Brand Marketing Manager

About Sarku Japan:

Sarku Japan is the largest Japanese quick-service restaurant brand in the United States. Founded in 1987 and best known for our signature Chicken Teriyaki, grilled fresh to order on a teppan grill, Sarku Japan has built nearly 40 years of equity around craveable Japanese-inspired flavor, generous portions and the energy of the grill.

Today, Sarku Japan is entering an exciting period of growth and transformation as we strengthen our core business, modernize the guest experience and build the next chapter of the brand across restaurants, digital channels and new markets. Marketing plays a central role in translating our food, value and Japanese-inspired point of view into a clear, compelling and consistent guest experience.

The Brand Marketing Manager will be the day-to-day owner of Sarku Japan's integrated marketing calendar and campaign execution, helping bring the brand to life from strategy and creative brief through production, restaurant rollout, launch and measurement. This role will manage multiple national marketing windows and initiatives at once, ensuring each program is on strategy, on brand, on time and ready to execute across every guest touchpoint.

You will work closely with the Sr. Manager of Marketing and partner across Creative, Digital, Social, Loyalty/CRM, Operations, Culinary, Supply Chain, and Finance, as well as external agencies, production partners, printers and vendors. The ideal candidate is equal parts brand thinker and exceptional operator: someone who can write a sharp brief, give clear creative feedback, manage a complex timeline, represent the brand on a photo shoot and make sure the right POP arrives at the right restaurants before launch.

• Manage and maintain Sarku Japan's rolling marketing calendar across core menu priorities, limited-time offers, value programs, beverage innovation, seasonal moments and brand-building initiatives.
• Translate business and brand priorities into integrated campaign plans with clear objectives, channel roles, milestones, owners, decision points and launch dates.
• Lead day-to-day project management for assigned campaigns from kickoff through launch, keeping cross-functional teams aligned on deliverables, dependencies, timing and approvals.
• Drive launch readiness through clear status updates, working sessions and escalation of risks so programs move forward with speed and accountability.

• Write clear, insight-led creative briefs that define the business objective, consumer opportunity, target audience, key message, reasons to believe, deliverables, channel requirements and success measures.
• Brief and manage internal and external creative partners, provide actionable feedback and guide work through reviews and approvals while protecting Sarku Japan's brand voice, visual identity and strategic intent.
• Own the production process for campaign assets, including pre-production planning, shot lists and asset needs; attend photo and video shoots as the brand lead to ensure the food, product and creative execution are brand-right.
• Route, proof and approve final campaign assets for accuracy and consistency across restaurant POP, digital, social, CRM/loyalty, third-party delivery, menu and other guest-facing channels.

• Lead the development, printing, kit configuration and distribution of national point-of-purchase and in-restaurant marketing materials, partnering with creative teams, print vendors and Operations to deliver accurately and on time.
• Validate restaurant lists, quantities, ship dates, installation instructions and campaign…