Brand Director - Elijah Craig

Brand Director - Elijah Craig

Heaven Hill Brands

This is an office based position with a base location in Louisville, KY.

The Brand Director will lead the portfolio strategy, brand positioning and development and execution of marketing plans for the Elijah Craig brand franchise. This role drives annual brand planning, advertising, PR, digital strategy, innovation, packaging and trade programming, while overseeing brand financial performance and budget management. The Brand Director manages a team of 3-4 direct reports and plays a key role in revenue building efforts, business performance analysis, project management and development, and the implementation of growth and marketing plans to deliver both short and long‑term brand growth.

• Partner with the AVP, Global Brands to manage the Elijah Craig portfolio, identifying strategic gaps and growth opportunities across short- and long‑term horizons.
• Lead annual brand planning, including performance analysis, volume/profit forecasting, and development of year‑ahead marketing plans.
• Manage ongoing brand performance—volume, profit, budget, and margins—taking corrective actions as needed and guiding S&OP inputs.

• Collaborate with FP&A and Sales to develop pricing strategies, forecasts, and trade spend budgets, ensuring strong commercial execution.
• Work with Trade Advocacy and On-Premise teams to shape on-premise strategy, programming, and KPIs.
• Coordinate with cross‑functional partners on demand trends, innovation, package development, and supply planning.

• Lead external agency partners across advertising, PR, experiential, sponsorship, and shopper marketing.
• Work with internal groups and outside agencies to develop both earned and paid media, including advertising campaigns and media schedules to public relations strategies and plans.
• Work with internal groups and outside agencies to develop strong off-premise shopper marketing programs for retail, including display programs, sweepstakes, and point of sale.
• Own the digital ecosystem for the brand and work through team and cross-functional partners to manage web/social media strategy, DTC, eCommerce, driving growth.
• Work with Trade Advocacy team and On-Premise team to drive strong on-premise strategy, programming and key performance metrics for brand.

• Work cross‑functionally with key internal groups to drive strategy to forecast new product trends and develop new product innovation strategy for brand.
• Drive project management of new product development, special packaging and package changes with and through team.
• Initiate and synthesize consumer research; manage brand health KPIs; lead competitive assessments and whitespace identification.

• Oversee planning and execution of major promotional activities, sponsorship activations, and trade shows through the team.

• Manage and develop Brand Managers and Associate Brand Managers, including performance management, coaching, career development, and hiring.

• Master in Business Administration or a minimum of 7 years in a spirits industry marketing role.
• Minimum 3 years previous direct management and coaching experience.
• Consumer packaged goods product management experience.
• Strong leadership and organizational skills.
• Strategy development experience.
• Strong oral presentation skills.
• Excellent critical thinking and analytical skills with the ability to synthesize data from multiple sources, using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Ability to think creatively by developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.
• Distilled spirits industry knowledge, including understanding of the three tier system, industry trends and growth factors.
• Excellent written communication skills including the ability to compose all communication such as social network posts, project reports, program recaps,…