Director, Brand Management

At Open Farm we are transforming the way people feed their pets, with a focus on producing premium, healthy food and treats, all ethically sourced from farm-to-bowl. Headquartered in Toronto and with teammembersacross the US, Open Farm is one of the fastest growing CPG companies in North America. We believe that the best foods are made with consciously sourced, top-quality ingredients from farmers and fisheries who believe in doinggood for all animals and the environment.

Open Farm is a premium pet food brand built on trust, transparency, and doing things the right way, always. The Director of Brand Management is a commercial business owner and the vertical lead for the Brand Management function. You own category management end to end: you set the category strategy, manage the P&L, shape the portfolio, and lead the go-to-market plans for tentpoles and innovation, working across distribution channels, Creative, Retail Marketing, Brand Marketing, Social, Creators and PR.

You are an OMNI leader. You set category direction and economics based on channel input, then work cross-functionally to brief and align every channel. This is a builder and execution role: we need someone who creates frameworks from a blank page, not someone who adapts an existing playbook, and who can go deep into the weeds to make sure we execute with excellence.

• Own the category strategy: where the category is growing, where we play, where we win, and how we plan to grow share across channels.
• Own pet-parent and shopper insights: segmentation, need states, category dynamics, competitor moves and shopper behavior by channel.
• Translate insights into category strategy, claims, positioning and product briefs, and make sure they reach every channel team.
• Partner with Sales and channel teams on category plans and joint business plans for each channel.

• Manage the category P&L: net revenue, gross margin, activities ROI and marketing investment. Forecast, track and course-correct against plan.
• Build and run the base business plan, including initiatives, renovations and in-year performance reviews.

• Build the portfolio strategy and Price Pack Architecture from scratch across channels, with defined price ladders, pack-size roles and channel-specific assortments.
• Set clear guardrails for decision making: what we launch, what we price, what we stop and what needs to be true.
• Lead SKU rationalization and portfolio optimization with Supply Chain, Finance and Sales, using margin, velocity, complexity and incrementality data.
• Set the renovation roadmap and manage the life-cycle of core platforms.

• Lead the go-to-market for tentpole moments and innovation, from concept to launch and post-launch learning.
• Ensure that the brand spirit is integrated, and that activations are pushing the envelope so that we can punch above the weight.
• Collaborate with the Innovation team for smooth transitions, and align cross-functional teams across Sales channels, E-commerce, Finance, Creative and Marketing.
• Define success metrics up front and report on them after launch.

• Be the connecting point across Marketing, Creative, Retail Marketing, Social, Creators and PR. Write clear briefs and align on priorities and ways of working.
• Build simple, repeatable planning and decision rhythms so channels move faster and in the same direction.

• Lead and develop Brand Managers and build the Brand Management function as the business scales.
• Partner with the VP of Marketing on structure, hiring and capability building.

• Delivers against revenue and margin goals, and can clearly explain the drivers.
• Builds frameworks and guardrails that teams use to make faster decisions.
• Launches land on time and deliver on their business cases.
• Cross-functional partners feel aligned, briefed and supported.
• Understands the brand foundation and all the marketing levers we can pull, to create GTM plans and execution that exceed expectations.

• 10+ years in CPG brand management, category management or general management, with at least 3 years leading people. Pet, food, or other premium consumer categories are preferred.
• Proven management of a P&L (brand, category or business unit) with direct accountability for revenue and margin.
• A track record of building category…