Senior Director, Industry Strategy (Innovation)
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AI Summary
Act as a senior subject matter expert in CPG/QSR innovation to drive Zappi's authority and commercial success in the product innovation space. This involves creating thought leadership, advising internal GTM teams, and aligning product direction with real-world customer workflows.
Senior Director, Industry Strategy (Innovation)
Application Deadline: 20 August 2026
Department: Marketing
Employment Type: Full Time
Location: London, UK
Reporting To: Melissa Coito
Compensation: £135,000 - £145,000 / year
Description
Zappi is looking for a senior product innovation, consumer insights, and innovation development expert with deep experience in CPG or QSR to help strengthen our authority, differentiation, and commercial success in the product innovation space.
This person will serve as both:
- A trusted expert, educator, and industry advocate externally
- A strategic, cross-functional SME and connective layer internally
The role is designed for someone who has helped major brands identify opportunities, develop stronger concepts, reduce risk, and translate consumer insight into stronger product decisions. They should be credible with senior Insights, Innovation, R&D, Marketing, Brand, Commercial, and Strategy leaders, and able to connect methodological rigor with a modern, scalable approach to innovation research.
The ideal candidate will bring deep credibility in either CPG or QSR. Experience across both is a plus, not a requirement.
- Bring deep expertise in CPG or QSR innovation ecosystems.
- Act as a senior subject matter expert on concept testing, innovation development, optimization, pricing, pack testing, validation, and commercialization workflows.
- Understand how large enterprise innovation organizations operate, including process, politics, decision-making, and organizational pressures.
- Stay ahead of emerging trends in AI, synthetic respondents, agile innovation, and connected learning systems.
- Function as a trusted internal advisor across the organization.
- Work closely with Sales, Customer, Product, Product Marketing, Marketing, and Research Science teams on strategic narratives and customer engagements.
- Help Product Marketing build messaging, frameworks, demos, POVs, enablement, competitive guidance, and customer-facing materials when expertise-level knowledge is needed.
- Support enterprise opportunities as a strategic expert and advisor, speaking directly to customers and prospects when senior innovation expertise is needed.
- Improve how Zappi articulates innovation systems versus point solutions.
- Own the competitive intelligence program for product innovation, translating market, competitor, customer, and industry shifts into internal guidance and external-facing content.
- Develop a visible external voice in the innovation and insights space.
- Create thought leadership on AI and synthetic research, modern innovation systems, iterative concept development, connected learning, and balancing speed, rigor, and risk.
- Speak at conferences, webinars, customer events, and industry forums.
- Engage with analysts, strategic customers, and industry communities.
- Co-create customer education materials and programs with Customer Marketing.
- Translate customer realities into actionable product and GTM recommendations.
- Partner closely with Product, Research Science, and Commercialization teams.
- Align with Product Marketing, Product, and the VP of New Product Commercialization to pressure test emerging AI and synthetic offerings from both methodological and commercial perspectives.
- Serve as a second voice outside of Product to help ensure product direction aligns with real-world customer workflows and unmet needs.
What success looks like:
- Zappi has a stronger, clearer, and more differentiated point of view in AI-enabled innovation and modern innovation systems.
- GTM teams are more confident and effective in innovation conversations, with stronger discovery, sharper positioning, and better objection handling.
- Zappi’s innovation offerings are easier for Sales and Account teams to position as a strategic growth opportunity, not simply a set of point solutions or individual tests.
- Enterprise buyers increasingly view Zappi as a strategic innovation partner, not simply a testing platform.
- Product and GTM strategy are more closely aligned to customer realities, innovation workflows, competitive dynamics, and emerging market needs.
- Zappi builds greater external authority through thought leadership, customer education, industry participation, and expert-led innovation narratives.
Skills, Knowledge & Expertise:
- 10+ years of experience in CPG or QSR innovation, consumer insights, innovation consulting, research strategy, product development, or commercialization.
- Deep expertise in innovation development and consumer research methodologies, including concept testing, validation, optimization, and commercialization workflows.
- Experience working with enterprise innovation organizations and senior stakeholders across Insights, Innovation, R&D, Marketing, Brand, Commercial, or Strategy teams.
- Strong understanding of how CPG or QSR teams make innovation decisions, manage risk, and bring new products to market.
- Ability to translate complex innovation methodologies into clear commercial narratives, sales guidance, executive-level storytelling, and customer-facing POVs.
- Experience supporting strategic sales, enterprise customer conversations, thought leadership, or consultative growth motions.
- Exceptional communication, presentation, and storytelling skills, with comfort representing a company externally as a senior industry expert.
You may come from:
- Consumer insights leadership
- CPG or QSR client-side innovation teams
- Innovation consulting or strategic advisory roles
- Research strategy, product development, commercialization, or senior roles within research, insights, or innovation technology providers
Why join us!
- Three company-paid mental health days of rest per year (these are pre-scheduled, so the entire company can take the same days off regularly to reset)
- Generous PTO policy - Minimum of 20 days of paid time off per year, plus national holidays. Leave over 30 days requires manager and People team approval.
- Private medical healthcare cover
- Group risk, life & disability contributions
- Flexible working arrangements, including remote (unless otherwise specified)
- Thoughtfully designed offices to support both individual work and collaboration without interrupting others
- Wellbeing benefits such as free yoga and access to trained therapists / counsellors
- Enhanced parental leave policies
- Free lunch in the office Tuesday-Thursday
- Tax efficient pension contributions via salary sacrifice scheme
- Salary sacrifice cycle to work scheme
- Salary sacrifice nursery scheme
- Tailored personal development through training allowances, coaching, mentorship and career frameworks
Why join us?
We’ve been recognized as one of the hottest martech companies in 2022 by Business Insider and named Best Place to Work by Quirk’s Media for our engaging and inclusive workplace culture. We’re committed to both people and the planet.
Our belief in inclusion means we’re building an organisation of diverse individuals and helping brands eliminate cultural presumptions in their research. Read our Diversity Manifesto here.
We are a values and behaviours driven business and believe that Trust, Truth, Ownership, Ambition and Humility describe Zappi employees on our best day. This is how we strive to show up for our customers, for each other and for our communities.
Earning B Corp certification assures us we’re on the right track and have structures in place to become the business we want to be.
Our commitment to minimise our impact on the environment means being honest with ourselves and transparent with you—about everything from carbon emissions to tree-planting initiatives. We achieved our goal of becoming Net Zero in 2021!
Zappi Company Culture Highlights
- Winner of Comparably's Award for Best Company for Women 2022
- Winner of Comparably's Award for Best Company Work-Life Balance 2022
- Winner of Comparably's Award for Best Company Compensation 2022
- Winner of Comparably's Award for Best CEO for Women 2022
- Winner of Comparably's Award for Best Company for Diversity 2022
- Winner of Comparably's Award for Best Company Culture 2022
- Winner of Comparably's Award for Best CEO 2022
- Winner of Comparably's Award for Best Happiness 2022
- Winner of Comparably's Award for Best Leadership Teams 2023
- Winner of Comparably's Award for Best CEOs for Diversity 2023
- Winner of Comparably's Award for Best Engineering Teams 2023
- Winner of Comparably's Award for Best Company Outlook 2023
- Winner of Newsweek’s Top 100 Most Loved Workplaces in the UK 2022 & 2023
- Recognised by Fast Company’s Best Workplaces for Innovators 2023
- Winner of Best Marketing Insights Platform in the MarTech Breakthrough Awards 2023 & 2024
Equal Opportunity
Zappi is an equal opportunity employer; our diversity is a major strength. We are committed to providing equal opportunities for all individuals, regardless of their race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws.
We believe that a diverse and inclusive workforce fosters innovation, creativity, and success. Our hiring decisions are based solely on merit, qualifications, and abilities, ensuring fairness and equity throughout our recruitment process. We welcome applications from all backgrounds and encourage candidates from underrepresented groups to apply. Join our team and contribute to an inclusive environment where everyone's unique perspectives and talents are valued and respected.
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