Senior Manager, Global Whiskey Innovation

Beam Suntory is Crafting the Spirits that Stir the World. Rooted in two centuries of family heritage, Beam Suntory has evolved into the world's third largest leading premium spirits company ... where each employee is treated like family and trusted with legacy. With our greatest assets - our premium spirits and our people - we're driving growth through impactful marketing, innovation and an entrepreneurial spirit. Beam Suntory is a place where you can come Unleash your Spirit by making an impact each and every day.

 

 

Senior Manager, Global Whiskey Innovation  

 

The following position is is open in New York, United States.

 

What makes this a great opportunity?

 Beam Suntory is Crafting the Spirits that Stir the World. Rooted in two centuries of family heritage, Beam Suntory has evolved into the world's third largest leading premium spirits company ... where each employee is treated like family and trusted with legacy. With our greatest assets - our premium spirits and our people - we're driving growth through impactful marketing, innovation and an entrepreneurial spirit. Beam Suntory is a place where you can come Unleash your Spirit by making an impact each and everyday.

 

The alc/bev industry is an exciting, dynamic, and fast-paced business. Beam Suntory is a top player in the spirits business and is focused on being the leader in American Whiskey with Innovation as a core part of this journey. This is an opportunity to work on an exciting, priority category – to set and implement brand strategies in conjunction with cross-functionals (R&D, Finance, Consumer Insights, etc.), and to partner with sales to ensure execution of strategies and tactics. In this role, you will contribute to long-term 12 strategic brand planning and serve as lead brand steward in developing plans to be responsible for the full Small Batch American Whiskey Innovation strategies & pipelines – brands such as Knob Creek, Basil Hayden, Little Book, Hardin’s Creek, Baker’s, Old Overholt, Distiller’s Share & Clermont Steep. 

Role Responsibilities

• Working with the Senior Director & brands teams to define the JBBDCo Small Batch American Whiskey innovation portfolio strategy, both short term (up to 3 years) and long term (3-10 years).

• In accordance with the strategy, build and execute short & long term Innovation pipelines for the Small Batch American Whiskies within the JBBDC portfolio.

• Build the pipeline for the Barreled & Boxed DTC initiative.

• Work with MIT (maturing Inventory team) and Freddie Noe (8th Generation Master Distillery) to develop ideas to allow the commercialization of liquid assets for Beam Suntory.

• Specific management & leadership in product portfolio innovation pipeline development for but not exclusively – Basil Hayden LTO, Basil Hayden Prestige, Knob Creek Blending Room Series, Little Book Chapters, Little Book The Infinite, Baker’s Pipeline, Hardin’s Creek annual pipelines

• Efficiently manage Small Batch American Whiskies budget 

• Work closely with local market teams to deliver best in class innovation planning and development for successful launches and beyond.

• Management, leadership and development of 2 ABMs and help develop full JBBDCo junior team’s marketing proficiency and personal development

• Drive outside in thinking to help facilitate better Innovation ideas and developments across the portfolio

• Management of agency and cross functional leader relationships to deliver cohesive message and product innovations across portfolio of brands

Qualifications

• Strong strategic marketing skills with ability to create compelling brand propositions
• Advanced influencing skills given high degree of multi-function interactions
• Ability to drive decisions within a fast-paced and often ambiguous environment
• Strong bias for action as an individual and as a team leader
• Strong entrepreneurial mindset 

COMPETENCIES/KEY SKILLS

• Manage a broad variety of projects including planning and prioritizing resources to execute agreed upon timelines
• Manage a diverse cross functional, multi-market team to deliver projects efficiently and effectively, from initial ideation, through concept development, liquid and packaging design, to commercialization in market
• Work closely with key marketing and consumer insights partners to inspire and facilitate development of products that target emerging and unmet consumer needs
• Partner with consumer insights team to develop optimum consumer tools and methodology specific to each innovation project, providing valuable input into screeners, questionnaires, and action standards.