Associate Brand Manager

Associate Brand Manager

Title: Associate Brand Manager

Location: Kansas City, MO (RSC Corporate Headquarters)

Classification: Regular

Status: Full-Time

Description: At Russell Stover, not only do we love chocolate, but we love our jobs! Every day we go to work exhibiting our values of excellence, innovation, entrepreneurship, responsibility, and collaboration. Working at Russell Stover you'll be part of the leading manufacturer of boxed, seasonal, and sugar-free chocolates. For over 100 years, Russell Stover Chocolates, Whitman's, and Pangburn's have been crafted with the finest ingredients to bring happiness to generations. Today, we produce over 55 million pounds of chocolate annually, and our legacy brands can be found in 13 company-owned stores and over 9,000 wholesale accounts. Join our team and let's continue making chocolate lovers happy!

A day in the life…

As the Associate Brand Manager, you will work with the Sr Brand Manager to develop & manage a broad variety of products & projects from beginning to end. You will also pull and analyze market and consumer panel data and use that data to enhance product offerings within their assigned portfolio. You should have strong project management skills to constantly update and steer your portfolio of products towards sustainable and profitable long-term growth.

What you will be doing…

• Understand syndicated data reporting systems such as Circana to provide strategic analysis for the company's heritage brands.
• Catalog relevant consumer information relating to respective categories (Circana Unify, Circana Panel Data, Shopper Sights, Consumer Studies, etc.) to feed the Marketing & Sales planning process.
• Manage consumer research studies through the implementation of owned studies (SightX tool) or external partners as needed, analyzing the results to determine validity of business cases.
• Analyze market and competitive trends, including working with the Category Management team on retailer loyalty data and recommending actions to achieve annual sales and objectives.
• Portfolio management including recommended SKU rationalization, mix strategies and profit optimization.
• Evaluate product portfolio and the marketplace and make recommendations for new product launches and product improvements to ensure Russell Stover growth and brand relevance.
• Analyze market potential on an ongoing basis for existing and new products and develop competitive concepts to ensure the long-term, profitable growth of the Russell Stover business.
• Analyze viability and profit/sales potential for new products, segments, markets, and consumers.
• Develop and implement strategies and plans to maximize the profitability of assigned products / product categories while maintaining consistent quality standards.
• Present in a variety of meeting settings, including internal leadership meetings, Sales team meetings, etc.

If visiting our manufacturing plants, you will be expected to:

• Adhere to Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) to ensure product quality and maintain compliance with food safety standards.
• Complete and follow FSQA training and programs to comply with regulatory requirements, ensure consumer safety, and support the plant's food safety and quality objectives.
• Promptly report and take appropriate action on any observed or potential food safety hazards, process deviations, or non-conformities by notifying the designated plant supervisor, in accordance with your role and responsibilities.
• Actively contributes to the continuous improvement of the company's Food Safety Culture through engagement and actions aligned with your role.

Do you have what it takes?

• Bachelor's degree in business, marketing, or related field.
• 2+years of experience with brand or product management experience with a CPG company.
• Proficient using Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
• Experience analyzing and interpreting data.
• Experience working with IRI/Circana or Nielsen.
• Able to manage ambiguity and thrive in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment.
• Strong creative skills to properly evaluate; an eye for creativity.
• Strong attention to detail and accuracy.
• Exceptional presentation and communication skills.
• Self-starter, able to act with agility and time management skills to accomplish tasks and meet projects deadlines.
• Commitment to continuous self-improvement to develop critical marketing management skills.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to speak, read, and write English fluently, with or without an accommodation.

Do you stand above the rest?

• MBA.

At Russell Stover Chocolates, we don't just accept difference — we celebrate it, we support it, and we thrive on it for the benefit of our employees, our products, and our community. Russell Stover Chocolates is proud to be an equal-opportunity workplace.

We provide equal employment opportunities to all people without regard to race, color, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, religion, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, pregnancy, physical or mental disability, protected medical condition, genetic information, military service, veteran status, or any other status or characteristic protected by law.

Employment by Russell Stover Chocolates is contingent upon I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification, passing the urinalysis drug screen, education verification, and satisfactory reference and background checks.

Make Happy. Work Happy.