Refreshment Brand Director

Perfetti Van Melle, USA•Erlanger, KY

About The Position

Perfetti Van Melle (makers of Mentos, Airheads, Dentyne, Trident and Bubblicious!) is one of the world's largest manufacturers and distributors of confectionery and chewing gum with global brands that are being enjoyed in more than 150 countries worldwide. We’re currently seeking a passionate and enthusiastic Refreshment Brand Director to join our growing team. The Refreshment Brand Director will lead the overall USA Refreshment branded business with accountabilities ranging from full brand level PL responsibility to communications development. Brands under management include Mentos (including Gum and Mints categories), Trident, Dentyne and Bubblicious. The role is of critical importance as the Refreshment Brand Director sets the strategic roadmap for the brands in terms of new product development strategy, brand communications and overall commercial direction. It is critical for the incumbent to have strong working relationships with all cross functional partners including RDQ, Supply Chain, Finance and the commercial team which includes Sales and Commercial Excellence. The position will have regular interaction with Global Marketing teams based in Amsterdam, The Netherlands for the purposes of product development, communications development and overall knowledge sharing. The Refreshment Director will have responsibility to lead communication budgeting and media planning with internal teams as well as external agencies. The role will have 5 marketers under management with various degrees of marketing experience. It will be important to provide guidance, training and feedback to continuously develop the team to deliver excellent results but also develop them for additional roles within PVM. The Refreshment Director will also be part of the North American Marketing Leadership Team (MLT). The MLT is comprised of the Marketing VP, Indulgence Director, NPD Director as well as the Refreshment Director. Working together, the MLT charts the overall brand vision for PVM USA and collaborates to consistently deliver commercial objectives by balancing brand/category objectives, business needs and market realities.

Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing or related field with MBA preferred.
7+ years of experience in marketing with strong preference for experience in CPG / FMCPG.
Strong preference for experience with CPG brands and FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods).
Strategic Thinking: Applies strong knowledge of brand positioning to design action plans to refine brand architecture components.
Written and Oral Presentations Skills: Able to convey information to others in a simple and clear manner to drive planning and alignment throughout the organization up to and including Board/Group Leadership.
Cross-Functional Project Leadership: Collaboration with Sales and other functional leadership to coordinate brand strategy with customer management plans.
Business Analysis: Aggregates different data sources for analyzing causal factors to predict trends and develop brands’ course of action for the future.
Consumer Insights: Ability to Identify and apply key consumer and shopper insights to support the achievement of brand objectives.
Financial Acumen: Experience managing financial goals of the brands and categories under management.
Creative Development: Experience coordinating brand communication plan with external agencies and bringing plans to life through media planning.
Proactive Problem Identification and Solution Generation: Ability to identify potential issues and downstream impact of potential solutions.

Responsibilities

Own the full Refreshment brand PL including annual consumer support budget.
Collaborate with upstream and downstream business partners to ensure commercial success of new product launches as well as to manage the existing product portfolio.
Guide and provide brand and category deliverables to support the annual commercial planning calendar which includes LRP, Latest Estimates, Country Plan, Budget and materials to support Sales.
Optimize brand positioning and marketing communication execution using internal and external agency support as well as coordinating with Global Group Marketing based in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Partner with internal Marketing and Commercial Excellence experts in consumer research, media planning, shopper marketing and e-comm to unlock consumer insights and drive commercial growth for the brands
Inspire a team of 5 marketers to unlock their potential and develop them for future opportunities within the company.