Associate Brand Manager, Brand Commercialization

King's Hawaiian Bakery West, Inc; Hawaii; Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

King’s Hawaiian is seeking an Associate Brand Manager to drive growth across its core portfolio (Rolls, Grilling, Bites) from concept to launch. You will lead cross-functional teams, coordinate strategy, plans, and resources to align teams and deliver opportunities from identification to commercialization.

The role requires a Bachelor’s degree, 5+ years in marketing or cross-functional roles, and experience in brand management or CP G innovation is a plus.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration or related field.
• 5+ years in marketing, innovation, new product development, or cross-functional roles.
• Experience in brand management and/or CPG innovation a plus.

Responsibilities

• Drive core platform innovation initiatives from concept through launch across King’s Hawaiian platforms.
• Lead cross-functional projects, ensuring alignment on objectives, scope, timelines, and resources.
• Develop detailed project plans and timelines, identifying milestones and risks.
• Coordinate with Innovation, Insights, Sales, Food Science, Engineering, Manufacturing, and Supply Chain teams.
• Deliver project updates and recommendations to senior leadership.

Skills

Project management

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication

Presentation skills

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration

Tools

MS Project

MS Planner

Asana

Job description

Joining King’s Hawaiian makes you part of our `ohana (family). We are a family-owned business for over seventy years, respecting our roots while thinking about our future as we continue to grow and care for our customers and the communities we serve. Our `ohana members build an environment of inclusivity as they freely collaborate, pursue learning through curiosity, and explore innovation as critical thinkers. Beyond that, we are also passionate about supporting the long-term health and well-being of our employees and their families. If you’re excited to rise with our team, come and join our `ohana! Reporting to the Director of Brand Commercialization, the Associate Brand Manager will play a key role in driving growth across King's Hawaiian’s core portfolio by leading cross-functional projects from concept through launch. As an Associate Brand Manager on the Brand Commercialization team, you will lead a variety of initiatives across King’s Hawaiian’s established platforms (Rolls, Grilling, Bites), including line extensions, packaging initiatives, optimization projects, and new offerings. Partnering with experts across the organization, you will coordinate the strategy, people, plans, and resources needed to align teams and guide projects through opportunity identification, development, commercialization, and launch. Your curiosity, self-initiative, and adaptability will enable you to navigate ambiguity, solve problems, and drive progress as you support growth and continuous improvement across the business.

ESSENTIAL JOB DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Act as a key driver of core platform innovation initiatives at KING'S HAWAIIAN®, supporting the successful identifying of the opportunity and execution of product, packaging, and optimization projects.
• Lead the planning and execution of cross-functional innovation projects from concept through commercialization, ensuring alignment on objectives, scope, timelines, resources, and deliverables.
• Develop and manage detailed project plans and critical path timelines, identifying milestones, risks, and dependencies.
• Mobilize and lead cross-functional project teams (Innovation, Insights, Sales, Food Science, Engineering, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, and other stakeholders) through the strategic alignment, development, and launch process.
• Exercise effective communication, collaboration, and decision-making among project teams and stakeholders to ensure projects remain on track and aligned to objectives.
• Identify, assess, and proactively mitigate project risks, barriers, and resource constraints to maintain momentum and achieve project objectives.
• Drive accountability across teams by monitoring progress, tracking key deliverables, and ensuring adherence to project timelines and commitments.
• Coordinate project resources, budgets, and priorities in partnership with functional leaders, aligning to brand and business objectives to support successful execution.
• Promote an entrepreneurial, agile, and collaborative team culture across innovation projects and initiatives.
• Prepare and deliver project updates, status reports, and recommendations to senior leadership and key stakeholders, ensuring clear communication of project progress, risks, key decisions, and milestones.
• Leverage project management tools, processes, and best practices to drive effective execution, while identifying opportunities for continuous improvement.
• Manage multiple projects simultaneously while balancing competing priorities, resources, and timelines.
• Perform other duties as required or assigned which are reasonably within the scope of this role.

BASIC AND PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS (EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE)

• Bachelor’s degree and/or higher education in Business Administration preferred.
• 5+ years of marketing, innovation, new product development, project management or other relevant cross-functional experience preferred.
• Marketing agency, brand management, and/or CPG innovation or commercialization experience a plus.

ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATIONS (JOB SKILLS, ABILITIES, KNOWLEDGE)

• Strong project management skills, including planning, prioritization, organization, and execution.
• Experience using project management software is a plus (e.g., MS Project, MS Planner, Asana, etc.).
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to build strong relationships, lead cross-functional teams, and influence outcomes in a collaborative environment.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously while balancing competing priorities and timelines.
• Highly organized, proactive, adaptable, and comfortable navigating ambiguity and evolving priorities.
• Ability to travel up to 20%.
• Ability to activate and amplify aloha via King’s values of excellence, dignity, saying it like it is in a way it can be heard; and curiosity, collaboration, critical thinking, and emotional intelligence.
• King's Hawaiian operates in a hybrid work environment. We are in the office Monday - Wednesday and remote on Thursday and Friday unless there is a business need to go in.
• The annual compensation range for this role is $90,000 to $130,000 plus a potential bonus. The final offer will be determined by several factors, including experience, internal equity, bbudget, etc.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY & DIVERSITY STATEMENT

King's Hawaiian is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for our ohana.

COMPANY CULTURE & VALUES

We deliver irresistible Hawaiian food and aloha spirit, that families love everywhere, every day. After introducing Hawaiian foods to the world 70 years ago, we have grown into a company that provides irresistible foods and irresistible career opportunities to many. Our 'Ohana spans the country in our manufacturing plants, corporate locations, and restaurants. Our culture and work environments (both onsite and remote) help us to spread aloha culture as we nourish our employees' lives. We recognize that each of us has our home life and our work life, which is one life, and we strive to provide balance to our employees. We believe in excellence, dignity, and telling it like it is in a way that can be heard. We may not be excellent all the time, but we move toward excellence and embrace the change needed to continuously improve.

• -Dignity and respect are always present.
• -Treat everyone with kindness.
• -Respect ourselves and others.
• -Honor our commitments.
• -Hold each other accountable.
• -Practice what we preach.
• -Appreciate each other’s differences.
• -Exhibit professionalism.