Senior Brand Manager, John Frieda

Kao EMEA & Americas; Greater London; On-site; GBP 85,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working

Health & wellbeing offers

Pension schemes

Insurance options

Learning & development

Job summary

Kao is seeking a Senior Brand Manager to join the Global John Frieda Innovation & Portfolio Strategy team, shaping the brand and steering end-to-end projects from idea to launch. You will own complex innovations and partner with R&D, Kaihatsu, packaging development, and regulatory, ensuring strong consumer propositions.

You will translate consumer insights into compelling concepts, lead Stage Gate processes, and drive cross-functional collaboration in a fast-paced, international environment with

Qualifications

• University degree or MBA, ideally with focus on Marketing or Business Management.
• 5+ years in global brand positions with related experience in beauty, personal care or consumer goods.
• Exceptional project leadership and executional discipline for multiple complex projects.
• Creative and curious mindset with strong analytical and conceptual thinking.
• Confident, influential communicator with strong storytelling skills.

Responsibilities

• Own and drive complex innovation projects end-to-end through Stage Gate from opportunity to launch.
• Lead the cross-functional project team across R&D, Kaihatsu, Packaging Development, Legal & Regulatory, Supply Chain, Communications and Commercial teams.
• Navigate change, solve problems and adapt plans while protecting the consumer proposition.
• Identify opportunities by staying close to consumers, culture, beauty trends and emerging technologies.
• Develop distinctive product concepts, names, design and copy that translate insights into compelling propositions.
• Create compelling narratives that bring innovation to life and support in-market success.
• Apply commercial discipline by evaluating opportunities against relevance, potential and feasibility.
• Help shape the Innovation Masterplan and prioritize where to invest for growth.
• Partner with regional and local teams to maximize in-market impact and alignment.

Skills

Brand management

New product development

Project leadership

Innovation

Marketing

Consumer insights

Storytelling

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

University degree/MBA

Job description

We are Kao, listed as one of the world’s most ethical companies for the last 20 years.

Our EMEA brand portfolio spans across three sectors; Consumer Care (John Frieda, Guhl, Bondi Sands, Bioré, Jergens, Curél), Professional Hair (Goldwell, Oribe, KMS Hair, Kerasilk), and Molton Brown.

Our corporate philosophy, The Kao Way, guides us in everything we do – acting with integrity, courageously driving innovation, and treating each other with trust and respect.

About our role:

The Senior Brand Manager will join the Global John Frieda Innovation & Portfolio Strategy team, helping to shape what comes next for the brand and taking ownership for making it happen. The role combines strategic and creative innovation thinking with hands‑on, end-to-end project leadership. You will identify and develop compelling new product opportunities while owning complex innovation projects from initial idea through development to launch.

Working in a international and cross‑functional environment, you will partner closely with R&D, Kaihatsu, Packaging Development, Legal & Regulatory, Communications, Supply Chain and regional and local Commercial teams.

What you will do:

• Own and drive complex innovation projects end-to-end. Lead New Product Development projects through the Stage Gate process, from initial opportunity through development and launch. Own timelines, deliverables and critical dependencies; anticipate risks, identify gaps and resolve issues to keep projects moving forward.
• Lead the cross‑functional project team. Be the central Marketing lead connecting R&D, Kaihatsu, Packaging Development, Legal & Regulatory, Supply Chain, Communications and Commercial teams. Create clarity on actions and decisions, follow through with discipline and ensure teams remain aligned against the overall objective.
• Solve problems and navigate change. Innovation rarely follows a straight line. Respond quickly and constructively when formulas, claims, costs, timings, feasibility or market requirements change, bringing the right people together and driving pragmatic solutions without losing sight of the consumer proposition.
• Shape what comes next. Stay close to consumers, culture, beauty trends, emerging technologies and competitive activity to identify new opportunities for John Frieda. Translate these into compelling innovation territories, product concepts and recommendations.
• Turn opportunities into propositions that can win. Combine consumer insight, brand strategy, technical possibilities and commercial understanding to develop distinctive product concepts and stories, including claims, naming, design and copy.
• Build compelling innovation stories. Translate consumer insights, trends, technologies and product benefits into clear, distinctive and engaging stories that bring innovation to life, create excitement and make the proposition easy to understand and sell across markets and audiences.
• Bring commercial discipline to innovation. Evaluate opportunities against consumer relevance, market potential, portfolio role, feasibility, scalability and cost. Manage Cost of Goods and identify and drive TCR/value‑engineering opportunities while protecting the consumer experience and brand proposition.
• Help shape the Innovation Masterplan. Bring a clear point of view on future growth opportunities, informed by global trends, competitive activity, consumer needs and brand and product performance. Help prioritize where the brand should – and should not – invest
• Partner closely with our markets. Build strong relationships with regional and local Commercial teams, incorporating their market expertise throughout development and ensuring they have compelling propositions and tools to maximize in‑market success
• Create alignment and influence decisions. Present recommendations clearly and confidently, facilitate discussion across different perspectives and constructively challenge thinking to drive strong decisions and maintain momentum

What you will need:

• University Degree/MBA ideally with a focus on Marketing, Business Management or equivalent
• 5+ years in similar Global Brand position, with relevant Brand Management, Innovation or New Product Development experience, ideally within Beauty, Personal Care or consumer goods sector
• Exceptional project leadership and executional discipline, with the ability to manage multiple complex innovation projects simultaneously, anticipate risks and dependencies, maintain attention to detail and proactively resolve issues before they derail timing or quality.
• A creative and curious mindset, combined with strong analytical and conceptual thinking and a genuine passion for beauty, consumers and innovation.
• A confident and influential communication style, enjoying presenting and engaging audiences, with strong storytelling skills and the ability to simplify complexity and turn strategies, technologies and consumer insights into compelling narratives.
• Experience in a fast‑paced, dynamic and highly collaborative environment with the ability to remain positive and pragmatic when faced with changing priorities, ambiguity or unexpected challenges, and enjoying working with and influencing large cross‑functional teams.
• Strong cultural sensitivity and appreciation of the different consumer, market and commercial needs that exist across countries with experience working in a pan regional role.
• Strong consumer and commercial instinct, with the ability to identify opportunities and translate consumer insights, market dynamics and trends into differentiated propositions with clear growth potential.
• Strong experience in problem solving with strong ownership and resilience, bringing the tenacity and solution‑oriented mindset needed to keep complex projects moving forward.

At Kao, we believe the diversity of our teams strengthens our global mission. Here we trust and respect each other, collaborating in a friendly and inclusive work environment to achieve great results.

What you can expect from us:

• An entrepreneurial environment where passionate and innovative teams come together.
• Respect, teamwork and collaboration are at the heart of how we work.
• A workplace culture that prioritises employee wellbeing, with opportunities to get involved in initiatives such as Mental Health First Aiders, our Charity Committee, and DE&I communities
• A broad range of benefits, including flexible working, competitive salaries, health and wellbeing offers, pension schemes, insurance options, and more…
• Learning and development opportunities

Your voice matters here, we value entrepreneurial thinking and innovation from our teams.

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