Senior Brand Manager

Established by Bill Foley in 1996, Foley Family Wines & Spirits (FFWS) is a portfolio of highly acclaimed wines and spirits from some of the world’s greatest estates. The company owns more than 25 wineries and distilleries, each with its distinct style, legacy, and approach to hospitality.
FFWS has expanded its portfolio significantly since its founding, now including such storied brands as Chalk Hill Estate Winery, Sebastiani, Roth, Banshee, Ferrari-Carano, Chateau St. Jean, and Lancaster in Sonoma County; Merus, Silverado, and Foley Johnson in Napa Valley; Lincourt, Firestone, and Foley Estates in Southern California; Chalone Vineyard in Monterey County; Four Graces and Acrobat in Oregon; and Three Rivers in Washington. Foley Family Wine & Spirits import wines include Lucien Albrecht in France, Nieto Senetiner in Argentina, and 14 wine brands spanning three of New Zealand’s most acclaimed winegrowing regions: Marlborough, Central Otago, and Martinborough. The growing global spirits portfolio includes Minden Mill Distilling, Charles Goodnight Texas Straight Bourbon Whiskey, New Zealand’s Lighthouse Gin, El Mexicano Tequila, The Loch Lomond Group in Scotland, Two Stacks Irish Whisky and Killowen.
Position Summary:A Senior Brand Manager at Foley Family Wines is responsible for managing the development and execution of the marketing strategy and tactics for an assigned portfolio of brands. The Senior Brand Manager oversees the project management of strategies and tactics with a variety of departments, including Sales, Operations, Direct-to-Consumer and Wholesale teams.  The Senior Brand Manager role will drive significant growth across the portfolio of Napa brands (Silverado, Foley Johnson, Merus, Kuleto), as well as key Sonoma brands, Lancaster and Sebastiani. This portfolio is unique in that it will be closely partnered with our Wholesale Sales team and DTC team to accelerate growth. We are looking for a dynamic, fast-paced brand manager/senior brand manager who can both envision and execute quickly, all with the consumer at the forefront of their thinking. 

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

• Brand Strategy and Brand Planning: 
• Develops brand strategies and positioning for priority brands, including consumer-compelling point of difference
• Develops brand marketing plans with clearly defined activities, timing, and budgets that are applicable across PR, paid media, partnerships, events, and retail promotions.
• Gains buy-in from supervisor and senior leadership, including CMO, on brand strategy, marketing plans, and budgets
• Is deeply in touch with luxury social and cultural trends that can be relevant to the Napa wine category and Napa wine consumers
• Partners closely with DTC teams to create holistic brand plans that are relevant across wholesale sales and DTC (e-commerce, wine club, tasting room) channels

Marketing Programs and Production:
• Manages execution of brand marketing plan including paid advertising & promotion, trade marketing programs, public relations and product development, including packaging. Ensures consistent messaging, imagery and quality standards.
• Maintains accountability for approved brand budgets, revenue, and gross margin.
• Assigns and manages creative work through external agencies/vendors.
• Interfaces with Production and Winemaking teams including, but not limited to, written technical product specs, liaison to agencies/vendors/production to lead and monitor quality and timelines, track shipments/depletions against vintage transitions as well as participation in packaging/production meetings.
• Interfaces with import partners to ensure alignment with brand story and mutual business objectives.

Marketing Communication:
• Communicates monthly brand business status and programs to Management, including marketplace goals and accomplishments, promotional programs, inventory, merchandising status, and wine availability issues. Consistent contact with Sales to maintain accuracy and evaluation; ad-hoc reporting may be required.
• Works closely with Sales to execute the marketing plan and ensure that materials are available to drive results.
• Ensures that brand strategies are implemented within PR initiatives. Coordinates branded special events, winemaker appearances, wine submissions and story pitches as needed.
• Provides content for website and manages brands’ trade materials.
• Performs as an effective and eloquent ambassador for the brands at both trade and consumer events. Direct winery team travel commitments such as participation in events, trade shows, distributor presentations and blitzes in conjunction with the Sales team
• Stays up-to-date on the latest marketing trends and best practices

Strategic Business Management:
• Dev