Sr. Associate Brand Manager – KIND

A mutually rewarding experience.

Work. Realize your ambitions. And realize there’s more to being in business than just making a profit. That’s the Mars philosophy. And the opportunity we offer every one of our Associates. An opportunity to take what you do and make it mean more for you, for those around you and for the planet. What you get here is challenging, interesting work. You get the tools you need to do a great job and you get to have the best possible people on your side to help you do it. And at the same time as getting to find ways to do business better today than we did it yesterday and driving a great career, you also get to build a more enlightened business and drive sustainability.

Because it’s never just about a single person, a single project or a single brand. It’s about how you can grab everything that’s within your reach here and use it to pursue mutual, long-term gain. It’s about having ideas. And ideals. Being prepared to risk failure because the promise of success means we’ll all be a little better off. It’s that mix of integrity and ambition that makes Mars such a special place to work. And why working here is always about more than just a job.

About Mars, Incorporated

Mars is a family-owned business with more than a century of history making diverse products and offering services for people and the pets people love. With almost $35 billion in sales, the company is a global business that produces some of the world’s best-loved brands: M&M’s®, SNICKERS®, TWIX®, MILKY WAY®, DOVE®, PEDIGREE®, ROYAL CANIN®, WHISKAS®, EXTRA®, ORBIT®, 5™, SKITTLES®, UNCLE BEN’S®, MARS DRINKS and COCOAVIA®. Mars also provides veterinary health services that include BANFIELD® Pet Hospitals, Blue Pearl®, VCA® and Pet Partners™. Headquartered in McLean, VA, Mars operates in more than 80 countries. The Mars Five Principles – Quality, Responsibility, Mutuality, Efficiency and Freedom – inspire its more than 100,000 Associates to create value for all its partners and deliver growth they are proud of every day.

This KIND® Brand Innovation Sr. Associate Brand Manager assists in the development and execution of KIND® innovation and marketing initiatives, leveraging the equity of the brand to grow the business. Working closely with internal cross-functional partners, external agency teams, and with Shopper and Customer Marketing teams, this associate will develop products and programs that reflect current consumer, shopper, and customer insights in order to drive household penetration, physical and mental availability, and the delivery of business results. The associate in this role will primarily be responsible for leading new innovation activities across the KIND® portfolio, including: briefing and concept creation; consumer communications and packaging development; creation of Sales materials to ensure successful activation at retail; and program execution against budget and growth parameters.

Key Responsibilities:

• Help develop product innovation for KIND® and build and execute annual marketing initiatives for the brand.
• Support annual communications planning process initiatives through implementation and execution. With direction from Brand Managers, oversee promotions and other marketing mix elements (e.g., packaging). Work with external agencies and in partnership with cross-functional teams to track and drive performance and budget, initiating course-corrections as necessary.
• Identify insights based on information from consumers, customers, and market performance to assist in the development and year-on-year improvement of programs
• Support key innovation projects on KIND® including day-to-day coordination as well as co-management of major events.
• This role will include a range of traditional Sr. ABM responsibilities, based on workload and priorities. These activities may include:
  • Development and execution of core equity programs
  • Management of brand budgets with direction from Brand Manager, in collaboration with Finance co-pilots
  • Development of customer-ready selling stories
  • Development and execution of close-in new product offerings (such as pack/flavor extensions and customer-specific offerings).

Qualifications

• Minimum education for this position is completion of a Bachelor’s degree with a preferable focus in Marketing, Business Management, or a related field, or 2 years’ equivalent work experience.
• Minimum of 2 rotations at the foundation level in brand management.
• Experience in a Marketing or consumer-focused role strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated success in a Marketing or consumer-focused role on one or more brands.
• Demonstrated success in managing and executing key elements of brand plans including market analysis, program development, agency management, sell-in, and execution.

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Mars is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. If you need assistance or an accommodation during the application process because of a disability, it is available upon request. The company is pleased to provide such assistance, and no applicant will be penalized as a result of such a request.