Associate Brand Manager

External•Walnut Creek, CA

2d•$100,000 - $115,000

About The Position

Are you looking to catapult your career by driving high-impact transformation with household brands? Do you crave an entrepreneurial, fast paced and engaging growth assignment working with incredible people from across the globe? At Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream, we are excited to start a new chapter of accelerated growth as part of Froneri – a global pure-play ice cream leader. With nearly 100 years of winning experience in the U.S, a robust portfolio of powerhouse brands that consumers know and love such as Häagen-Dazs, Drumstick, Dreyer’s/Edy’s, Skinny Cow, OREO®, Outshine and Frollies, and the backing and coaching of European-based ice cream experts, we know we have the winning recipe. Headquartered in Walnut Creek, the Bay Area’s hub for up-and-coming food trends, our DGIC team across our offices and factories is raising the bar on all things ice cream. Our growth has been tremendous in the past few years – moving from being #2 manufacturer in market to being #1 in 2024. The brands have strong investments in marketing support, quality improvements and exciting line extensions and innovation. DGIC has also been recognized by retail partners as the top manufacturer partner, winning the #1 position in the prestigious Advantage Award in 2024. At DGIC, we don’t just hire for roles, we grow future business leaders. Here, everyone is encouraged to think like a general manager. That means owning your piece of the business, making bold decisions, and seeing the big picture. What makes us unique? You won’t just stay in your lane, you’ll get hands-on exposure to everything from Sales, Marketing and operations to Finance and Supply Chain. It’s like getting an MBA on the job (but with way more ice cream). If you’re curious, driven, and ready to learn a lot about a lot, this is the place to stretch your skills and fast-track your career. Unleash your potential at Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream and discover what a sweet career we have in store for you! What to expect from Dreyer's At the heart of our culture are four core values that guide our actions and define how we work together. We Take Ownership by staying committed from start to finish, making thoughtful decisions, and focusing our efforts on initiatives that drive growth, efficiency, and sustainability. We Do What Is Right by prioritizing transparency, setting clear roles and responsibilities, and speaking up when something doesn’t align with our values. We Seek to Improve through continuous innovation, embracing feedback, and learning from both our successes and setbacks. And We Are Better Together by making decisions that benefit the whole organization, fostering inclusion through diverse perspectives, and treating everyone with fairness and respect. These values are not just ideals—they are the behaviors we live by every day. Importantly – what does it mean for our marketing talent? As part of our talented Marketing Team, you will see why we drive such strong business growth – it’s how we do our work. What you can expect as part of our Marketing team: Ownership of your projects Fast decision making Access to the leadership team on a regular basis Deep understanding of what it takes to make our incredible ice cream with factory visits, flavor camps (when we develop new flavors), factory trials and more Participation and involvement across marketing campaigns, from product shoots to sampling events to commercial production and more Oh, and did we say free ice cream? Job Summary and Mission The Associate Brand Manager position contributes to brand success by being responsible for execution of key brand activities that drive brand performance in line with Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream sales and share goals. This role takes ownership and leads brand activities end-to-end as an advocate for the consumer. The Associate Brand Manager's role is to drive the performance, equity, and share of our brands by activating distinctive consumer insights. In this role, you enable the team to know its consumer deeply and build engaging brand experiences. This role supports the brand innovation activities by collaborating with product development, sales, shopper marketing, operations and finance to generate demand. This role also serves as a key quality champion and activist for the brand, providing insights and leading actions that maintain and/or improve the product experience with consumers.

Requirements

BS/BA in Marketing or related field; MBA preferred but not necessary
1-2 years Brand Marketing experience. Strong preference for Consumer Goods (CPG) exposure
Experience leading marketing communication projects including digital and media strategies
Strong drive for results including: strong leadership, decision-making and analytical skills, effective communication skills, ability to think strategically, self-motivation, and a passion for the consumer
Experience partnering with cross-functional teams and agency partners
Experience developing brand/product plans, such as communication campaigns and commercialization strategies
Ability to influence and lead others, including those outside of the Marketing function
Passion for identifying consumer insights and transforming them into significant product and marketing innovation
Ability to translate critical thinking into strong business results
Deep understanding of key P&L drivers
Quantitative strength in analyzing data and synthesizing learning into insights and action
Apply knowledge of multidisciplinary business principles and practices to achieve successful outcomes in cross-functional projects and activities
Attention to detail, be in the details
Set priorities, meet deadlines and manage multiple projects in a fast-paced, changing environment
Work independently and make decisions with minimal supervision
Communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing
Handle confidential and sensitive information with a high level of professionalism and composure
Knowledge of general office administration, procedures and equipment including proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite
Strong sense of urgency, even when managing initiatives with long lead times
Adaptability and flexibility to meet changing priorities and adjust to different management styles

Nice To Haves

MBA preferred but not necessary
Strong preference for Consumer Goods (CPG) exposure

Responsibilities

Brand Stewardship
Be a champion for our consumer: Use marketplace data and trends to support developing a deeper understanding of the demographics, psychographics, and behavioral drivers of our consumers
Support the build of annual brand plans: Use brand, consumer and marketplace data and trends to support in developing annual plans to generate optimal demand for the brand and sustain long-term brand health including equity, awareness and engagement
Flawless execution: Execute brand plans to achieve sales and market share goals, relentlessly examine performance and optimize real time
Understand retail environment & how to best win at key customers/channels: Champion brand at key retailers to maximize results, with lens toward driving competitive advantage and effectiveness of trade and marketing spending, with a bias for action to drive stronger performance versus competition.
Communications: Partner with brand manager in the development and execution of communication plans across all communications channels. Lead initiatives of the tactical communication plan (ie: print, paid social, programmatic, etc) around specific touchpoints or consumer targets including agency and cross-functional team management, strategy, planning, execution and results measurement.
Packaging design: Support packaging design and implementation as needed for renovation, innovation, quality improvements
Manage day-to-day brand budget: Ensure strong attention to detail, and active pursuit of savings and optimization
Be an advocate for the brand internally and externally: Prepare, present and sell-in aspects of the brand plan to management, cross-functional partners and external stakeholders
Innovation: Lead and support all new product development (NPD) projects from end to end, weighing and prioritizing quality, voice of consumer and business impact. Partner with key cross-functional teams to commercialize NPD projects