Director, Brand Portfolio Initiatives

Simple Mills is on a mission to transform the way food is made—creating nourishing products with astounding ingredients and amazing taste. Founded in 2012 by Katlin Smith, our brand has redefined center-aisle grocery by delivering better-for-you products made with unique, nutrient-dense ingredients. Today, we’re a category leader and the #1 natural brand in multiple segments, with distribution in over 30,000 stores nationwide.

Now, as part of Flowers Foods, we’re entering an exciting new phase of growth—expanding our reach, accelerating innovation, and amplifying brand awareness, all while preserving the integrity of what makes Simple Mills special. Our commitment to using simple, high-quality ingredients ensures that every bite is both delicious and nutritious. Whether it’s watermelon seed flour in our cookies or butternut squash in our crackers, we craft our products with innovative, wholesome ingredients that deliver extraordinary taste.

Our work has been recognized by Fast Company as a Brand That Matters and a Most Innovative Company, and has been featured in Vogue, Forbes, Women’s Health, and NPR’s How I Built This. In 2024, Inc. named us one of its Best Workplaces, reflecting our dedication to fostering an inspiring and inclusive environment where passionate individuals can make a difference.

Join us as we shape the future of food. Learn more at www.simplemills.com.

Role Description

The Director of Brand Portfolio Initiatives will lead enterprise-level, cross-category marketing projects that elevate Simple Mills equity and drive growth across all categories. This highly strategic and collaborative role will oversee initiatives including new brand campaigns, brand refresh efforts, price/pack architecture (PPA), and portfolio-level strategic planning. The Director will play a critical leadership role on the Marketing Leadership Team (MLT), helping shape team-wide prioritization, cross-functional alignment, and the brand’s future growth roadmap.

This position reports to the VP of Marketing and will be responsible for building and executing multi-year brand initiatives in partnership with the Category Brand Leads, Sales, Finance, Innovation, and Integrated Marketing.

Role Expectations

• Lead cross-category initiatives such as masterbrand campaigns, brand refresh efforts, portfolio pricing/pack strategy (PPA), and customer-facing narratives that drive long-term brand equity and revenue growth.

• Develop and communicate a clear, insight-driven narrative for brand performance and portfolio-level initiatives to build alignment across internal stakeholders and external partners.

• Spearhead enterprise marketing planning and strategy, shaping portfolio-level frameworks that inform team prioritization, campaign sequencing, and investment allocation.

• Manage external agencies and strategic vendors in the development of portfolio-level marketing assets, ensuring executional excellence and strong ROI.

• Collaborate with Sales, Finance, and Operations to ensure master-brand strategies align with the Long-Range Plan and Annual Operating Plan; provide input into in-year forecast assumptions as they relate to cross-category efforts.

• Lead strategic, creative, and research efforts that strengthen brand equity and improve brand health metrics, in collaboration with cross-functional teams and agency partners.

• Identify and implement cross-functional process improvements that increase executional efficiency and elevate collaboration across Marketing, Sales, Innovation, and Integrated Marketing.

• Support a culture of curiosity, agility, and prioritization within the marketing team by contributing to strategic planning forums, cross-functional working sessions, and connection.

• Performs other duties as assigned.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree and MBA required
• Minimum 10 years of relevant experience required, with at least 5 years of Brand Management or Marketing Strategy roles in Food CPG
• Demonstrated success managing portfolio-level initiatives and driving results through influence in cross-functional environments.
• Ability to lead an inter-agency team to bring breakthrough and cohesive ideas across the marketing funnel.
• Track record of creating and leading brand campaigns and delivering business results.
• Ability to distill and analyze complicated research, data, and macro trends into actionable insights, strategies, and plans.
• Strong leadership, collaboration, and communication skills with comfort o