Brand Manager, Brand Expansion

Morton Salt•Overland Park, KS

About The Position

Morton Salt is an iconic company with a strong heritage and a bright future. Since 1848, we have been improving lives and enhancing everyday moments – at home, at work and virtually everywhere in between. We help unlock the flavors in food, make roads and sidewalks safer, improve the water in baths, pools, and homes, and keep businesses and industries running. We are a dedicated team who constantly strives to do better together, and we are passionate about building a sustainable future for our company, the communities in which we operate, and the world around us. By joining our team, you will contribute to producing and delivering every form of salt that enhances everyday life. Job Summary The Brand Manager of Brand Expansion will play an integral role in expanding our brand reach. This role will help craft innovation strategy, create new ideas, and lead the execution of initiatives that are critical to achieve the company’s long-term growth targets. New category segments and products will be an important pillar of our future strategy. The successful candidate in this role will have the responsibility of adding to our portfolio and leading from ideation to commercialization while ensuring that they meet financial targets. This role will lead cross functional teams and oversee critical developmental & executional aspects of new product launches. This includes effectively working with internal & external partners, leveraging consumer & marketplace insights, stewarding projects through the stage gate process, and enrolling senior management.

Requirements

Education: Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business, Innovation or related field required. MBA preferred.
Experience: 5+ years of Marketing and/or Innovation experience in creating & developing new item initiatives and managing them from concept development to commercialization is required. Previous experience managing a P&L desired.
Success leveraging robust consumer insights to launch into new product categories and adjacencies that stretches the brand.
Entrepreneurial mindset, working closely with existing and new business partners to vet capabilities to launch new products/categories.
Intellectually curious, creative, and open to change.
Genuine passion for the value and contribution made through innovation and a desire to share that passion with others.
Proven track record of success and demonstrated ability in leading & inspiring cross functional teams to successfully launch new products into retail channels.
Proven ability to think and move between strategic and analytical thinking as well as actual execution.
Willing and able to respectfully and effectively challenge the status quo for the good of the business.
Must be enthusiastic, self-motivated and demonstrate excellent problem solving and decision-making skills. Be tenacious in the face of obstacles.
Experienced at managing agency partners and co-packers ensuring we maximize return from the investment.
Well-rounded business acumen with proven skills in marketing, business strategy, and general management.

Responsibilities

Leverage all available tools (syndicated data, primary consumer research, consumer reports, etc.) to identify and advance new product/portfolio initiatives.
Lead the ideation, development, and execution of product and packaging innovation plans including consumer insights, concept development, feasibility validation, product and packaging R&D, business proposal and approval, project execution, customer sell in, and advertising and promotion.
Initiate and drive cross functional teams consisting of external agency partners and key internal stakeholders to deliver against planned innovation initiatives
Effectively manage products through the Stage Gate process
Accountable for P&L analysis of innovation portfolio, driving key initiatives to improve category profitability down to EBIT.
Develop & refine new and existing segment level innovation strategies for the assigned consumer segments in partnership with the Brand Teams and the Marketing Director, Innovation and Ecommerce.
Ensure Innovation strategies position the business to succeed in the evolving retail landscape including eCommerce.
Develop positioning, pricing, and promotional strategies for the new products to deliver long term financial targets.
Use insights to leverage brand equities to define positioning, point of differentiation, RTBs, new product development, and portfolio strategy.
Identify unmet consumer and/or customer needs and use those insights to strengthen the consumer products portfolio.
Build and communicate brand value to support selling and retail prices for new products.
Support in-market success of new products with comprehensive 360-degree marketing plans and manage the available Advertising and Promotion (A&P) budget.
Work with the Marketing Director, Innovation to build a compelling vision for the future that positions the organization to achieve its long-term innovation objectives.
Represent the Innovation Team with multiple stakeholders including CMO, Marketing Communications, Sales, Sales Strategy & Planning, Technology & Innovation, Supply Chain, Brand Finance and Base Marketing Teams.