Brand Manager, Strategy & Core Innovation

As a key member of a team with exciting growth goals in the exciting wellbeing drinks category, you will be inspired to bring strategic solutions & executional excellence in a collaborative environment.

PURPOSE

Continuously grow the Twinings Brand through strategic thought leadership which leverages consumer insights, brand fundamentals and commercial knowledge.

With effective leadership of brand management and portfolio strategy, this role is highly influential – ensuring consumer-centric, sustainable brand growth.

This is a people leadership role charged with developing a direct report and inspiring them and others to be at their best.

CONTEXT

Twinings North America (US and Canada) has been identified as a strategic focus for global growth and our focus is to double the size of our business in the next five years, operating within the exciting wellbeing drinks category.

Twinings is a uniquely decentralized business that operates with local autonomy supported by a global Marketing Excellence team. This allows for local consumer centricity and decision making, backed by a global powerhouse that includes global support of our digital transformation.

We are culturally in sync with our brand ethos of being a vibrant, wellbeing drinks brand. We are a vibrant and collaborative team that operates with a ‘one team’ mentality, valuing collaboration, ethical integrity, and a motivation for winning.

SCOPE

You will be an integral part of our Marketing team, building short-term & long-term strategies, owning end to end plans, and supporting the day-to-day management of the Twinings Brand portfolio. Serving as the lead on brand management and portfolio strategy across both the US and Canada, you will be responsible for ongoing portfolio strategy and brand management, inclusive of brand performance tracking and analysis, delivering business situation assessments, renovation of core portfolio, SKU prioritization & rationalization, assisting with the creation of 5-year strategic business planning and annual operating plans, and partnering with sales on retail strategy and sell-in.

Reporting into the Director of Brand Strategy & Insights, this role is highly collaborative and will work closely across total TNA, including our Sales, Finance, Innovation, Connections and Global Twinings teams. It is expected that this role will build trusting working relationships with cross functional partners and senior stakeholders as well as tap into the wider organization to learn and leverage best practices from around the Twinings group to deliver significant growth in line with the investment-level spending to build the brand. In addition, you are responsible for managing and developing one direct report.

ACCOUNTABILTIIES

Portfolio & Brand Management

• Oversee the execution of the Brand Planning Process and deliver Business Situation Assessments by leveraging consumer, customer, and category insights to assist in the development of the 5-year Strategic Business Plan and Annual Operating Plans to deliver on short- and long-term brand growth targets for equity, market share, net sales, and profit.
• Direct cross-functional team to deliver equity-building core business innovation projects from concept through commercialization.
• Establish and promote best practices to track and analyze in-market business performance of core business and NPD in partnership with Marketing, Insights and Sales teams. Develop data-driven, actionable recommendations for on-going portfolio management.
• Identify white space opportunities within North American market to optimize and accelerate the Twinings brand equity and market share across product and packaging offerings.
• Lead price/pack architecture, SKU prioritization, and SKU rationalization.
• Partner with Insights team on brand performance metrics, Segmentation, Need states Framework, and other projects to provide strategic input, facilitate key insights-led decisions, and embed in consumer-led brand strategies.
• Actively contribute to and craft compelling retail customer sell-in stories.

Leadership

• Manage and develop one direct report, with a focus on providing them the tools to thrive professionally and develop junior marketing talent.
• Cultivate Twinings brand passion in other by being an inspirational brand ambassador.
• Be an active role model of the “One Team” mindset, establishing and fostering highly collaborative team relationships.
• Actively contribute to the global marketing community to share and gain learning.

EXPERIENCE REQUIRED

• Demonstrated experience with developing and executing short- and long-term brand growth strategies and plans.
• Experience leading innovation projects from concept through commercialization.
• Comprehensive analytical and critical thinking skills. Proficient in leveraging and analyzing syndicated POS and Panel data sources (i.e. Nielsen, IRI, Numerator) and have an in-depth understanding of qualitative and quantitative consumer insights and trends with the ability to turn insights into action.
• Exceptional storyteller and influential communicator with demonstrated ability to distill data into actionable insights to craft a compelling story that inspires a call to action among senior leaders and retailers.
• A proactive, solution-oriented, creative problem-solver with the ability to thrive in a highly collaborative entrepreneurial-minded environment.
• Advanced project management skills, previous experience with leading complex projects with multiple senior stakeholders.
• Strong business insight coupled with an insatiable consumer curiosity and a motivation for driving consumer centricity throughout the organization.
• Engaging People Manager with the ability to manage and develop a direct report.
• Experience in working within FMCG/CPG in a fast-paced & collaborative environment.
• Advanced PowerPoint and Excel skills

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.