Value Design Accelerator - Research & Development - Minneapolis, MN

As part of our General Mills Accelerate Strategy, Holistic Margin Management (HMM) is critical to deliver the value we need to reinvest in our businesses to fuel growth. HMM drives the removal of waste to offset inflation, keeps our prices affordable, and allows us to reinvest in core growth business drivers such as marketing, trade, and product improvements.

In a partnership between Supply Chain and Innovation, Technology & Quality (ITQ), the "New Orchards" approach was created to drive strategic identification and acceleration of HMM pipeline creation by unlocking new opportunities, removing long standing barriers, and accelerating adoption with speed across the enterprise.

Our Orchards HMM team is seeking a high-performing and self-motivated individual as Value Design Accelerator (VDA). The VDA role will be critical to support a new way of leading and advancing HMM Pipeline development. Our Orchards work to date has identified strategic opportunity areas and potential paths forward, but additional leadership is needed to advance key projects for F25+. The role will report functionally to an ITQ Senior Manager and will partner cross functionally, working in and across an agile pod model.

Key objectives of this role are to accelerate discovery work and the development of pipeline strategies, and to accelerate the vetting process to advance specific project opportunities, leading through strategic leverage across Orchard capabilities and ideation opportunities. The VDA will work with cross functional HMM technical teams and relevant HMM business teams to get to "charter-ready" discover projects for business teams to advance.

The right candidate for this role will have a passion for generating new ways of working to generate value, an interest in working across manufacturing and our business teams with a desire to reduce costs, an ability to facilitate teams, and a strategic mindset with a high bias for action. The responsibilities in this role will provide a high level of exposure to Manufacturing and Innovation, Technology, Quality (ITQ) leaders, HMM leadership, and will accelerate your ability to navigate and influence our organization.

The role will be in Minneapolis, which has a culture of in-person collaboration.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

• Build and advance robust HMM pipelines by coaching cross functional business teams on strategic Orchard selection and use
• Develop and coach business teams to create Orchard workplans for products across their portfolio
• Direct workplans for specific Orchard pod(s) related to materials use, formulation, and food processing to deliver target quality products
• Collaborate and influence across functions and levels, creating project momentum through effective planning and coaching
• Collaborate with cross functional pod teams as well as technical teams, business HMM teams, and external partners
• Manage workflow and communications to support the Orchards Operating Model

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• B.S. degree in Food Science, Engineering, or related field
• 7+ years of product development experience
• Experience coaching others
• Demonstrated HMM results including creating pipeline
• Strong communication, strategic thinking, and organization skills
• Desire to challenge assumptions, identify new opportunities, and create "new ways of working" and capabilities
• Demonstrated navigating ambiguity and organizational complexity
• Demonstrated ability to develop effective internal and external networks
• Ability to leverage network of data leads to direct project opportunity size and potential
• Maturity and emotional resiliency to navigate through fast-paced situations
• Continuous improvement/innovation mindset

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• M.S or PhD degree in Food Science
• Demonstrated HMM strategy development
• Business acumen skills to collaborate across boundaries

We exist to make food the world loves. But we do more than that. Our company is a place that prioritizes being a force for good, a place to expand learning, explore new perspectives and reimagine new possibilities, every day. We look for people who want to bring their best - bold thinkers with big hearts who challenge one other and grow together. Because becoming the undisputed leader in food means surrounding ourselves with people who are hungry for what's next.