Brand Manager

Founders Brewing Company (Mahou USA); Grand Rapids (MI); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental, vision coverage

401(k) matching

Paid time off and floating holidays

Volunteer time and EAP

Job summary

Founders Brewing Company (Mahou USA) in Grand Rapids, MI is seeking a Brand Manager to develop strategic marketing plans, manage brand assets, and coordinate cross-functionally to drive growth. You will support data-driven insights, create marketing materials, and oversee sponsorships aligned with brand priorities.

The role requires strong analytical, communication, and leadership skills, plus experience in marketing within a fast-paced consumer goods environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Marketing; MBA preferred.
• Two to four years marketing experience; alcohol/beverage industry experience a plus.
• Strong analytical, critical thinking, and strategic skills; ability to present ideas clearly.
• Leadership and interpersonal skills with ability to influence across functions.
• Experience with public relations and digital marketing a plus.

Responsibilities

• Develop strategic and annual marketing plans in collaboration with other marketing functions, covering pricing, promotion, new product development, advertising, PR, digital marketing, and market research.
• Act as brand steward to ensure marketing strategies align with brand DNA and drive business growth.
• Assist in budgeting; own media budget and monitor year-end budget delivery.
• Collaborate with external creative and media agencies to achieve brand objectives.
• Provide monthly updates on key business trends and perform analyses to inform decisions.
• Work with sales to ensure field execution of marketing programs and identify growth opportunities.
• Engage cross-functionally with finance, sales, retail, and production to address problems and opportunities.

Skills

Brand strategy

Analytical thinking

Leadership

Presentation skills

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Marketing

MBA preferred

Tools

Microsoft Office Suite

Job description

SUMMARY

The Brand Manager (BM) will play a critical role in understanding the consumer to assist in creating strategic brand plans, execution of marketing programs, and coordination across other marketing and company functions.The BM will also support data analysis to arrive at business insights that lead to actionable business decisions and actions.Responsible for creating marketing and sales materials and the communication of available assets. The BM will ensure brand activation, sponsorships, and partnerships are aligned with brand priorities. The BM must possess strong critical thinking and problem-solving skills, project management skills to juggle multiple priorities at once, initiative and capacity to work independently, clear and articulate communication skills, and the ability to develop strong cross-functional relationships.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Includes the following. Other duties may be assigned.

• Development of strategic and annual marketing plans in collaboration with other marketing functions including execution of said plans.Marketing plans will address all components of the marketing mix including pricing, promotion, new product development, advertising, PR, digital marketing, and market and consumer research.
• Be a brand steward, understanding the Founders brand and consumer to assist in crafting marketing strategies that are consistent with the brand DNA and grow the business.
• Assisting in oversight of marketing budget.Responsible for delivering year-end budget at prescribed number and ownership of media budget.
• Collaborate with Creative Manager of outside creative and media agency to achieve brand objectives.
• Report to Senior BM with monthly updates on key business trends and provide analysis.
• Have an in-depth understanding of key marketing and sales programming that can impact the business.
• Work closely with sales to ensure execution of marketing programs in the field and identify opportunities to grow the business in the trade.
• Interact cross-functionally with finance, sales, retail, and production to proactively identify and address problems or opportunities.Prioritize solutions and opportunities that will have the greatest impact.
• Represent the brand at trade events, consumer promotions, sales meetings, and with distributors and customers as needed.
• Fully exploit and deploy existing sponsorship opportunities, maximizing the full value and utilization of our contracts to drive ROI and align with brand priorities.
• Be an active participant in the Founders culture, living our principles and inspiring others to do the same.

QUALIFICATIONS, SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE & EXPERIENCE

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Bachelor's degree (B. A.) from four-year College or University in Marketing, MBA preferred.
• Two to four years related marketing experience, alcohol/beverage industry experience a plus.
• Ability to thrive in a complex, fast-paced environment and adaptable to change.
• Strong analytical, critical thinking, and strategic skills.Make complex ideas simple.
• Demonstrated ability in taking initiative to seek out opportunities and solve problems.
• Distinguished written and verbal communication skills including strong presentation skills
• Effective leadership and interpersonal skills. Must have the confidence and ability to communicate and influence at all levels and across functions, outside and inside the company.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage time and correctly prioritize multiple projects.
• A valued team player that is a role model for collaboration.
• Knowledgeable of and active within consumer trends.
• Consistently achieves desired outcomes on time and with a minimum of avoidable errors and issues.
• Experience with public relations and digital marketing a plus.
• Experience with partnership and sponsorship negotiation a plus.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office suite.

Compensation & Benefits:

• Competitive Salary.
• Health, dental, vision, and other coverage for all employees starts date of hire.
• 401(k) matching
• Paid time off, volunteer time, and floating holidays
• Employee Assistance Program
• Paid sabbaticals with tenure
• Paid parental leave for all employee