The Sr. Manager of Brand Marketing has direct accountability to product line performance for assigned product portfolio. Reporting to the Sr. Director of Brand Marketing, this role will drive increased financial performance for the company's branded line of products sold across diverse channels of distribution. In this position, you will contribute to the creation of strategy, perform daily execution of branded activities, lead innovation direction and manage direct report(s) that further execute upon the strategy. Core responsibilities include product life cycle management, competitive war-gaming, pricing strategies and execution, channel strategies and execution, brand/product positioning, innovation mapping and more.

Key Responsibilities

• Collaborates with Sr. Director of Brand Marketing to assist in developing and executing the following:
• Product Line Strategy – Recommend strategies for individual product lines that support the overall corporate strategy
• Product Positioning – Recommend competitive positioning for each product by analyzing the competition, target audience, product goals, brand strategy and more.
• Develop design direction for new products
• Product portfolio management
• Ensure pricing, positioning, claims, packaging, product content is accurate, competitive and being leveraged to gain market share.
• Effectively manage financial performance for assigned SKUs
• Lead product life-cycle to elevate performing SKUs and eliminate under-performing SKUs in a timely manner
• Coordinate functions and activities impacting product across multi-disciplinary teams
• Serves as single point of contact within organization for the company's branded line of products
• Works heavily with Integrated Marketing, Trade Marketing, Sales and Operations
• Leads strategy for B2B and B2C marketing campaigns to drive product line growth in support of brand strategy
• Identify target market segments to position brand and makes timely recommendations
• Lead merchandising ideas- identify Upsell/Cross Sell opportunities and execute
• Market Research – Identify market research needs and works closely with Insights and Business Intelligence teams
• Extensive experience working with Scanner Data Software (IRI or Nielsen)
• Responsible for monthly Brand Health reporting and provides frequent performance metric reporting on product line health
• Create accurate product line forecasting- develop forecasting for new product launches, new promotions, phase-outs and other activities
• Works with Innovation Manager on all New Product Development – Responsible for the Stage Gate Process, Business Case Development, Leading Cross Functional Team on Development, Launch Planning with Integrated Marketing and Post Launch Analysis
• Develops Annual Business Plans – Includes forecasting, pricing, competitive analysis, gap analysis and all strategic planning for key brands
• Contributes to innovation strategy while leading the direction and execution for new products including:
• Stage and gate process
• Feasibility assessments
• Business cases to introduce new concepts
• Coordinates communication across enterprise impacting brand and product portfolio
• Attends line trials, first production and works heavily with operations and outside manufacturers for continuous improvement
• Responsible for building, developing, and retaining talent necessary to drive a high-
• performance team to support the company’s short term and long term strategic plans.
• Ensures succession planning is in place.

• Bachelor’s Degree (4-year degree) is required in Business, Marketing, Finance or related field. MBA preferred
• 3+ years CPG experience required
• 6+ years experience leading strategy with direct P&L accountability required
• 5 + years actively leading all aspects for a brand and/or business unit required
• Experience developing new products and working in a stage gate process required
• Working directly with beverage and or food consumer brand(s) is highly desired, but not required.
• Extensive experience working with Scanner Data Software (IRI or Nielsen)
• Must have excellent proven leadership skills
• Must have excellent project management skills with direct experience leading large scale product launches and rebranding projects
• Strong financial acumen to evaluate product line P&L performance is required
• Must have excellent communication skills with a track record for coordinating complex projects across cross functional teams
• Expert knowledge of performance evaluation and change management principles
• Proficient in MS Office required
• Self-motivated professional able to work in a fast-paced environment
• Ability to perform under stress and adapt well when confronted with emergency or escalating situations
• Excellent problem-solving abilities and root cause analysis experience