Brand Manager, Brand Growth & Innovation

Kimberly-Clark•Chicago, IL

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Brand Growth and Innovation (BG&I) Brand Manager on Depend® will lead brand building initiatives across North America as well as develop, gain support for, and lead 3–5-year strategy & innovation plans. The Brand Manager will lead and influence cross-functional partners in a matrix organization to include R&E, Product Supply, I&A, RGM, Design, and Sales. In this role, you will: Develop innovation concepts grounded in consumer insight and brand strategy – translating insights into clear positioning, value propositions, and brand narratives Lead cross-functional teams through key stages to prepare the launch of major innovation programs including: Concept development, Testing and iteration, Claims and RTB development, Readiness for commercialization handoff Leverage consumer, customer, and category insights to partner with Senior Brand Manager to drive development of 3-year brand portfolio strategy and supporting innovation programs. Support development of go-to-market strategies, ensuring a strong linkage between consumer proposition, channel strategy, and retail execution. Serve as key liaison with channel and sales strategy as voice of the consumer and brand/innovation subject matter expert. Partner with global teams to drive scale innovation and consumer insight projects. Leverage knowledge of P&L and collaborate with finance and other partners to bring forward real time recommendations that drive net sales and operating profit goals while solving issues facing the business. Lead the process of materials preparation for various workshops, customer meetings, and steering committees. Identify and lead process improvements at the key project or brand level. Champion Design Thinking and agile methodologies across Kimberly-Clark NA.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in business/marketing.
5+ years’ experience in marketing with brand management (B2B - CPG companies)
Skilled development and execution of brand marketing related to new product development
Cross-functional leadership including product development, manufacturing/, sales, finance
Solid understanding of P&L management, annual business planning, budget setting, and subsequent execution of those plans to deliver results.
Strong understanding of brand foundational tools, consumer insight identification, segmentation, and target development.
Concept & Brief writing of both product innovation and renovation and commercial news.
Proven capability to lead in a matrix organization driving collaboration across businesses and functions.
Ability to pull insights from multiple sources and synthesize into both internal compelling stories for change and external facing selling materials.
Deep skills and experience with diagnosing and resolving complex problems and opportunities.
Entrepreneurial can-do attitude to find ways to break down growth barriers.
Demonstrated positive energy to effectively represent brand internally and externally.

Nice To Haves

Masters/MBA with concentration in marketing degree preferred.

Responsibilities

Develop innovation concepts grounded in consumer insight and brand strategy – translating insights into clear positioning, value propositions, and brand narratives
Lead cross-functional teams through key stages to prepare the launch of major innovation programs including: Concept development, Testing and iteration, Claims and RTB development, Readiness for commercialization handoff
Leverage consumer, customer, and category insights to partner with Senior Brand Manager to drive development of 3-year brand portfolio strategy and supporting innovation programs.
Support development of go-to-market strategies, ensuring a strong linkage between consumer proposition, channel strategy, and retail execution.
Serve as key liaison with channel and sales strategy as voice of the consumer and brand/innovation subject matter expert.
Partner with global teams to drive scale innovation and consumer insight projects.
Leverage knowledge of P&L and collaborate with finance and other partners to bring forward real time recommendations that drive net sales and operating profit goals while solving issues facing the business.
Lead the process of materials preparation for various workshops, customer meetings, and steering committees.
Identify and lead process improvements at the key project or brand level.
Champion Design Thinking and agile methodologies across Kimberly-Clark NA.