Head of Consumer Insights, EUAUNA & UKI

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Great things are happening in the Europe and Australia (EUAU) region. Each day, our 2,500 plus colleagues bring their passion to our offices, manufacturing sites, R&D center, and commercial/distributor markets across Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. We are energized by over 150 years of bringing people together with the food they love. With beloved brands Old El Paso, Häagen-Dazs, Nature Valley, Betty Crocker, Fibre One, Latina Fresh and more, we are on a mission to become the undisputed growth leader in food for EUAU. In a world that's ever-changing, we look to stay ahead and seek people who share our love of food and are hungry to shape the future.

What your role is

About the Job

General Mills International is a dynamic business with powerhouse iconic brands such as Haagen Dazs, Old El Paso, Nature Valley, Betty Crocker & so much more. It has a wide footprint across more than 89 markets, playing in more than 22 categories in 4 big geographical clusters (EUAU, Brazil, China & Growing emerging markets).

In this role, you will head up the Consumer Insights team for EUAU&NA. EUAU&NA stands for Europe, Australia and North Asia and covers 4 clusters (UK& Ireland, France & Iberia, Australia &New Zealand and North Asia being South Korea, Hong Kong & Taiwan). This is the biggest operating unit in the General Mills International business and a priority for growth and profitability. You will also partner directly with the UK & Ireland business which is the biggest cluster within EUAU & NA.

The Head of Insights EUAUNA & UKI is a critical leadership role responsible for driving consumer-centric decision-making and fostering business growth across the EUAUNA region & UKI. This role serves as a key business partner to the EUAU&NA leadership team and the UKI leadership team, providing strategic insights and recommendations based on a deep understanding of consumer behavior, shopper behavior, market trends, and competitive dynamics.

You will report into the CI Director for International, and coach a team of 4 Consumer insight & data analytics who sit in different locations in the world. You will drive impact and influence at all levels across the whole organization - communicating insights and action with clarity.

Key Responsibilities:

• Strategic Leadership & Performance steering:
  • o Partners with the EUAU&NA leadership team and the UKI leadership team to create and implement an ambitious but consumer centric growth strategy
  • Lead the EUAU&NA & UKI Monthly Business Review (MBR) performance highlights in partnership with the Analytics lead, identifying key drivers of success and areas for improvement.
  • Steer business growth by identifying cross-market and cross-brand challenges and opportunities based on performance analysis and emerging trends.
  • o Proactively brings forward external inspiration, and recent trends and new approaches to insights and strategy development.
• Foundational /Strategic Understanding
  • Defines, prioritizes & implements the learning and data acquisition agenda across the region, local markets and key Brands. Identifies and fills in gaps of strategic understanding of consumers across key markets
  • This includes strategically assessing key shopper insight needs & retailer research partnerships across the EUAU&NA & UKI markets, in collaboration with the Category lead for the region & markets.
• Shopper & Retail Insights
  • Lean into UK shopper understanding & strategic retailer shopper research to enhance our selling stories, execution in store and retailer relationships.
  • Leverage strategic understanding studies like demand spaces to drive excellent execution that is consumer centric
• ROI & MMM
  • Post launch monitoring of campaigns and launches in the markets including course correction & actions needed
  • Run MMM with International's Media effectiveness manager for key brand and market cells within EUAU&NA, leading UK specifically
• Consumer Intimacy:
  • Champion deep consumer empathy & the integration of consumer insights into all aspects of the business, ensuring the consumer is at the heart of every decision and time is invested in understanding and connecting with consumers.
• Team & Budget management:
  • Lead and develop a high-performing team of consumer insights professionals, ensuring alignment of priorities with business needs and fostering individual growth and development.
  • Manage the budget to get maximum yield for research monies invested

What you bring to the team
Minimum Experience & Qualifications:

• 15+ years of experience in consumer insights, market research, or a related field, with a proven track record of driving business impact.
• Bachelor's degree in marketing, Business, Psychology, or a related field; Master's degree preferred.
• International experience - Strong understanding of consumer behavior, market trends, and competitive dynamics in the EUAUNA region & UKI.
• Experience leading and developing high-performing teams.
• Experience working with interdependent cross-functional teams in a highly dynamic and challenging environment
• Experience working in an agile environment with shifting priorities and multiple concurrent work streams
• Excellent communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Experience and proficiency with a variety of research methodologies, both qualitative and quantitative, traditional & agile + AI.
• Demonstrated ability to influence and collaborate with cross-functional teams.

Preferred Qualifications

• MBA or master's degree in related field preferred
• Self-starter with the ability to craft a vision for the team and proactively find ways to add value
• Proven ability navigating matrixed organizations and building effective relationships
• Can effectively navigate ambiguity and work in an agile environment
• Strong command of deep analytics into storytelling for top management
• Familiarity with different analytical approaches and theories
• Confident and clear communicator with executive level leaders

What you get from us

At General Mills, we are committed to recruiting, retaining, developing and advancing an inclusive workforce that reflects the diversity of the consumers and communities we serve globally. Join us the General Mills team today - Hungry to Shape the Future.