Ben & Jerry's Homemade Inc.

Job Description

Job Title:

Ben & Jerry's Associate Brand Manager

Department:

Marketing

Reports To:

Nelia Horikawa – Senior Brand Manager, North America

FLSA/EEO:

Exempt/02

Level & Zone:

WL1C

Prepared Date:

12/19/2024

About Ben & Jerry’s:

Ben & Jerry's Homemade Inc., started in 1978 in a renovated gas station in Burlington, Vermont, USA, founded by childhood friends and dedicated activists Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield. In 2000 Ben & Jerry’s became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Unilever with the remainder of an independent Board of Directors to provide leadership focused on preserving and expanding Ben & Jerry's social mission, brand integrity, and product quality. In 2025, Ben & Jerry’s, alongside all Unilever-owned Ice Cream brands, will transition to new ownership, the options for which are currently under exploration.

Ben & Jerry’s has an inspiring ambition, aiming to be a 1.4M€ brand by 2027. We are focused on growing our top markets, while continuing to support and develop our new and maturing markets across Europe, Southeast Asia, Central & South America, Australia & New Zealand. This translates into a high-paced growth environment married with an uncompromising grassroots and activist spirit. That is how we remain a true purpose-led organization with a connected 3-part mission that are reflected in our KPI’s:

Social mission: We initiate innovative ways to improve the quality of life locally, nationally and internationally specifically on Climate Justice and Social Justice, Racial Justice, and Economic Justice Product mission: We make and distribute the finest quality natural ice cream and euphoric concoctions Economic mission: We operate our Company for sustainable, profitable financial growth

Job Summary:

Ben & Jerry’s is looking for a creative, driven, empathic, analytical, and organized Associate Brand Manager to join our mission and use our business to create progressive change in the world while making the best possible ice cream.

This position will primarily work with the Senior Brand Operations Manager to deliver brand marketing strategy, plans & business results for North America specifically focusing on consumer promotions; trade toolkit strategy, development & storytelling; product & performance marketing for Ben & Jerry’s Pints; go-to-market strategies & asset development, demand forecasting, marketing budget tracking, general P&L management, and day-to-day responsibilities on the US Brand Marketing team. The role will require expert project & timeline management skills and require close interaction with Brand, R&D, operations, integrated marketing, graphic design, supply chain, procurement, finance, legal and regional brand teams, to deliver products on time and in full in country with continued in-market support and optimization. Responsibilities encompass key aspects of the business including Product, Packaging, Proposition, Pricing, Promotion & Placement across the complete B&J’s North American portfolio. We are looking for a candidate who is comfortable to work collaboratively & autonomously, cross functionally, and across global regions to deliver Marketing programming and innovation to agreed timelines.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities: 

This role includes the following duties and responsibilities, but additional requirements may be assigned as needed. Working with the Senior Brand Manager of North America to drive insights into action, lead strategic planning and creative programming, and partner cross-functionally to influence key growth pillars for Ben & Jerry’s.

Our goal is to drive business growth and value by building lasting relationships with our fans through our amazing ice cream and our values-led business model. You will do this by driving awareness and trial of new products, engaging fans with our brand across the marketing funnel, and developing compelling tools & stories for our customers. This role will demonstrate leadership in progressive values and deliver the fun and irreverence that define Ben & Jerry’s.

CONSUMER PROMOTIONSLead the consumer promotions strategy, planning, and execution, partnering with internal teams and external agencies and ensuring linkage with our digital marketing activations.Work with Customer Strategy & Planning in the development of channel/retailer-specific marketing programs that support quality execution, leverage in-market learning and meet business objectives.Ensure holistic full-funnel strategy execution through flawless communication of plans to all stakeholders and proactive synthesis of opportunities that best deliver on our Jobs to be Done.Partner across retailers, brand marketing, design, shopper marketing and digital to strategically determine optimal in-market programming.Understand lessons learned and track programs with cross-functional teams to incorporate insights into programming for better ROIs.

GO-TO-MARKET & IN-MARKET PLANNING, EXECUTION & OPTIMIZATIONOwn the development and execution of Brand Marketing Plans and Innovation Launch Plans for the US Pints business that fulfill marketing strategies, support the company's social mission and meet financial objectives across sales, gross margin and profitability.Partner with Innovation, Integrated, and Digital teams on necessary asset development and management.Working with Integrated Marketing, PR and partner agencies, lead the development and execution of digital, social, experiential & PR plans for the US business.

BUSINESS PLANNINGOwn in the delivery of the brand P&L across the Dairy Pints segment of the business including any opportunities to drive top and bottom-line improvements.Lead the Demand Review process for the US Dairy Pints businesses, working cross functionally while leveraging current consumption and shipment data to provide improved forecasting abilities.Lead the synthesis and reporting of US business results and competitive wargaming, leveraging syndicated data, competitive intelligence, and consumer research to make recommendations on business fundamentals and marketing program development.Lead all aspects of the US Brand budget, working with Finance on budget tracking, spend reconciliation, and timely vendor payment.Leadership for key specific initiatives that arise throughout the annual planning process or as a result of marketplace movement.Strategic oversight for Ben & Jerry’s business in Canada & Mexico including brand planning & development, and creative execution, in partnership with the local teams.

INNOVATIONLead the development of all Retailer & Channel Specific flavor initiatives & packs; develop packaging and naming conventions with Design; hold stakeholders accountable for timelines; plan marketing support programs that drive immediate trial and repeat; monitor all launches against success criteria and provide recommendations accordingly.BRANDExhibit commitment to the brand's social mission and help lead Marketing's contribution to delivering all three elements of Ben & Jerry's three-part mission statement. 

Qualifications

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Bachelor degree in relevant subject or the equivalent combination of education and experience.5 or more years experience performing marketing, product/brand management or market research and analysis.Proven ability as a creative and innovative thinker with experience working effectively in cross-functional teams.Must possess excellent analytical abilities and strong project management skills.Exhibit a strong bias for action and accountability for both self and others.Demonstrated understanding of Consumer-Packaged Goods consumer promotions partners, vendors, capabilities and opportunities.Strong understand of advertising, media, and creative execution.Demonstrated understanding of and experience in digital media and social media platforms and technology.Excellent written & verbal communication skills. Experience with customer facing responsibilities & deliverables.Computer proficiency, especially Microsoft Excel, Word, Project & PowerPoint.Proficiency with using and interpreting IRI Circana (or similar syndicated data).

Our People Profile

To support out 3-part mission, Ben & Jerry’s also has an outspoken people-mission. We look for people with these characteristics to strengthen our team:

Purpose-driven: passion and drive to make a real impact with our social mission agendaEmpathy: curious to collaborate with a variety of personalities and styles and to build excellent relationships with internal & external stakeholdersMastery: continuously learn and develop to remain an expert in your functional areaAutonomy: dare to make choices and take ownershipActivism: interested in bringing about political or social changeEquity: recognizing power dynamics and how biases play out in interactions throughout society; this awareness and these skills are necessary so that throughout our business we engage respectfully and make decisions fairly

Work Environment:

Office environment, some repetitive motion required. Some travel is expected approx. 20% of the time.Hybrid, minimum two days in South Burlington, VT office per week (therefore must be local to South Burlington, VT office).

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Unilever is an organization committed to diversity and inclusion to drive our business results and create a better future every day for our diverse employees, global consumers, partners, and communities. We believe a diverse workforce allows us to match our growth ambitions and drive inclusion across the business. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by local, state, or federal law and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability. 

For more information about your Federal rights, please see Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal and Pay Transparency Non discrimination Provision.

Employment is subject to verification of pre-screening tests, which may include drug screening, background check, credit check and DMV check.

If you are an individual with a disability in need of assistance at any time during our recruitment process, please contact us at NA.Accommodations@unilever.com. Please note: This email is reserved for individuals with disabilities in need of assistance and is not a means of inquiry about positions or application statuses. The Protected Veterans or Individuals with Disabilities AAP narratives are available for inspection by any employee or applicant for employment Monday through Friday during normal business hours at establishment.