Associate Director / Head of Arla Brand and Sustainability

As Arla – a European dairy co-operative with over 21,000 employees and almost 8,000 farmers – we stand for a strong community with strong Scandinavian values and strong roots in our local markets. Our co-operative principle allows us to be close to our farmers – the owners of Arla – and motivates us every day to do our best for our farmers, our colleagues, our milk, our consumers and our environment! We are convinced that we can achieve the best results together!

As the local Arla Brand Lead, you will shape the future of our brand by taking end-to-end ownership of strategy, innovation, and team leadership. You'll develop impactful campaigns, integrate sustainability into the heart of our messaging, and drive business growth through operational excellence. Working closely with both local and global teams, you'll ensure that Arla's values are reflected in everything we do, inspiring both consumers and colleagues. If you have a passion for building brands with purpose in a dynamic FMCG environment, this is your chance to make a real impact.

• Lead Local Brand Strategy : Take end-to-end responsibility for the Arla brand strategy, including P&L, positioning, communication, and budget management, while ensuring alignment with global brand guidelines.
• Develop and Manage Brands : Oversee the creation and execution of strong campaigns for both the mother brand and sub-brands (e.g., Arla Skyr, Arla Bio), collaborating with local and global agencies and managing non-growth brands.
• Integrate Sustainability Initiatives : Embed Stronger Planet and Stronger People initiatives into all brand value propositions and activities.
• Shape Communication and Media : Develop and implement local media and communication strategies, with a focus on digital channels and innovative approaches.
• Drive Innovation and Execution : Lead local innovation, ensuring effective product launches and close collaboration with global and local teams.
• Ensure Team and Business Growth : Manage and develop the local brand team, fostering a growth culture and operational excellence while driving profitability through pricing, promotions, NRM, demand planning, and customer strategies.
• Strong Educational & Industry Background : Completed business studies (ideally with a focus on digital marketing) and several years of professional experience in strategic brand management within the international FMCG sector.
• Creative & Commercial Mindset : Ability to push boundaries with brand creatives while demonstrating strong commercial acumen, P&L responsibility, and expertise in brand positioning, communication strategy, and innovation management.
• Modern Leadership & Team Collaboration : Proven experience in leading and developing teams within matrix organizations, with a leadership style centered on growth, collaboration, and consumer orientation.
• Digital & Cross-Functional Expertise : Experience managing agencies, developing digital communication strategies, and working with cross-functional teams.
• Passion for Purpose : Genuine interest in sustainability and health topics, with the ability to translate these values into compelling brand messages.
• Analytical & Interpersonal Skills : Strong analytical thinking, entrepreneurial flair, high personal responsibility, and the ability to engage and connect with multiple teams; business-fluent in written and spoken German and English.
• Work-life balance : Time recording with flexible working hours.
• Culture : Our unique, Scandinavian corporate culture with flat hierarchies and short decision-making paths within our cooperative structure as well as a high level of appreciation, particularly through our feedback culture and regular 1 : 1 meetings.
• Further development : Access to our learning library for online training and participation in targeted training and further education programmes.
• Employee benefits : Discounts on our entire product portfolio and access to the Corporate Benefits Programme with attractive discounts for your well-being and budget. We also offer a company pension scheme.
• Sustainability : With our sustainability strategy "Stronger Planet Stronger People" we aim to be the most sustainable dairy company in Germany.
• Location : Culinary catering in our company restaurant with daily fresh meals – refined with our Arla products – and a Starbucks corner. In addition, our office is easily accessible thanks to good transport links via a train station and motorway access and we offer a job ticket and free employee parking.

Associate Director • Düsseldorf, Germany