Sr. Brand Manager

Overview

Dole Packaged Foods, the leading global grower & marketer of packaged fruit, is searching for a highly motivated & strategic Senior Brand Manager to join us.

The Senior Brand Manager will lead our Frozen Indulgence business, including our high-profile Dole Whip brand. The candidate will be responsible for overseeing the day-to-day marketing of this category, managing the P&L, developing the innovation pipeline, & creating/executing annual operating/marketing plans that lay out the vision & drive sustainable sales & profitable growth. Accountable for knowing the category & brand’s consumer deeply providing thought leadership into connecting each marketing mix element to create engaging brand experiences & delivering best in class execution.

The candidate will be exposed to challenging opportunities within a highly competitive category & rapidly changing market conditions.  As such, an entrepreneurial mindset is a must.

This role provides flexibility to work in a hybrid environment of home & our Westlake Village, CA office. Hybrid is defined as three times per week.  

Responsibilities

• Lead brand/category portfolio management with continuous development of innovation, renovation, & commercialization process.
• Create market launch plans to guarantee success in the marketplace (online & offline) driving delivery of business objectives for the brand including net sales, operating profit, gross margin, & market share
• Identify industry, consumer & competitive trends & make recommendations for action plans & programs based on key learnings, both immediate & longer-term vision/strategy needed to ensure long-term growth objectives.
• Lead brand/category portfolio management & cross-functional teams including short & long-term innovation pipeline for the Portfolio, renovation/line extensions, packaging changes, price/pack architecture, cost savings initiatives, & commercialization process.  
• Maintain full P&L responsibility, with the ability to forecast, react to, & deliver financial performance according to quarterly & annual financial objectives & revenue, volume, & EBIT targets/commitments.
• Analyze custom/syndicated data to identify & respond to category trends, competitive activity, health metrics & consumption trends; share actionable insights with cross functional team members & senior leadership.
• Partner with Market Research in developing strategic qualitative & quantitative research to identify consumer, customer & competitive insights & trends that justify development of new products, optimization of existing products, & sound marketing campaigns; disseminate insights knowledge across the organization.
• Partner with agencies in developing & executing annual wholistic marketing plans that communicate the unique value proposition & positioning of each of the lines within the Portfolio & amplify brand desirability.
• Work with Sales to create & execute sales plans for key customers to significantly grow market share & product distribution while improving customer profitability.
• Collaborate with Net Revenue Management (NRM), Channel & Category Development partners to create category strategies & guidelines that optimize company revenue via brand price & pack architecture, managing portfolio & channel item mix, & refining promotion plan across channels/customers/regions.
• Work with Supply Chain in managing inventory levels to improve working capital & reduce the risk of obsolete inventory.
• Provide direction & coordinate with other functions such as consumer insights, sales, manufacturing, procurement, distribution, legal & finance as necessary.
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• 6-8 years of brand management; high preference for CPG experience in food & beverage.
  • Frozen and/or indulgence category experience a plus
• Proven track record for:
  • Innovation success (concept ideation through product commercialization & launch).
  • Identifying successful strategies & executing against them with measurable success.
• Developing sound creative strategies & consumer communication campaigns that drive business impact including net sales, operating profit, gross margin, & market share
• Effective communication skills, with the ability to develop compelling stories & strategic plans for both internal & external parties & influence key stakeholders.
• Strong organization & project management skills, including the ability to lead cross functional teams & manage multiple projects simultaneously.