Industry: Food Manufacturing
Position: Associate Brand Manager ($90,000 – $110,000 + 10% bonus)
Reports To: VP of Marketing
Location: Chicago, IL (3 days in office is the minimum expectation; downtown near train station)
Job Overview:
The Associate Brand Manager will support senior marketing colleagues in project management and operative tasks while leading key activities in communication, media, and product launches. This role focuses on business follow-up, promotions execution, sales liaison, and social/eCommerce collaboration with involvement in portfolio execution activities. The position requires strong analytical skills, cross-functional collaboration ability, and experience in brand marketing within the food/beverage industry.
Key Responsibilities:
Marketing Planning & Strategy:
- Support senior colleagues in providing information to the Marketing VP and other local functions to define volumes and sales value budgets with required SKU and packaging details
- Assist in managing advertising, promotion, research, and market analysis costs
- Participate in consumer/shopper understanding activities including competition analysis and store checks
- Partner with Sales team to create and deliver best-in-class selling stories, sales materials, and strong in-store execution
Portfolio Execution:
- Perform market analysis to support senior colleagues in defining actual positioning compared to competitors’ actions
- Deliver tactical launches/relaunches for assigned brand(s)
- Lead and/or support briefing of design/repro agencies for artwork development
- Obtain proper authorization and collaboration from involved departments
- Lead artwork operative processes and final artwork and repro approvals
Communication & Media:
- Lead and support implementation of advertising strategies received from the Marketing VP
- Support assessment/analysis of communication results and impacts, collaborating with involved departments for data availability
- Support senior colleagues in conventional and digital media planning and follow-up
- Partner with internal Social Media/ECommerce specialists or agency partners to develop appropriate social media and eCommerce content and promotions
- Serve as brand liaison for eCommerce marketing and content, Amazon brand pages, and Retailer.com platforms
Promotions:
- Lead and/or support material development activities and consumer promotion execution
- Assist in definition and implementation of promotions setup and related content in conjunction with Trade Marketing
- Provide assessment of promotions, sponsorships, or co-marketing activities to allow evaluations with VP and Trade Marketing team
- Cooperate with Legal department to deliver required information for promotions and sponsorships contracts
- Support periodic alignment with Sales Force and Trade Marketing team to evaluate project efficiency and competitors’ behavior
Business Follow-Up:
- Perform sales and consumer KPIs monitoring and follow-up, from data collection to defining action plans
- Track brand budget, process and code invoices, raise POs, reconcile expenses to projects, and highlight opportunities or risks
- Lead relevant team and project meetings, record minutes, capture actions, and ensure follow-ups
Research:
- Participate in follow-up of studies dealing with operational issues such as pre/post-test and performance of new packaging or flavors
- Conduct data and results analysis of research projects, supporting preliminary insights and next steps proposals
Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business, Communications, or related field
- 1-3 years of brand marketing experience
- Strong computer skills including Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
- Proficiency in project management and prioritization
- Strong analytical ability
- Experience using syndicated data sources such as IRI/Circana or Nielsen
- Excellent verbal, written communication, and presentation skills
- Strong interpersonal skills
- Leadership and collaboration skills
- Ability to create and embrace change
Preferred Qualifications:
- Food/Beverage or CPG industry experience
- Shopper marketing exposure
- Experience with social media and eCommerce platforms
- Advanced Excel and data visualization skills
Working Conditions:
- Full-time position based in Chicago, IL – Hybrid arrangement (50% onsite)
- Fast-paced environment requiring adaptability and strong multi-tasking abilities
- Collaborative team environment with cross-functional interaction
For immediate consideration, please email your resume in Word format to Cameron at cameronwall@ifgus.com.