ASSISTANT BRAND MANAGER

Kens Apothecary; Kuala Lumpur; On-site; MYR 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Kens Apothecary is seeking an Assistant Brand Manager to own a designated brand portfolio and lead marketing, trade, and activation initiatives in Malaysia. You will work cross-functionally with internal teams and brand principals to translate strategy into measurable campaigns and growth.

The role requires strong commercial judgment, analytical skills, and hands-on execution ability to drive brand equity, sales performance, and long-term growth in a fast-paced environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing, Business Management, or related field.
• Minimum 3 years of hands-on brand management experience.
• Experience in beauty, fragrance, FMCG, luxury retail, or lifestyle brands is highly preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead a designated category and brand portfolio, driving marketing strategies that support sales and brand equity.
• Develop and manage annual marketing plans across product launches, promotions, events, and activations.
• Translate brand direction into locally relevant, executable marketing plans.
• Plan trade strategies and retailer activations across stores and online channels.
• Manage external agencies to develop campaigns and assets, ensuring on-brand delivery.
• Build sales forecasts, monitor performance, and prepare regular business reviews.

Skills

Brand management

Analytical ability

Commercial judgement

Leadership

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Marketing or related field

Tools

Excel

Job description

As Assistant Brand Manager, you will act as the brand custodian and business owner for your assigned category and brand portfolio. You will work closely with internal teams and external brand principals to develop and execute marketing, sales, and trade strategies that strengthen brand equity, improve performance, and support long-term growth.

You will lead end-to-end brand planning, campaign execution, launch management, trade activations, sales performance monitoring, budget management, and team development. The ideal candidate is both strategic and hands‑on, with strong commercial judgement, analytical capability, and the ability to turn brand strategy into clear, measurable execution.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Brand, Marketing & Sales Strategy

• Lead a designated category and brand portfolio, driving marketing strategies that support sales, profitability, brand equity, and business objectives.
• Develop and manage annual marketing plans across product launches, innovation, reactivation campaigns, promotions, events, and brand activations.
• Translate brand and principal direction into clear, locally relevant, and executable marketing plans.
• Prioritise initiatives based on commercial impact, channel strategy, pricing discipline, customer relevance, and assortment mix.
• Identify growth opportunities across brands, channels, categories, and customer segments.
• Partner with internal teams to ensure marketing strategies are aligned with sales targets, retail priorities, and business objectives.

Campaign Development & Execution

• Lead the end‑to‑end development and execution of integrated marketing campaigns across retail, digital, social media, PR, e‑commerce, CRM, and trade channels.
• Build strong go‑to‑market plans with clear timelines, deliverables, ownership, and follow‑through.
• Collaborate with creative, digital, PR, CRM, retail, and sales teams to ensure consistent and impactful campaign execution.
• Drive product launches, seasonal campaigns, promotional activities, customer activations, and retailer‑specific initiatives.
• Ensure all campaigns are grounded in consumer insights, market trends, retailer requirements, and brand strategy.
• Monitor execution quality across all touchpoints and ensure campaigns are delivered on time, on brand, and within budget.

Retail, Trade & Channel Strategy

• Develop and lead trade strategies that drive sell‑in, sell‑through, store performance, customer engagement, and brand visibility.
• Partner closely with the sales and retail teams to strengthen base business performance and identify opportunities to improve conversion.
• Build retailer‑specific trade plans and below‑the‑line activations across physical stores, digital channels, and e‑commerce platforms.
• Lead customer activations, launch events, staff incentives, sampling initiatives, loyalty programmes, and in‑store campaigns.
• Monitor store‑level performance, merchandising execution, product visibility, and promotional effectiveness.
• Recommend proactive initiatives to improve retail performance, customer experience, and brand presence.

External Partner & Principal Management

• Serve as a key liaison between Kens Apothecary and assigned brand principals.
• Maintain strong, professional, and trust‑based relationships with brand principals, agencies, vendors, and business partners.
• Align local marketing plans with principal direction, global brand guidelines, and campaign timelines.
• Manage external agencies to develop integrated communications, digital assets, e‑commerce creatives, advertising materials, displays, and campaign collaterals.
• Ensure marketing materials, product information, displays, and brand assets are developed accurately and launched in a timely manner.
• Represent the brand portfolio professionally in meetings, business reviews, and planning discussions.

Forecasting, Analysis & Performance Management

• Build sales forecasts, stock demand forecasts, launch projections, and promotional estimates in collaboration with sales, demand planning, and logistics teams.
• Monitor brand performance, category trends, market movement, customer behavior, and competitive activity to identify opportunities and risks.
• Evaluate campaign effectiveness across awareness, engagement, loyalty, traffic, sell‑in, sell‑through, and sales metrics.
• Prepare regular performance reports, business reviews, post‑campaign evaluations, and recommendations for management and brand principals.
• Use data and insights to strengthen base business performance, improve campaign planning, and drive better decision‑making.
• Ensure brand plans are commercially sound and contribute to sales, profitability, and sustainable growth.

Budget & P&L Management

• Manage marketing budgets and departmental P&L for assigned brands with discipline and accountability.
• Plan and allocate A&P investment based on business priorities, campaign objectives, and expected commercial returns.
• Track spending, monitor budget utilisation, and ensure expenses are managed efficiently.
• Work closely with finance and internal teams to manage purchase orders, invoices, vendor payments, and budget reporting.
• Ensure marketing investment is used effectively to support brand growth and business performance.

Team Leadership & Cross‑Functional Collaboration

• Lead, guide, and develop the brand team, ensuring clarity of roles, responsibilities, timelines, and expectations.
• Foster a culture of ownership, learning, accountability, and high execution standards.
• Work closely with creative, sales, retail operations, digital, CRM, demand planning, logistics, finance, and merchandising teams to ensure smooth execution.
• Align stakeholders around campaign priorities, launch timelines, trade plans, and business objectives.
• Provide clear communication and direction to ensure projects are delivered effectively and consistently.

Day‑to‑Day Focus

• Planning and executing campaigns aligned with brand principal direction and internal business priorities.
• Coordinating with internal teams to ensure brand plans are delivered across retail, digital, CRM, PR, and trade channels.
• Reviewing sales performance, store performance, stock status, market activity, and campaign results.
• Managing launch timelines, campaign materials, trade activations, agency deliverables, and brand principal updates.
• Identifying opportunities to improve brand visibility, sales performance, customer engagement, and operational execution.

REQUIREMENTS

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing, Business Management, Mass Communication, Public Relations, Business Administration, or a related field.
• Minimum 3 years of hands‑on brand management experience.
• Experience in beauty, fragrance, FMCG, luxury retail, premium consumer goods, or lifestyle brands is highly preferred.
• Experience managing brand principals, agencies, vendors, or external business partners is an advantage.
• Experience managing marketing budgets, campaign planning, product launches, and trade activations.
• Strong ownership mindset with the ability to manage brands, budgets, timelines, and execution end‑to‑end.
• Strong commercial judgement with the ability to connect brand strategy to sales, profitability, and business performance.
• Solid analytical capability with confidence in using Excel, sales reports, campaign data, and market insights.
• Strong project management skills with the ability to manage multiple brands, campaigns, and stakeholders simultaneously.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and stakeholder management skills.
• Strong attention to detail and commitment to high execution standards.
• Creative yet commercially grounded, with the ability to balance brand storytelling and business priorities.
• Comfortable working in a fast‑paced, dynamic, and entrepreneurial environment.

What Will Make You Successful

• Passion for luxury beauty, fragrance, skincare, and consumer brand building.
• Ability to think strategically while staying hands‑on with execution.
• Confidence in making data‑informed recommendations.
• Strong collaboration skills and the ability to align multiple stakeholders.
• Proactive mindset with the ability to identify opportunities, solve problems, and drive outcomes.
• High standards of ownership, accountability, and follow‑through.