Maker's Mark Diplomat - TX

Women of the Vine & Spirits; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Suntory Global Spirits, maker of Maker's Mark, seeks a Brand Educator to lead market education and brand activation in Texas and surrounding markets. You will partner with distributors, sales teams, and heritage teams to deliver authentic brand experiences that drive awareness and loyalty.

The role emphasizes bourbon passion, educator skills, and collaboration across marketing, field teams, and distillery partners, with a focus on local market impact and program execution.

Qualifications

• Must be 21 years of age.
• Passion for bourbon.
• 3+ years experience in the Alcoholic Beverage industry with hospitality, sales or education preferred.
• Proven track record of managing projects and budgets.
• Business analysis experience.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
• Collaborative approach with cross-functional partners.
• Highly organized and detail-oriented.
• Experience winning in on-premise environments.
• Creative and innovative solution mindset.
• Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Travel approximately 20% of time.

Responsibilities

• Lead Private Selection Barrel Program management and education with key customers.
• Manage budget and market spend to support brand priorities.
• Lead and coordinate national and local activations with distributors.
• Support education, activation tools, and communications for MM, WFS, and innovations.
• Elevate local presence through trade community engagement and PR support.

Skills

Bourbon enthusiasm

Project management

Budget management

Interpersonal communication

Collaboration

Organizational skills

Public speaking

Creative problem solving

Education

Bachelor's degree preferred

Job description

Company

Suntory Global Spirits (Beam Suntory)

Location

Houston, TX

At Suntory Global Spirits, we craft spirits of the highest quality and deliver brilliant experiences to people around the world. Suntory Global Spirits has evolved into the world's third largest leading premium spirits company ... where each employee is treated like family and trusted with legacy. With our greatest assets - our premium spirits and our people - we're driving growth through impactful marketing, innovation and an entrepreneurial spirit. Suntory Global Spirits is a place where you can come Unleash your Spirit by making an impact each and every day.

What makes this a great opportunity?

Face of the Brand: Be the face of Maker's Mark within your state; leading brand and program education for Consumer, SGS Commercial team, &Distributor.

• Engaging Educator: Public speaking and presentation skills are used to recruit and engage brand fans, as well as reinforce brand affinity with internal stakeholders
• Entrepreneurial Spirit: Independently identify opportunities across customers, trade, and consumers and build solutions rooted in brand DNA and tailored for market needs
• Earn Preference: Gain third-party recommendation through key account relationships and program development across influential Off-Premise and On-Premise partners
• Collaborative Partner: Drive trust and belief by collaborating with sales and distributor stakeholders to meet marketing and commercial objectives

This role can be located in the Greater Dallas Area.

Role Responsibilities

This role reports to the Maker's Mark Central Heritage Manager. Key responsibilities include:

Private Selection Barrel Program Management

• Manage market allocation of Maker's Mark Private Selection barrels and lead personalized recipe development initiatives with key customers.
• Create & lead unique experiences for remote barrel selections and bring the distillery to life in the market Leading development, end to end process management of VIP experiences (logistics of to and from distillery travel and hosting at the distillery)
• Act as sole approver for accounts within territory/state(s) MMPS allocation Partner with commercial team to support barrel launch
• Influence program evolution: unique account asset creation, market allocation and potential new accounts.
• Assist local commercial teams in securing barrel reorders with key accounts.

Know Your Numbers

• Manage and have accountability for diplomat budget to ensure effective spend against brand building priorities and influence supplementary market budgets to achieve against territory goals.
• Track Maker's Mark business results within market remit utilizing syndicated and internal reporting tools.

Trade & Consumer Engagement Execution & Planning

• Support MM brand activations, trainings, and localization of national market plans to strengthen brand relevancy and impact
• Influencing development of national trade advocacy program and translation into market specific plans to ensure proper localized activation.
• Plan and support Brand Spokesperson / Heritage Team market visits across all market stakeholders to maximize brand building priorities.
• Support and execute national brand programming in market
• Support recruitment and retention of consumer Ambassador program

Innovation Support: Market strategy development lead for all innovation releases

• Lead education, activation, tools and communications across all key stakeholders for MM46, WFS, Cask Strength and all other national innovations

Local Influence

• Elevate perception and craft credentials within local trade community
• Engage the SGS teams ensuring relevancy of Maker's Mark within local community
• Local Media & PR Support
• Working with Distributors to support their loyalty with the brand
• Identify & report micro trends within local market - to influence innovation and drink strategy
• Support Distillery & SGS initiatives: sustainability, diversity and inclusion, charitable partnerships.

Qualifications

• Must be 21 years of age
• Passion for bourbon
• 3+ years previous experience in the Alcoholic Beverage industry, with experience in hospitality, sales or education preferred
• Proven track record of managing projects and budgets
• Business analysis experience
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• Collaborative approach working with cross-functional partners and multiple stakeholders (distillery, marketing teams, sales teams, distributors)
• Highly organized, detail-oriented
• Knowledge and proven experience in winning in the on-premise - motivating owners, bartenders, local influencers, and industry trade groups
• Ability to seek creative and innovative solutions for near and long-term business challenges
• Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion
• Bachelor's degree preferred
• Travel ~20% of time to distillery, as well as additional remits as needed

While relocation, immigration, and/or tax compliance support are not guaranteed, we may offer assistance to successful candidates depending on factors such as role requirements in accordance with company guidelines.

At Suntory Global Spirits, people are our number one priority, and we believe our people grow together in diverse and inclusive environments where their unique insights, experiences and backgrounds are valued and respected. Suntory Global Spirits is committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity, military veteran status and all other characteristics, attributes or choices protected by law. All recruitment and hiring decisions are based on an applicant's skills and experience.