Mgr. Food Innovation

What You’ll Be Serving Up

You will supercharge KFC US’ finger lickin’ good menu by leading the creation of crave-worthy, innovative products that delight our guests. Your mission will be to turn bold ideas into reality by spearheading research, testing, and evaluation of potential menu innovations.

Here’s How You’ll Spice Things Up

Owning new product development

• Delight guests with exceptional, highly desired products by:
  
• Leading the development of new menu items and validating the viability with Marketing teams.
• Facilitating product testing and evaluation including in-house sensory/consumer testing and supporting market research testing.
• Planning and conducting product demos with KFC US leadership and franchisees.
  
• Champion safe, consistent, and great tasting menu items by:
  
• Crafting statistically-sound and process-capable specifications and operational procedures (e.g., equipment set point, cook time, hold time).
• Evaluating and recommending products from suppliers and providing guidance to vendors and consultants.
  
• Represent the New Product Development team in cross-functional meetings by lending expertise on food innovation/commercialization, sharing updates on deliverables, escalating roadblocks, and offering solutions.
• Drive transformative impact for KFC US by owning strategic AVA projects.
  
  

Leading and inspiring your team

Inspire and cultivate a high-performing team by communicating clear results-oriented expectations, mentoring and equipping your team with resources to meet objectives and grow their careers at KFC US.

What You Bring To The Table

• Education:
  
• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited 4-year university, preferably in Food Science or related field.
  
• Experience:
  
• 8 years of relevant work experience required with Bachelor’s, 6 years with Master’s.
• Experience in a Product Development position for a quick service restaurant brand ($500M in size) and with a track record of creating and commercializing successful new product offerings preferred.
  
• Skills:
  
• Proven ability to lead and inspire direct reports to achieve company objectives.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills to engage and align cross-functional stakeholders; ability to present effectively to senior leaders.
• Strong analytical skills to interpret data and form action-able recommendations.
• Exceptional project management capabilities, including driving great outcomes in a fast-paced environment.
  
• Mindset:
• Relentless in the pursuit of excellence and maintaining high standards.
• Resourceful and adaptive in ambiguous situations with a proven ability to operate “in the grey.”
• Resilient in the face of obstacles and persistent in driving towards results.
• Thrive in a collaborative environment and excel at inspiring and developing team members.
  
  

KFC Corporation, based in Louisville, Kentucky, is one of the few brands in America that can boast about having a rich, 60-year history of success and innovation. In fact, KFC is the world's most popular chicken restaurant chain and a division of Yum! Brands, the world’s largest restaurant company.

Yum! Brands, Inc., based in Louisville, Kentucky, has over 45,000 restaurants in more than 135 countries and territories and is one of the Aon Hewitt Top Companies for Leaders in North America. In 2018, Yum! Brands was recognized as part of the inaugural Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index. The company’s restaurant brands – KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell – are global leaders of the chicken, pizza and Mexican-style food categories.

More important than our size is our commitment to breakthrough innovation and the success of our employees. We're proud of the unique culture we've built, one where everyone can be their best self, make a difference and have fun! We believe in our people, trust in their positive intentions, encourage ideas from everyone, and have actively developed a workforce that is diverse in style and background.