Senior Strategic Brand Manager (m/f/d) Havana Club

Havana Club is the third-largest international rum brand worldwide and the global market leader in the super-premium and higher-quality rum segment. The brand is exported to over 125 countries worldwide, with its key export markets being Europe (Germany, France, Spain, UK) and America (Mexico, Canada, Chile, Argentina). 

Germany represents Havana Club's biggest export market and is the #1 rum in Germany, with a broad portfolio covering the iconic Havana Club 3 Years Old, as well as flavored products (Havana Club Mango Lime), high-end products (Havana Club Iconica range), and ready-to-drink offerings. 

To fuel our growth and strengthen our team, we are looking for a Senior Strategic Brand Manager Havana Club (m/f/d) . The position is based in Cologne, Germany and you will report to the Head of Brand Management and assume the functional leadership for two Brand Managers.

You will closely collaborate with the local operations and commercial team and international brand team, acting as a true team player. The Senior Strategic Brand Manager Havana Club (m/f/d) will exhibit a general manager mindset and will be responsible for leading key projects that will aim to achieve two critical goals; build brand equity and drive brand performance through long term profitable growth. 

This position is limited to 18 months. 

These are your tasks

• You own the Brand Management for Havana Club, one of our Top Priority Brands for Pernod Ricard Deutschland

• You lead and develop the annual brand strategy & roadmap against key portfolio initiatives, manage brand P&L, manage Advertising & Promotion budget for the brand, and adhere to clear KPIs, ensuring marketing spend efficiency and adherence to investment allocation with Matrix

• You are responsible for the development, implementation & evaluation of breakthrough brand content and activities for the German market, including media campaigns, experience, and cooperations

• You actively support the Collaborative Business Planning Operating Model (Rolling Forecast, S&OP) by aligning marketing activities with forecast, future plans, and volumes for new products, outlining expected brand growth, defining risk and opportunities

• You are responsible for positioning and further development of the product portfolio in cooperation with the Head of Brand Management and Brand Owner and Local Innovation Manager 

• You fuel the innovation pipeline for Havana Club; lead the execution of product launches/relaunches for the German market (including business case, pricing, article creation, follow up with logistic, finance, and sales)

• You lead and manage agencies, external partners, and cross-functional teams, coordinating projects with all relevant stakeholders

• You will lead a team of 2 and be responsible for talent coaching and development 

• You leverage excellent presentation and story-telling skills, passion, and energy to be the primary advocate for the brand internally (e.g., management presentations, sales meetings, etc.) and externally (e.g., PR events, etc.)

• You lead the analysis and reporting of consumer, market, and competitor trends to identify salient business issues/opportunities

This is your profile

• You have 5-6+ years of business experience in Brand-/Product-Management/Marketing within the FMCG industry

• You hold a university degree in economics with a focus on marketing/brand management or a similar apprenticeship

• You are a highly motivated self-starter with strong leadership, analytical, organizational, and interpersonal skills, as well as the ability to collaborate effectively across functions with passion and enthusiasm

• You possess strong executive and cross-functional communication skills, both in writing strategic & selling decks as well as strong presentation skills

• You have strong experience in developing brand strategies grounded in insights and analytics

• You have first-hand experience in people management

• You have previous experience in innovation work and successfully launching new products from A to Z

• You have experience managing financials and business performance, including budget management

• You are results-oriented and have the ability to operate with agility

• You have strong conceptual skills and a great creative mindset with a good eye for details

• You are fluent in spoken & written English, German is a big plus