Associate Brand Manager

NextPlay Jobs; Oak Brook (IL); On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

NextPlay Jobs is seeking an Associate Brand Manager to join its marketing team and support growth across strategy, activation, and execution. The role collaborates with the Brand Manager and cross-functional partners to shape how the brand shows up in market and connects with consumers.

Ideal candidates are proactive, curious, and ready to take ownership rather than wait for direction. Responsibilities span brand strategy, activation, product launches, social content, influencer programs, and

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business, or related field.
• 2–5 years of brand management or consumer marketing experience.
• Experience with consumer-facing brands and cross-functional teams.

Responsibilities

• Support brand strategy and growth initiatives across key consumer segments.
• Help build understanding of target audiences and market trends.
• Ensure brand positioning, messaging, and visual identity are consistent across touchpoints.
• Support organic social media planning and influencer programs.
• Coordinate brand content to align with positioning and messaging.
• Assist with product launches, go-to-market efforts, and innovation initiatives.
• Track budgets and performance against plan; report variances and insights.

Skills

Brand management

Cross-functional collaboration

Budget tracking

Excel & PowerPoint

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Tools

Social media platforms

MS Office

Job description

A growing consumer-focused organization is seeking an Associate Brand Manager to join its marketing team and support the continued growth of its portfolio.

This is an opportunity for someone who has built a strong foundation in brand management and is ready to take on broader ownership across strategy, activation, innovation, and execution.

The Associate Brand Manager will work closely with the Brand Manager and cross-functional partners to help shape how the brand shows up in market, connect with consumers, and support key growth initiatives.

This role is ideal for someone who is proactive, resourceful, curious, and excited to take ownership rather than wait for step-by-step direction.

Key Responsibilities

Brand & Consumer

• Support brand strategy and growth initiatives across key consumer segments.
• Help build a deeper understanding of target audiences, consumer needs, behaviors, and market trends.
• Ensure brand positioning, messaging, tone, and visual identity are consistently represented across consumer touchpoints.
• Identify opportunities to strengthen brand relevance and engagement.

Brand Activation

• Support and manage organic social media planning, including content calendars, coordination, engagement, and performance tracking.
• Partner with internal and external teams to support influencer and creator programs.
• Review and coordinate brand content to ensure consistency with overall positioning and messaging.
• Support brand partnerships and sponsorships, helping maximize visibility and engagement.
• Assist with content development and other brand assets.
• Lead or support select product and innovation initiatives from concept through execution.
• Partner with cross-functional teams to evaluate consumer needs, competitive positioning, pricing, and key product attributes.
• Support product launches and go-to-market initiatives.
• Help ensure marketing claims and messaging are aligned with product capabilities and supporting data.

Budget & Performance

• Track marketing budgets, invoices, and spending against plan.
• Monitor actual performance versus budget and identify potential variances.
• Support recurring reporting and help translate performance into actionable recommendations.
• Maintain strong attention to detail across budgets, timelines, and deliverables.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner closely with Product, Sales, Creative, Finance, Customer Service, and other internal stakeholders.
• Support Sales with materials needed for launches, programs, and key customer initiatives.
• Work with creative partners to develop and execute brand assets.
• Help capture and communicate the voice of the consumer across the organization.
• Build strong relationships across teams to ensure projects move forward efficiently.

What We're Looking For

• Bachelor’s degree required; Marketing, Business, or a related field preferred.
• Approximately 2–5 years of experience in brand management, consumer marketing, or a related brand-focused role.
• Experience working with a consumer-facing brand preferred.
• Strong project ownership and ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously.
• Comfortable working across both the creative and analytical sides of brand management.
• Exposure to areas such as social media, influencer marketing, brand activation, product launches, innovation, or partnerships.
• Experience tracking budgets, performance, or other business metrics.
• Strong communication and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• Highly organized with strong attention to detail.
• Resourceful, proactive, and comfortable figuring things out in a fast-moving environment.
• Strong Excel, PowerPoint, and general Microsoft Office skills.

Why This Role

This opportunity offers broader ownership than many traditional Associate Brand Manager positions. The person joining this team will have exposure across brand strategy, consumer engagement, social, influencers, innovation, budgeting, product launches, and major activations.

It is a strong opportunity for someone who wants greater visibility, more responsibility, and the ability to build toward a future Brand Manager role.