Associate, Corporate Strategy

Job description

### BUILT ON FLAVOR. FUELED BY PEOPLE. What’s it like to work at Kinder’s? Well, there’s a lot of snacking and geeking out over what we all cooked over the weekend. Beyond that, there’s also plenty of hard work. Because we don’t just like flavor, we’re obsessed with it. With over 100 products sold nationwide, we’re now a top-five brand in multiple flavor categories at Costco, Walmart, Whole Foods, and more. We’re not your typical CPG company. Privately held and founder-led, we like to think of ourselves as a pirate ship in a sea of cruise ships. Our crew is adventurous and fearless. We chart our own course and chase big ideas to make food unforgettable. As we expand globally and approach $1 billion in revenue, we need more smart-and-scrappy, flavor-obsessed people to come aboard. If you’re looking for a place where you can see the real impact of your work... **this is it!** Every day, you’ll be part of a journey to add flavor to millions of meals and lives. **ABOUT THIS ROLE:** Kinder’s is seeking a team member to drive our **corporate strategy** capability who is passionate about being part of a team of hard-working people focused on bringing the future of flavor to consumers everywhere. Kinder’s has reached a pivotal point in its growth. As we scale toward becoming a billion-dollar business, we believe sustained success will require not only great products and entrepreneurial instincts, but increasingly sophisticated strategic capabilities, operating disciplines, and decision-making processes. This role exists to help build those capabilities while preserving the speed, agility, and entrepreneurial culture that have fueled our success to date. The Associate, Corporate Strategy will help identify, evaluate, and execute the growth opportunities that will shape Kinder’s future. You will work across strategic priorities including new category and market evaluation, long-range planning, business transformation, operating model improvement, and corporate development. You will structure and drive discrete workstreams, build rigorous analyses, and translate findings into practical recommendations, with active coaching from senior strategy team members. This high-impact development role reports to the Director of Corporate Strategy and offers regular exposure to the VP of Strategy and senior functional leaders, periodic opportunities to present to the CEO and broader executive team and increasing ownership for end-to-end projects as you grow. While the role spans several strategic disciplines—including corporate strategy, corporate development, business transformation, and enterprise strategic initiatives—the allocation of time across these areas will naturally evolve based on business priorities, market dynamics, and the company’s stage of growth. Rather than driving a fixed set of responsibilities, this role is designed to provide flexible strategic capacity where it can create the greatest enterprise value. **KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:** - **Growth Strategy & New Opportunity Evaluation:** - Build and maintain a fact-based map of potential new categories, markets, and growth platforms for Kinder’s - Analyze market size, growth, profitability, competitive dynamics, consumer needs, and strategic fit to prioritize opportunities - Design and synthesize consumer research, including surveys, to assess Kinder’s brand fit, purchase interest, and key barriers - Develop business cases and recommendations for priority opportunities, including potential paths to enter and win - **Corporate Strategy & Long-Range Planning:** - Support the development and evolution of our long-term strategic plan, collaborating closely with functional teams and leaders to outline growth ambitions, strategic priorities, and the initiatives required to achieve them - Build analytical models, external benchmarks, and scenarios to evaluate strategic options and inform resource allocation - Partner with cross-functional leaders to translate company strategy into clear priorities, milestones, and measures of success - **Business Operations & Transformation:** - Partner with functional leaders to identify and quantify opportunities to improve growth, margins, operating efficiency, and organizational effectiveness - Structure and drive discrete transformation workstreams spanning operating model, processes, ways of working, roles, decision rights, and enabling technology - Develop practical implementation roadmaps, track progress against targets, and surface risks or decisions requiring leadership attention - **Corporate Development:** - Conduct strategic and financial analyses of potential M&A, joint venture, and other investment opportunities - Support market and target screening, valuation and financial modeling, due diligence, and preparation of investment recommendations - Support transaction execution and post-close integration planning, coordinating with internal teams and external advisors as needed - **Enterprise Strategic Initiatives:** - Independently manage discrete strategic initiatives from question definition through recommendation, with guidance and coaching from senior strategy team members - Collaborate with stakeholders across functions and levels to structure ambiguous business questions, gather input and fact bases, resolve issues, and build alignment around recommendations - Develop clear, concise presentations for senior leadership and other key stakeholders, including opportunities to present findings directly **WHAT YOU BRING TO THE TABLE:** The ideal candidate is energized by ambiguity, enjoys solving problems that don’t yet have owners, and is equally comfortable building financial models, facilitating discussions, developing recommendations, and rolling up their sleeves to help make those recommendations a reality. They combine structured thinking with pragmatism and are motivated by creating lasting enterprise value rather than simply completing projects. Additionally: - Education / Experience - 3-5 years of experience in management consulting, investment banking, private equity, corporate strategy, CPG brand management, or another highly analytical operating role - Bachelor’s degree - Advanced Excel and financial modeling skills, with the ability to build accurate, flexible analyses from incomplete or imperfect data - Strong PowerPoint skills and the ability to translate complex analyses into clear, concise recommendations; executive storytelling experience a plus - Excellent structured problem-solving skills, intellectual curiosity, attention to detail, and comfort working through ambiguous questions - Strong business and financial acumen, including market sizing, business case development, and interpretation of financial performance - Demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities and independently drive workstreams in a fast-paced environment, while knowing when to seek guidance - Strong written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills, with the confidence to engage stakeholders across functions and levels - CPG or food industry experience a plus (but not required) - Experience with syndicated market data, consumer research, Tableau, Power BI, SQL, or similar analytical tools a plus - Personal Characteristics - Growth mindset with a passion for learning, feedback, and continuous improvement - Self-starter who takes initiative, speaks their mind, and knows when to pull in others - Obsessive problem-solver with high standards for quality and attention to detail - Builder by nature with a willingness to dig into the details and create structure from ambiguity - Low-ego teammate excited to build strong relationships across functions and levels - Motivated by creating lasting impact and value - Thrives in a dynamic, lean, and agile environment - Collaborative and adaptable, with the ability to lead a workstream or support the broader team as needed The expected starting salary range for this role is $105,000- $115,000 per year. The salary range posted for this role reflects the good-faith base pay range Kinder’s reasonably expects to offer at the time of posting and may vary based on the location of the role. Individual compensation within the posted range will be determined based on factors such as relevant education, experience, qualifications, skills, and business needs. ### SEASONED FOR SUCCESS: - No two days here are the same. - We try to be good team members and good communicators, but we don’t live by hierarchy and structure – everyone is a difference maker here. - We make a lot of decisions in the face of incomplete information – our team embraces ambiguity and tries to make good decisions fast rather than great decisions slow. - We believe our job is to take smart risk, not to eliminate risk. - We believe in growing our skills and becoming a better company with more managerial expertise, but we are an entrepreneurial company at heart. - We aren’t trying to be average – we want to do exceptional things, and we are willing to work hard to achieve them. ### BENEFITS THAT BRING MORE TO THE TABLE: We offer a range of total rewards that may include paid time off, 401k, bonus / incentive eligibility, equity grants, competitive health benefits, and other family-friendly benefits, including parental leave. Kinder’s benefits vary based on eligibility and can be reviewed in more detail during the interview process. ### OUR RECIPE FOR BALANCE: We believe great culture starts with people. We’re a people-first company built on connection, collaboration, and balance. Most of our work happens in the office to spark creativity and community, but we also offer flexibility so team members have the autonomy to work outside the office when needed to support their work-life balance and personal commitments. ### WHERE EVERY INGREDIENT MATTERS: Kinder's is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, ancestry, national origin, gender, citizenship, marital status, religion, age, disability, gender identity, results of genetic testing, veteran status, as well as any other legally-protected characteristic. If you have a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act or similar law, and you need any accommodation during the application process or to perform these job requirements, please reach out to us at [careers@kinders.com](mailto:careers@kinders.com)