Director of Innovation

Req ID: 7010 

Department: Marketing 

Status: Reg F-T Exempt, Exempt  

Location: Napa, California (US-CA)  

Workplace Location:  On-Site

Role Purpose:

The Director of Innovation is the enterprise leader for innovation across the Trinchero Family Wine & Spirits portfolio. This role owns the end-to-end innovation strategy, governance, and execution—from opportunity identification and consumer insight through new product development, commercialization, and transition to business ownership. The Director serves as a strategic connector across brand marketing, sales, finance, supply chain, and executive leadership, ensuring innovation initiatives are aligned with company objectives, portfolio strategy, and operational feasibility. The role is accountable for building and managing the strategic NPD roadmap, monitoring competitive and category dynamics, and translating insights into scalable growth opportunities.

Key Responsibilities:

Innovation Strategy & Portfolio Development

• Translate enterprise goals and strategic priorities into a clear, actionable New Product Development (NPD) roadmap.
• Identify portfolio, category, and capability gaps; develop strategic recommendations spanning innovation, M&A, and strategic partnerships.
• Lead the development, commercialization, and launch of new brands and products.
• Deliver executive-level reporting and communication on innovation performance, pipeline health, and strategic priorities.
• Partner with Consumer Insights to synthesize competitive intelligence, category trends, and consumer insights into innovation strategy.
• Collaborate with Brand Marketing to ensure innovation initiatives are brand-aligned and strategically coherent.
• Conduct field-based innovation discovery with sales teams and distributor partners to identify emerging trends and market dynamics.

S&OP, Stage-Gate, and Lifecycle Management

• Serve as the innovation practice lead within the S&OP and Stage-Gate processes.
• Help define and evolve Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) strategies, including innovation pipeline management and SKU/brand rationalization.
• Partner with Supply Chain leadership and PLM stakeholders to strengthen NPI/NPD governance, feasibility assessment, and execution rigor.

NPD/NPI Process Leadership (these functions may include additional team support):

• Own new product initiation processes, tools, and databases.
• Manage NPI activity tracking, status reporting, and ongoing maintenance.
• Facilitate cross-functional NPD execution across executive leadership, brand teams, finance, and supply chain.
• Lead innovation team meetings, project cadence, and follow-up actions.
• Plan, schedule, and run NPD kick-off meetings and ongoing project reviews.
• Manage innovation presentations and communications across marketing and sales networks.
• Build and maintain a centralized NPD concept library.
• Facilitate trademark management in partnership with legal and creative services.

Leadership & Communication:

• Develop, coach, and manage direct reports to deliver against innovation and enterprise goals.
• Present regularly to executive leadership, sales organizations, distributor partners, and key customers.
• Reinforce consistent brand messaging and strategic alignment across internal and external stakeholders.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in business, marketing, or a related field (MBA preferred).
• 7–10 years of experience in customer-focused business roles, including brand management, innovation, PLM, or NPD; experience in wine, spirits, CPG, supplier, distributor, or retail environments strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to translate strategy into execution through structured, process-driven project management.
• Strong organizational skills with exceptional attention to detail.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office; experience with Adobe Creative Suite and digital/social platforms.

Additional Expectation: (All TFE employees):

• Working knowledge of Quality Management Systems and ISO-related responsibilities.
• Ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment with multiple concurrent projects.
• Willingness to travel periodically for customer and market-facing activities.
• Position is in office based in Napa

Working Conditions:

• Office environment with frequent computer use
• Travel to other Trinchero locations and industry events as required
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines in a fast-paced environment
• Compliance with all company safety regulations

Salary Range: $120,000.00 -  $220,000.00  

The starting pay will be based on several factors, including but not limited to experience, training, education, and geographic location. TFE offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes medical, dental, vision, life insurance coverage, disability benefits, PTO, wellness programs and fertility and family building benefits.   We also provide a 401(k) plan where TFE may make a discretionary profit-sharing contribution.

Trinchero Family Estates provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetics. In addition to federal law requirements, Trinchero Family Estates complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.