Sr Manager Growth AI Transformation — Chicago

Job Description: Senior Manager, AI for Commercial Growth Function:  Global Growth — AI Transformation Reports to:  Global Head AI Transformation, Global Growth Level:  Senior Individual Contributor – T3 (internal title: Sr Manager Growth AI Transformation) Location:  Chicago, IL (must be based in, or relocate to, Chicago) About the Role This is a newly created senior role at the heart of Mars Snacking's growth agenda. You will shape and scale AI that helps our brands grow, working directly with the Global Head AI Transformation, Global Growth. Our flagship AI engines for Marketing Planning, Innovation, and Synthetic Consumer insight are used by Brand, Marketing, Human Insights, and Sales teams across global, regional, and local markets. This is a business role, not a technology role. The ideal candidate is a commercially grounded CPG professional who understands how brands grow through marketing, sales, and consumer insights, and who has used data and AI to accelerate that growth. You will bring enough technical fluency to work credibly with engineers, data architects, and platform partners, but you will not build models, write code, or design technical architecture; our technical teams and partners do that. Growth, Not Operations This role is about growth. You will use AI to help our brands grow: better marketing plans, faster innovation, deeper consumer understanding, and sharper sales execution. Success is measured in commercial value: revenue, share, brand health, and speed to market. This is not an operational transformation role. If your experience is mainly in process improvement, automation, systems implementation, shared services, or cost efficiency, this role is likely not the right fit. Key Responsibilities 1. AI Opportunities for Brand Growth • Identify where AI can grow our brands: sharper marketing plans, faster innovation, deeper consumer understanding and better sales execution. • Turn external signals (tools, platforms, competitor moves, partner capabilities) into opportunity briefs that shape the roadmap and leadership decisions. • Keep a forward-looking view of AI in CPG marketing and commercial, so our pipeline leads rather than follows. 2. Commercial Business Cases & Stakeholder Leadership • Lead business cases that link AI initiatives to revenue, share, brand health and speed to market, with Digital, ODDA, Finance & Analytics. • Own the 'why this, why now, why us' narrative, turning AI possibilities into proposals that win senior approval and budget. • Build strong relationships with Brand, Marketing, Human Insights and Sales leaders globally and in regions; lead key leadership forums. 3. Growth AI Portfolio Management • Grow and manage the portfolio, from the Marketing Planning, Innovation and Synthetic Consumer engines to rapid experiments, prioritised by commercial value. • Manage interdependencies with enterprise-wide AI plays (Gemini Enterprise, ODAI, Tech-fuelled Sales) and keep a seamless experience for commercial users. • Drive timely, evidence-based prioritisation decisions with leadership, turning competing demands into clear next steps. 4. Adoption & Scaling Across Markets • Take validated initiatives from pilot to scale across regions and markets. • Coordinate deployment priorities and inform training and communication materials with Capability Building teams. • Track adoption and commercial impact through continuous user feedback loops, aligned to Mars growth objectives. 5. Partner Management & Responsible AI • Act as strategic manager of agile delivery teams and external partners (Writer, Google, Fractal, Publicis): deliverables, accountability and ways of working. • Apply technical fluency to challenge, unblock and redirect teams, without replacing engineers and data scientists. • Identify AI risks, implement guardrails and navigate regional governance and compliance with the Data Office and Responsible AI teams. What Success Looks Like in Year One • Brand teams build marketing plans faster and to a higher standard using the Marketing Planning Engine. • More innovation concepts are created and tested with consumers, faster, through the Innovation and Synthetic Consumer engines. • AI engines are adopted and used consistently by brand, insights and sales teams across priority markets. • At least one approved business case links a new AI initiative to revenue, share or brand growth. What We're Looking For • A track record of using data or AI to drive commercial outcomes (revenue, share, brand or customer growth), not only cost or efficiency. • CPG / FMCG background required, ideally in snacking, confectionery, or food & beverage, with hands-on experience in a commercial function (Marketing, Brand, Sales, Revenue Growth Management, or Consumer Insights) or in strategy consulting to those functions. • 8+ years of experience in commercial strategy, marketing, insights, or growth roles within complex organisations, including leading data or AI-enabled initiatives that serve commercial teams. • Demonstrated experience growing a portfolio of AI or advanced analytical products from ideation through to scale, with clear ROI. • Strong business case authorship, the ability to build the 'why this, why now, why us' narrative for senior audiences. • Demonstrated experience writing contracts, managing and holding accountable external agencies or technology partners. • Technical fluency sufficient to engage credibly with data scientists, architects, engineers, responsible AI board and AI platform teams. This is not a hands-on engineering, AI architecture, or software development role. • Comfort operating in a broad, fast-moving portfolio, able to switch between strategic thinking and hands-on delivery. • Outstanding communication and stakeholder management skills across cultures and seniority levels. Key Assumptions • Assumes dedicated support from Finance and Data & Analytics for quantitative modelling within business cases. • Assumes dedicated support from the Data Office for data governance (this role bridges data stewardship within the business; it does not lead). • Assumes access to project management resource (internal or partner) for delivery coordination on larger initiatives. • Assumes Digital Technologies and Data Architecture own technical design and infrastructure decisions; this role bridges, not replaces, that expertise. • Assumes Brand, Human Insights, and Growth Capabilities associates are embedded into initiative teams as subject-matter contributors. • Assumes external partners are already contracted or in a procurement pipeline; this role manages the work, not the commercial relationship. The base pay range for this position at commencement of employment is between the range listed below, however, base pay offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including but not limited to job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. The total compensation package for this position will include variable pay, medical and dental benefits, participation in 401k plan, and paid time off benefits. Details of participation in these benefit plans will be provided if an applicant receives an offer of employment. The pay range shown is applicable to all US locations listed within the job posting:USD 169,840.00 - USD 233,530.00