Director, Consumer Connections

Overview Suntory Global Spirits crafts premium spirits and delivers experiences worldwide. We are a growing premium spirits company recognized for quality, craftsmanship, sustainability, and a strong talent base. This role offers an opportunity to contribute to growth through marketing, innovation, and entrepreneurship. Mission of the Role The Director, Consumer Connections is responsible for developing and leading integrated marketing and consumer connection strategies that drive brand growth through culture, creativity, media, and consumer engagement. As a member of the Consumer Connections leadership team, this role partners closely with Brand, Insights, Commercial, and Agency teams to connect paid, owned, earned, and shared channels into cohesive consumer experiences that drive business results and long-term brand equity. This role acts as both a strategic business partner and capability leader. It helps shape brand growth strategies, establish best practices across the Consumer Connections organization, and build the capabilities, processes, and ways of working needed to deliver modern, consumer-first marketing. The ideal candidate balances long-term strategy with the ability to translate vision into actionable plans that teams can execute with excellence. Role Responsibilities Strategic Leadership: Serve as the Consumer Connections lead for a portfolio of brands, partnering with Brand, Insights, Commercial, and Agency teams to drive business growth and brand equity. Develop integrated consumer connection strategies that connect paid, owned, earned, and shared channels into cohesive consumer experiences. Translate business objectives, consumer insights, audience intelligence, and cultural trends into actionable growth plans and marketing strategies. Act as a strategic thought partner to brand leadership, helping shape priorities, investment decisions, and consumer engagement opportunities. Consumer & Cultural Strategy: Champion audience-first planning rooted in consumer needs, behaviors, and motivations. Identify cultural trends, communities, and emerging opportunities that strengthen brand relevance and consumer connection. Guide the development of creator marketing programs, partnerships, brand experiences, and cultural activations that earn attention and drive impact. Foster a test-and-learn culture that encourages innovation, experimentation, and continuous improvement. Integrated Planning & Execution: Lead planning across paid media, social, creators/influencers, partnerships, content, commerce, CRM, and digital experiences to ensure alignment within the consumer journey. Provide strategic leadership on paid media investment, audience strategy, channel mix, and performance optimization. Ensure programs are connected across channels with strong briefs and clear objectives. Lead cross-functional orchestration across internal teams and agency partners to translate strategies into plans and measurable outcomes. Drive simplification and improved ways of working for greater speed and effectiveness. Measurement & Performance: Establish a culture of performance management and continuous improvement; leverage testing frameworks and measurement plans to drive smarter decisions and faster optimization. Champion modern measurement approaches, including marketing mix modeling, brand lift, testing, and analytics. Translate data and insights into actionable recommendations that improve marketing effectiveness and business results. Stay current on evolving consumer behaviors, media trends, technology, AI, and emerging marketing capabilities. Team & Capability Leadership: Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing team and foster collaboration, accountability, and continuous learning. Establish best practices, frameworks, and benchmarks to strengthen Consumer Connections capabilities across the portfolio. Build cross-functional relationships and influence stakeholders at all levels of the organization. Serve as a member of the Consumer Connections leadership team to shape the function's future vision and operating model. Qualifications Education and Professional Experience: 10+ years of experience in integrated marketing, media, consumer strategy, brand marketing, consumer engagement, or related disciplines. Experience leading integrated marketing programs across paid, social, creator, partnership, content, and owned channels. Demonstrated success building culturally relevant programs that drive measurable business outcomes. Strong understanding of modern media planning, audience strategy, measurement, and performance optimization. Experience leading cross-functional teams and influencing senior stakeholders in matrixed organizations. Experience managing agencies and external partners. Key Skills and Attributes: Systems thinker with deep experience in media or digital disciplines; ability to connect strategy, media, culture, creators, content, and commerce into integrated marketing programs. Change agent with a track record of driving transformation and capability building. Comfortable moving between strategic planning and execution, translating complex strategies into clear priorities and actionable plans. Curious learner with strong commercial acumen and passion for emerging consumer behaviors, culture, technology, and AI. Salary and Benefits Salary Range: $175,000-$200,000, plus an annual bonus, 401K match, profit sharing, and medical and wellness benefits. Salary is commensurate with location, experience, and skillset, with variation for candidates outside Chicago. Additional Information Relocation, immigration, and tax compliance support are not guaranteed; assistance may be offered to successful candidates depending on role requirements and company guidelines. Suntory Global Spirits is an equal opportunity employer and values diverse perspectives. Recruitment and hiring decisions are based on an applicant's skills and experience and do not discriminate on protected characteristics. #J-18808-Ljbffr Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement