Senior Brand Manager

* CANDIDATES MUST HAVE FOOD OR BEVERAGE IN-HOUSE BRAND EXPERIENCE*

Location: Remote with travel or hybrid in Chicago

Travel: Approximately 10%–25%

Employment Type: Full-Time

Bonus: 15% target annual bonus

A well-established, privately owned consumer packaged goods company is seeking a Senior Brand Manager to lead a high-growth beverage portfolio.

This individual will be responsible for the day-to-day leadership, commercial performance, and continued development of a strategically important group of brands. The role will translate broader business and brand strategies into annual plans, integrated marketing programs, innovation initiatives, product launches, and strong in-market execution.

This is a highly visible opportunity for a hands-on brand leader who enjoys building businesses, identifying whitespace, challenging legacy thinking, and working closely with senior leadership and cross-functional partners.

The ideal candidate will combine strong classical brand management experience with an entrepreneurial mindset and the ability to operate effectively in a lean, fast-moving environment.

• Lead the day-to-day management of a multi-brand beverage portfolio.
• Translate brand and portfolio strategies into clear annual plans, priorities, initiatives, and execution roadmaps.
• Monitor business and brand performance, identify risks and opportunities, and recommend corrective actions.
• Use consumer, customer, category, and competitive insights to guide brand decisions and growth strategies.
• Challenge existing assumptions and identify new opportunities to improve brand relevance, consumer engagement, and commercial performance.
• Operate with a high level of autonomy, accountability, and ownership for results.

• Lead the development and execution of integrated marketing campaigns across digital, social, retail, promotional, shopper, and advertising channels.
• Manage the creative development process from agency briefing through launch, optimization, and post-campaign evaluation.
• Ensure marketing programs are modern, culturally relevant, and consistent with overall brand positioning and standards.
• Partner with internal teams and external agencies to deliver high-quality work on time and within budget.
• Evaluate campaign performance and use results to improve future marketing activity.

• Lead brand-level execution for new products, renovations, line extensions, and other innovation initiatives.
• Manage go-to-market planning, including positioning, claims, packaging input, launch calendars, communication plans, and sales support.
• Partner closely with Innovation, R&D, Sales, Operations, Finance, Quality, Legal, Insights, and other cross-functional teams.
• Ensure launches are commercially viable, operationally executable, and supported across the organization.
• Lead post-launch reviews and apply key learnings to future innovation and commercialization efforts.
• Contribute to the development of future brand platforms and emerging portfolio opportunities.

• Own and manage the brand marketing budget, including annual planning, tracking, forecasting, and optimization.
• Allocate spending across campaigns, promotions, agencies, and brand initiatives to maximize effectiveness and return on investment.
• Partner with Finance and commercial teams to align brand plans with broader business objectives.
• Use financial, consumer, and market data to support recommendations and investment decisions.

• Manage, coach, and develop junior brand talent as the team continues to grow.
• Establish clear priorities, success measures, and…