Brand Manager

Brand Manager – Explore

The Brand Manager – Explore is a high-impact, future-focused role within the Cross-Category Strategy team, designed to unlock untapped growth potential across the enterprise. As a strategic extension of the innovation ecosystem, this role operates independently of category or business unit constraints—scanning broadly for whitespace, adjacent category opportunities, and early-stage innovation concepts that are not yet resourced or prioritized.

This individual will harness a diverse set of inputs—including consumer insights, competitive intelligence, AI-assisted ideation, market trends, and internal data—to shape strategic recommendations on where to play and how to win. These insights will be translated into compelling innovation briefs and differentiated value propositions (Insight, Benefit, RTBs/Claims, Demos, etc.) that guide development teams and lay the foundation for future pipeline success.

The Brand Manager will also contribute to the Core Consulting team, dedicating approximately 20% of their time to developing scalable self-service tools, delivering training resources, and leading positioning and claims work streams for high-priority, cross-category initiatives.

With regular exposure to senior leadership, this role plays a critical part in influencing enterprise strategy, shaping the long-term innovation roadmap, and driving cross-category expansion. Success will be measured by the quality and impact of innovation briefs delivered, % of proposed projects Chartered, adoption of consulting tools and frameworks, and the strategic value added to early-stage initiatives.

Candidates must demonstrate proven experience in strategy development, early-stage product innovation, and cross-functional collaboration. The ability to deliver tangible value in ambiguous, fast-evolving business environments is essential.

This role is designed with growth in mind, offering clear career pathing opportunities into product marketing category leadership, strategic innovation, or broader enterprise roles as impact and scope expand.

• The ideal candidate will be highly strategic, creative, & passionate about crafting and helping deliver an exceptional brand & product experience.
• Market Analysis – Partners with CSI team to conduct thorough research and analysis of market trends, consumer behavior, R&R insights and competitive landscapes to identify potential growth areas in adjacent categories.
• AI Early Adopter – Can share examples of how they have experimented with and leveraged AI tools to drive efficiency and speed.
• Strategic Planning - Develop and implement strategies to explore and enter new categories, aligning with the company’s overall growth objectives and brand positioning.
• Data Utilization - Leverage data analytics to inform strategic decisions, track performance, and refine approaches. Utilize both qualitative and quantitative data to drive actionable insights.
• Opportunity Identification - Assess and prioritize opportunities based on potential impact, feasibility, and alignment with brand goals. Create detailed business cases for new category ventures.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration - Work closely with marketing, product development, sales, and other departments to ensure cohesive execution of category exploration strategies.
• Performance Tracking - Monitor and evaluate the performance of new category initiatives, adjusting strategies as needed to optimize outcomes.
• Innovation - Stay abreast of industry trends, emerging technologies, and competitor activities to identify and leverage innovative approaches for category exploration. Manage complex cross-category development model and influence the product portfolio.
• Serve as marketing lead for new category pre-GPD innovation projects, transitioning responsibilities ponsible for ensuring that project meets all success criteria (messaging/claims, financials, etc.).
• Monitors competitive strategic and tactical activities to influence future plans.
• Ability to communicate and influence effectively up and across the organization with top management, project team members, retailer partners, supplier partners and all other Associates.
• Und…