Senior Associate Brand Manager, Wild Bird

Senior Associate Brand Manager – Wild Bird

Location: Milwaukee Metro

Love pets and want to build brands people actually care about? We're looking for a Senior Associate Brand Manager to join our Wild Bird team and help bring new products to life—from concept to shelf. In this role, you'll collaborate cross-functionally with product development, R&D, operations, and creative teams to bring products to market, manage a large portfolio, and shape how our brands show up in-store and online. If you're organized, curious, creative, and excited to grow in marketing, this is a strong entry point into brand or product management.

Central Garden & Pet Company is a leading innovator, marketer, and producer of quality branded products for the pet, lawn and garden markets. With over 40 years of history and approximately $3+ billion in annual net sales, Central is on a mission to lead the future of the Pet and Garden industries. Our portfolio includes more than 65 trusted brands, dedicated to helping pets live healthier lives and communities grow stronger.

Role Overview

The Senior Associate Brand Manager (Sr ABM) will play a critical role within the Marketing organization, which operates as the general management engine of the business with full P&L responsibility. This role will support the end-to-end management of the Wild Bird portfolio, including business performance, growth strategy, innovation, and marketing execution. The Sr. ABM will support P&L management and be developed into full ownership. Success in this role requires strong analytical rigor, financial acumen, and business judgment, combined with the ability to lead cross-functional teams and operate effectively in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment. This position is responsible for identifying and sizing growth opportunities, developing strategic plans, and leading execution across innovation, renovation, and integrated marketing communications (IMC) to deliver profitable growth and build brand equity.

Responsibilities

• Support P&L management, including forecasting, budgeting, and delivering against revenue, profit, and share growth targets
• Identify, size, and prioritize growth opportunities, and lead development and execution of business growth plans
• Analyze category trends, market data, and business performance to generate insights and actionable recommendations
• Lead innovation and renovation initiatives from ideation through commercialization, including new product launches and product/packaging improvements
• Develop and execute strategic marketing plans and integrated marketing communication (IMC) programs to drive brand equity and consumer engagement
• Act as a category expert, developing deep understanding of consumer and customer needs to inform strategy and execution
• Lead cross-functional teams (Customer Marketing, R&D, Operations, Finance, among others) to deliver key initiatives
• Manage and optimize pricing, assortment, and portfolio strategy based on performance and financial insights
• Develop business cases and go-to-market plans for new products, including consumer validation, forecasting, pricing, and select sales enablement materials
• Evaluate marketing programs based on financial impact, consumer engagement, brand metrics, and optimize performance
• Partner with Creative teams to develop packaging, digital, and in-store marketing assets
• Support development and execution of annual and long-range business plans
• Manage multiple projects and timelines, proactively identifying risks and driving solutions

What You'll Gain

• Hands-on experience launching products in a national consumer brand
• Experience developing products to be sold in traditional brick and mortar stores and extensive experience in what it takes to win in Ecommerce
• Exposure to cross-functional teams across marketing, product, and operations
• Experience working with real market and sales data
• A clear path to grow into Brand Management or Product Management roles
• Exposure to the full product lifestyle, from concept through launch and post-launch optimization
• Ownership of projects with visible impact on the business
• Opportunities to present work to internal stakeholders and contribute to key business decisions

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in marketing, Business, or related fields
• 2+ years of relevant CPG marketing or brand management experience
• Experience in new product development and commercialization preferred
• Strong analytical, financial, and business judgment skills with the ability to translate data into actionable insights
• Proven ability to lead and influence cross-functional teams
• Experience in consumer-packaged goods (CPG) brand or product management
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment
• Strong communication and presentation skills, with ability to influence stakeholders
• Experience with syndicated data (Nielsen, Stackline, among others), financial analysis, and consumer research
• Solid project management and problem-solving capabilities

Work Environment

Currently working a hybrid schedule: 4 days in office, 1 day remote

Benefits Package & Employee Programs:

• Comprehensive Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance
• Free Lift and Disability Insurance
• 401(k) with company match and discretionary contribution
• Paid vacation, holidays, and sick time
• Paid parental leave
• Employee Assistance Program
• Education assistance (degrees and certifications)
• Access to on-demand learning resources
• Employee discounts (cell phones, gym memberships, entertainment, and more)
• Referral bonus program
• Access to on-demand pay

Central Garden & Pet Company is a leading consumer goods company in the pet and garden industries. Guided by the belief that home is central to life, the Company's purpose is to proudly nurture happy and healthy homes. For over 45 years, its innovative and trusted solutions have helped lawns grow greener, gardens bloom bigger, pets live healthier, and communities grow stronger. Central is home to a diversified portfolio of market-leading brands including Amdro?, Aqueon?, Best Bully Sticks?, Cadet?, C&S?, Farnam?, Ferry-Morse?, Kaytee?, Nylabone?, Pennington?, Sevin? and Zoёcon?. With fiscal 2025 net sales of $3.1 billion, Central has strong manufacturing and logistics capabilities supported by a passionate, entrepreneurial growth culture. The Company is headquartered in Walnut Creek, California, and employs over 6,000 people, primarily across North America.