Director of Consumer Insights & Transformation, Europe, Australia & North Asia

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.

About the Company

At General Mills, we serve the world by making food the world loves. Our devotion to the community and our planet drives the way we give back and do business. Our brands Häagen-Dazs, Old El Paso, Nature Valley, Betty Crocker and others - are enjoyed in more than 100 countries on six continents. General Mills is a place that prioritizes being a force for good, a place to expand learning, a place to explore new perspectives and a place to reimagine new possibilities, every day. Because becoming the undisputed leader in food means surrounding ourselves with people who are hungry for what's next.

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 EUAUNA. EUAUNA 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.

The Consumer Insights Director for EUAUNA is a critical leadership role responsible for driving consumer-centric decision-making and fostering business growth across the EUAUNA region. This role serves as a key business partner to the EUAUNA leadership team, providing strategic insights and recommendations based on a deep understanding of consumer behavior, shopper behavior, market trends, and competitive dynamics. Additionally, as the CI transformation lead, you will take point in defining & driving transformation initiatives to advance the function especially around driving deep consumer empathy, standardization of processes & tools to increase efficiency & improve the function's future orientation.

You will report into the CMI Director for International, and coach a team of 5 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:
  • Partners with the EUAUNA leadership team and the UKI leadership team to create and implement an ambitious but consumer centric growth strategy, and contribute to all agenda of the leadership team in unlocking business growth
  • Lead the EUAUNA & 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.
  • 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 EUAUNA markets, in collaboration with the Category lead for the region & markets.
  • Lean into UK shopper understanding & strategic retailer shopper research to enhance our selling stories and retailer srelationships.
• EUAUNA Insights & Capabilities Development:
  • Drive Consumer Insights (CI) and Marketing Capabilities/Culture building initiatives for EUAUNA aligning priorities & key topics with the EUAUNA Marketing lead
  • 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.
• Consumer Intimacy:
  • Drive consumer intimacy within the Leadership Team (LT) and across the EUAUNA organization, challenging and supporting teams to deeply understand and connect with consumers.
• Team 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.
• CI Transformation:
  • Lead and drive initiatives for the transformation of CI capabilities, including but not limited to:
  • In-housing of research studies to drive efficiency, consistency, and cost savings.
  • Promoting consumer empathy throughout the business, ensuring a consumer-first mindset.
  • Improving our future focus and foresight capabilities to anticipate and capitalize on emerging trends.

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.
• 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
• Experience with CI transformation initiatives, including in-housing of research and building consumer empathy.
• 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.