Associate Brand Manager, US Brands - Jim Beam (Chicago, IL, US)

What makes this a great opportunity?

• Opportunity to work on one of the key Brand Houses for Suntory Global Spirits within a highly complex and diverse region
• Have a direct impact into the key drivers for business growth in an extremely competitive category where details will significantly matter.
• Learn how to bring multiple teams and lines of thought to work collectively towards one goal
• Play an integral role in the business and brand planning cycle
• Opportunity to work across range of projects, from brand strategy to commercial programming to innovations

Role Responsibilities

• Be a brand builder for the Jim Beam portfolio brands through strong localized and regionalized analytics and critical thinking to drive the business the right way
• Play key role in development and implementation of strategic marketing direction delivering against key value, brand health, and volume/sales/profit growth objectives
• Help identify and source brand materials needed in a State or across the region that represent an opportunity and not currently in the buy offers
• Ensure tracking on Nielsen and The Bar of each brand performance vs Plan, previous year, competitive brands and category trends
• Support the bi-weekly Market Manager meeting up-dates
• Participate and follow up with Brand House status and follow ups
• Work directly with Brand Ambassadors on planning and executing market events with Market Managers
• Process payments and manage budget transfers to markets as plans get approved and move forward
• Directly participate and influence regional brief development as well as work with third party partners to deliver new programs and executions
• Be a part of the creation of brand up-dates, summaries and presentations throughout the year

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree required
• MBA Preferred
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Strong analytical skills and inquisitive personality to dive into untapped details
• Ability to perform structured financial analysis, turning data into actionable insights and recommendations
• Proven ability to execute projects that align with the overall strategy
• Strong project management experience, including budget management
• Ability to collaborate with agencies and other stakeholders to bring ideas from brief to plan and execution
• Strong team player who can also work autonomously
• Able to deliver in a fast-paced environment under pressure/time constraints
• Flexibility in approach to enable strong collaboration cross-functional partners and multiple stakeholders
• Experience working cross-culturally and/or desire to learn about different cultures
• Knowledge of the spirits industry, particularly the three-tier system and distributor partnerships
• Experience in the industry with knowledge of chains and the independent market is preferred but not mandatory

Salary Range - The salary range for this role, based in Chicago, is $110,000 to $125,000 along with an annual bonus, 401K match, profit sharing, and medical and wellness benefits. The salary range is commensurate with the candidate’s location, experience, and skillset.