Brand Manager, Brand Platforms & Innovation

  • Full-time
  • Sub-Department: Marketing Operations
  • Department: Marketing
  • Site Location: Minneapolis

Company Description

When it comes to being wild, we know a thing or two. We’re not afraid of trying something new or the hard work it takes to make it happen. It’s in our DNA. We’ve turned a family recipe into the world’s largest meat snack business, that’s still proudly family owned and operated.

We’re a company built by innovators, and are driven to not only satisfy your hunger, but to also feed your journey – whether that journey is on the road, on the run, at the campground, at the playground, in the office or in the moment. It’s a journey we share with you. It’s the journey forward of our people, of our communities, of our category…with a reverence for quality and an irreverence for the status quo.

At Jack Link’s Protein Snacks, we see every moment of every day as an opportunity to move forward, to forge new ground, to realize our vision of becoming the World’s #1 Protein Snack Company. We never give up. You never give up. Together, we keep going. Are you wild enough to join us?

Join the team, make a difference, be part of something bigger.

Link Snacks, Ink (“Jack Link’s”) is the #1 Meat Snack brand in the U.S. Headquartered in Minong, Wisconsin, Link Snacks is a family-owned and operated company that represents a heritage of quality, safety and innovation. The company is made up of passionate team members who share an uncompromising commitment to delivering awesome products. Sold in more than 40 countries, the Link Snacks’ family of companies owns a portfolio of brands that includes Jack Link’s®, Lorissa’s Kitchen®, Wild River®, Golden Island®, MATADOR®, BiFi®, and Peperami®.

Job Description

Join Jack Link's as a Brand Manager, Brand Platforms & Innovation on our Innovation Team!  In this role, you will develop and implement strategy and build brand equity within the Jack Link’s brand, as well as manage our Private Label and Co-Branded businesses, including development of multi-year product pipelines for each Co-Brand or Private Label business.  As a part of the innovation team, you’ll also have responsibility for the development and commercialization of incremental white space innovation products & platforms across our brand portfolio (Jack Link’s, Lorissa’s Kitchen, Wild River and Golden Island) in partnership with our white space innovation manager.  You’ll lead a mix of marketing projects which will enable you to build and showcase your breadth and depth of leadership, strategic & analytical thinking, project management, and creative skills in this critical leadership role.

Key to this role are leading cross-functional teams, driving key initiatives, and collaborating with a variety of internal and external partners, including sales, agencies and insight partners and retailers.  Additionally, you will evaluate financial and market performance to develop and implement strategies to deliver revenue, profit and market share objectives.

Specifically you will work across these areas: 

Strategy & Business Planning: Serving as a key member of the marketing team, you will own and deliver strategic and tactical annual operating plans and deliver breakthrough consumer initiatives across your portfolio of products including our Jack Link’s meat bars product line, private label and co-branded products.

  • Develop and deliver the annual brand plan and marketing calendar, regularly tracking progress to ensure all aspects of the plan deliver on-time and on-budget results
  • Manage and deliver the brand and private label/co-brand P&Ls. Work with cross-functional teams to measure and analyze sales impact, sales execution and the profitability/ROI of marketing investments.
  • Continuously monitor, analyze, and report consumer, competitive, category, customer, and channel activities to uncover insights that lead to actionable opportunities for the business.
  • Understand channel and customer business dynamics and leverage insights to inform brand growth strategies, product and consumer marketing opportunities to drive growth, including non-traditional channels and ecommerce
  • Work closely with sales teams to deliver business objectives. Create effective sell stories to gain strong trade support and product distribution using relevant category and consumer data.
  • Assist in management of the brand’s annual budgets

Innovation: Lead the development & implementation of a continuous short- and long-term innovation pipeline for Jack Link’s meat bars, co-brand and private label businesses as well as 1-2 white space platform or product innovations across our brand portfolio annually.

  • Leverage consumer, customer and category insights along with solid base business understanding to develop innovation strategy and strong product innovation and renovation pipelines
  • Lead broad, diverse teams of cross-functional partners from concept to commercialization for all approved products, ensuring proper planning prioritization and execution across: product development, forecasting  and P&L management, channel planning, manufacturing, sell in, marketing support, and early in-market performance tracking to optimize
  • Develop product positioning, packaging, and pricing strategy to produce the highest possible long-term market share

Marketing Communications: Develop and implementation of integrated communications plans that drive market share growth

  • Deliver relevant sell-in information sales partners through presentations, sell in materials and in market visits.
  • Set communications objectives and strategy for integrated customer and consumer launch support
  • Partner with Brand Equity team to develop integrated communications plans to include advertising, social media, direct & event marketing, sales materials, public relations and promotional campaigns targeted at retailers and consumers.
  • Leverage in-market performance tracking to optimize

Leadership: Be an effective leader who is able to lead with flexibility to capitalize on opportunities and solve problems in an ever-changing workplace.

  • Coach and develop junior members of the team, growing their marketing skill set
  • Build and motivate effective cross-functional relationships in a highly matrixed organization
  • Delegate and hold accountable self and others through a wide variety of projects and initiatives

Qualifications

•    Undergraduate Degree in Marketing or related field with 5+ years marketing experience. Preferred: MBA with 2+ years’ experience.
•    3-4 years related consumer packaged goods (CPG) work experience preferred
•    Demonstrated experience thinking and executing like a business owner: someone who can take initiative and get things done while having fun in an entrepreneurial environment
•    Analytic horsepower with a relentless orientation on the results, and the capacity to respond quickly to changing marketplace dynamics
•    Strong influencing skills: working well with others and leading in a cross functional environment
•    Strong business acumen, with a knack for turning data into insights and recommendations
•    Strong communication skills (verbal and written)
•    Strong consumer empathy to build compelling solutions and consumer connections
•    Budget management experience
•    Demonstrated knowledge and understanding of marketing and finance, P&L management,
•    Proven track record in managing and meeting volume and profit targets through creative marketing of existing lines, and new product introductions
•    Proficiency in Nielsen/IRI syndicated data
•    Demonstrates Jack Link’s Values: Be Real, Speed Matters, Stewardship, Relationship Driven, Self- Discipline, Show Awesome Character

Additional Information

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER:
Jack Link’s provides equal employment opportunity (EEO) to all persons regardless of age, color, national origin, citizenship status, physical or mental disability, race, religion, creed, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, genetic information, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, veteran status, or any other characteristic that is protected by federal, state or local law.

E-VERIFY:
Jack Link’s is participant in the federal E-Verify program to confirm the identity and employment authorization of all newly hired employees.  For information about the E-Verify program, please visit:  http://www.uscis.gov/e-verify/employees

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.