com
Diversity & Inclusion (ID)
PRIMARY PURPOSE OF JOB
The Innovation & Growth Manager drives the Specialized Nutrition growth agenda through insight-led opportunity identification, portfolio development, and commercial innovation.
The role identifies and sizes business opportunities, translates market and healthcare insights into actionable innovation priorities, and leads the commercialization strategy of new products, portfolio expansions, and renovation initiatives.
Working in close partnership with the IPRO & Activity Manager, the role ensures innovation initiatives are grounded in strong business cases and launched with excellence in market execution.
The Innovation & Growth Manager acts as the commercial orchestrator between global, regional, and local stakeholders to ensure growth opportunities are prioritized, business cases are robust, and launches are successful in delivering topline growth and market impact.
AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY
Growth Opportunity Identification
Identify growth opportunities across the Korea Specialized Nutrition portfolio through market, category, competitive, HCP, and patient insights.
Assess white-space opportunities, unmet needs, and emerging trends.
Translate insights into prioritized innovation pipelines and business recommendations.
Develop opportunity sizing and business potential assessment to support decision making.
Innovation Pipeline Management
Build & maintain the Korea innovation pipeline in partnership with Global and Regional teams.
Prioritize initiatives based on business impact, feasibility, portfolio strategy, and market attractiveness.
Partner closely with IPRO to ensure operational feasibility and launch readiness.
Manage portfolio innovation roadmap and lifecycle planning.
Commercial Launch Leadership
Define go-to-market strategy for new product launches, renovations, and portfolio expansions.
Develop launch business cases, assumptions, and success metrics.
Coordinate launch readiness across Medical, Sales, Marketing, Supply Chain, and Finance.
Ensure excellence in launch execution and post-launch performance tracking.
Business Insights & Analytics
Lead commercial analysis including market opportunity sizing, competitive intelligence, patient/HCP segmentation, portfolio performance analysis, and innovation ROI assessment.
Translate complex market and business data into actionable recommendations for leadership.
Business Insights & Analytics
Lead commercial analysis including market opportunity sizing, competitive intelligence, patient/HCP segmentation, portfolio performance analysis, and innovation ROI assessment.
Translate complex market and business data into actionable recommendations for leadership.
Stakeholder Management
Present innovation opportunities & launch recommendations to key stakeholders & Steer Cos.
Influence cross-functional teams to align behind growth priorities.
Build strong partnership with Supply Chain to ensure commercial ambition and operational capability remain aligned.
Act as key bridge between Global innovation teams and Korea market needs.
KEY DELIVERABLES & PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
Innovation & Portfolio Management
Strong and prioritized innovation pipeline
Opportunity sizing and business cases completed
Portfolio gap identification
Innovation roadmap maintained and updated
Commercial Launch Excellence
On-time commercial launch execution
Achievement of launch KPIs
Market penetration and adoption
Forecast accuracy during launch period
Post-launch performance tracking
Business Performance
Net Sales growth
Incremental revenue contribution
Market share growth
Portfolio profitability
Innovation contribution to topline growth
People & Organization
ross-functional collaboration effectiveness
Capability building in innovation and commercial excellence
Strong engagement with internal stakeholders
CAPABILITY PROFILE – Required Background
Education
Bachelor’s degree or above in Marketing, Business Administration, Life Sciences, Healthcare, Nutrition, International Business, or related field.
Experience
Minimum 10 years of experience in FMCG, Nutrition, Healthcare, Pharma, Consumer Health, or Medical Nutrition industries.
Strong experience in Marketing, Innovation, Category Management, Portfolio Management, Commercial Planning, or Business Strategy.
Proven track record of successful product launches and commercialization.
Experience working in cross-functional and matrix organizations.
Skills
Functional
Strong analytical and strategic thinking skills
Opportunity sizing and business case development
Market and consumer/HCP insight generation
Innovation and portfolio management
Commercial launch planning
Financial acumen (P&L, ROI, KPIs)
Strong written and verbal English communication
Data-driven decision making
Leadership
Proactive and entrepreneurial mindset
Strong ownership and accountability
Cross-functional leadership and influencing skills
Strong communication and storytelling capability
Stakeholder management and executive presence
Agility and resilience in ambiguity
Strong collaboration mindset
Growth orientation and business impact focus
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