United States onlyJob Description:
Upstream Marketing Director, FEI - Remote
3M Health Care is now Solventum
At Solventum, we enable better, smarter, safer healthcare to improve lives. As a new company with a long legacy of creating breakthrough solutions for our customers’ toughest challenges, we pioneer game-changing innovations at the intersection of health, material and data science that change patients' lives for the better while enabling healthcare professionals to perform at their best. Because people, and their wellbeing, are at the heart of every scientific advancement we pursue.
We partner closely with the brightest minds in healthcare to ensure that every solution we create melds the latest technology with compassion and empathy. Because at Solventum, we never stop solving for you.
Position Summary
The Upstream Marketing Director, Front-end Innovation will play a significant role in shaping and executing the franchise “Build” strategy – building a strong front-end pipeline that feeds the innovation roadmap with high-quality, validated opportunities. In this role, you will ensure innovation investments are grounded in insights from customers, markets, technologies, and business strategy. Co-own with the Upstream Marketing Director for new products, the Advanced Wound Care Build strategy and innovation roadmap with accountability for the front-end phase – defining new opportunity spaces, unmet needs, and strategic growth platforms. Responsibilities will include the following:
Strategy & Innovation Roadmap
- Lead the development of the long-range innovation roadmap, identifying where the franchise can expand through solving unmet customer needs, innovative technologies, adjacent market categories, or new business models
- Partner with Upstream leadership to align opportunity areas with franchise strategic and financial goals
- Partner with the Upstream Marketing Director to transition qualified opportunities into structured new product initiatives (NPIs)
- Maintain an integrated view of opportunity creation versus concept execution
- Serve as a key member of the Global Upstream leadership team
Opportunity Identification & Exploration
- Drive structured innovation processes with cross-functional early innovation working teams (e.g., design thinking, jobs-to-be-done, ethnography, etc.) to identify meaningful customer and clinical unmet needs
- Synthesize insights from customers, markets, and technologies into opportunity maps and need statements that guide ideation and feasibility work
- Partner with R&D, Medical Affairs, and Finance to assess early technical, clinical, and financial feasibility and innovation readiness for pipeline of opportunities
- Partner with Senior Strategic Marketing Manager to evaluate whether certain opportunities may be better served through a Buy/Partner strategy
Governance & Process Leadership
- Define and manage the FEI process, ensuring clarity of roles, decision gates, and progression criteria for early opportunities
- Establish criteria for advancing early concepts into the Upstream Marketing pipeline
- Present opportunity maps and early innovation concepts to leadership to inform resource allocation and Build strategic direction
- Establish and maintain a balanced portfolio of early-stage initiatives, from horizon scanning to concept incubation
Your Skills and Expertise
To set you up for success in this role from day one, Solventum requires (at a minimum) the following qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree or higher in Marketing, Business Management, or a related field AND 12 years of progressive experience in front-end innovation, upstream marketing, and/or innovation strategy roles
Additional qualifications that could help you succeed even further in this role include:
- Advanced marketing and/or clinical degree (e.g., MBA, RN, MD, or related field)
- Experience in healthcare, medical devices, or other regulated industries
- Knowledge of the advanced wound care market, including negative pressure wound therapies
- Ability to thrive in an action-oriented and high accountability environment
- Proven ability to translate ambiguous opportunity spaces into clear, prioritized innovation strategies
- Deep expertise in structured innovation processes (e.g., design thinking, ethnography, etc.)
- Exceptional strategic thinking, analytical ability, and financial acumen
- Strong collaboration and influencing skills, particularly in cross-functional, matrixed organizations
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, executive presence, and storytelling ability; with experience presenting to C-level executives
Work location: Remote
Travel: 30% domestic and international
Relocation Assistance: Not authorized
Must be legally authorized to work in country of employment without sponsorship for employment visa status (e.g., H1B status).
Supporting Your Well-being
Solventum offers many programs to help you live your best life – both physically and financially. To ensure competitive pay and benefits, Solventum regularly benchmarks with other companies that are comparable in size and scope.
Applicable to US Applicants Only:The expected compensation range for this position is $222,044 - $271,387, which includes base pay plus variable incentive pay, if eligible. This range represents a good faith estimate for this position. The specific compensation offered to a candidate may vary based on factors including, but not limited to, the candidate’s relevant knowledge, training, skills, work location, and/or experience. In addition, this position may be eligible for a range of benefits (e.g., Medical, Dental & Vision, Health Savings Accounts, Health Care & Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts, Disability Benefits, Life Insurance, Voluntary Benefits, Paid Absences and Retirement Benefits, etc.). Additional information is available at: https://www.solventum.com/en-us/home/our-company/careers/#Total-RewardsResponsibilities of this position include that corporate policies, procedures and security standards are complied with while performing assigned duties.Solventum is committed to maintaining the highest standards of integrity and professionalism in our recruitment process. Applicants must remain alert to fraudulent job postings and recruitment schemes that falsely claim to represent Solventum and seek to exploit job seekers.
Please note that all email communications from Solventum regarding job opportunities with the company will be from an email with a domain of @solventum.com. Be wary of unsolicited emails or messages regarding Solventum job opportunities from emails with other email domains.
Please note, Solventum does not expect candidates in this position to perform work in the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County.Solventum is an equal opportunity employer. Solventum will not discriminate against any applicant for employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, or veteran status.Please note: your application may not be considered if you do not provide your education and work history, either by: 1) uploading a resume, or 2) entering the information into the application fields directly.
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