Brand Marketing Manager

About Sarku Japan:

Sarku Japan is the largest Japanese quick-service restaurant brand in the United States. Founded in 1987 and best known for our signature Chicken Teriyaki, grilled fresh to order on a teppan grill, Sarku Japan has built nearly 40 years of equity around craveable Japanese-inspired flavor, generous portions and the energy of the grill.

Today, Sarku Japan is entering an exciting period of growth and transformation as we strengthen our core business, modernize the guest experience and build the next chapter of the brand across restaurants, digital channels and new markets. Marketing plays a central role in translating our food, value and Japanese-inspired point of view into a clear, compelling and consistent guest experience.

Position Overview:

The Brand Marketing Manager will be the day-to-day owner of Sarku Japan's integrated marketing calendar and campaign execution, helping bring the brand to life from strategy and creative brief through production, restaurant rollout, launch and measurement. This role will manage multiple national marketing windows and initiatives at once, ensuring each program is on strategy, on brand, on time and ready to execute across every guest touchpoint.

You will work closely with the Sr. Manager of Marketing and partner across Creative, Digital, Social, Loyalty/CRM, Operations, Culinary, Supply Chain, and Finance, as well as external agencies, production partners, printers and vendors. The ideal candidate is equal parts brand thinker and exceptional operator: someone who can write a sharp brief, give clear creative feedback, manage a complex timeline, represent the brand on a photo shoot and make sure the right POP arrives at the right restaurants before launch.

Key Responsibilities:

Own the Brand Calendar and Integrated Campaigns

• Manage and maintain Sarku Japan's rolling marketing calendar across core menu priorities, limited-time offers, value programs, beverage innovation, seasonal moments and brand-building initiatives.
• Translate business and brand priorities into integrated campaign plans with clear objectives, channel roles, milestones, owners, decision points and launch dates.
• Lead day-to-day project management for assigned campaigns from kickoff through launch, keeping cross-functional teams aligned on deliverables, dependencies, timing and approvals.
• Drive launch readiness through clear status updates, working sessions and escalation of risks so programs move forward with speed and accountability.

Lead Creative Briefing, Brand Stewardship and Production

• Write clear, insight-led creative briefs that define the business objective, consumer opportunity, target audience, key message, reasons to believe, deliverables, channel requirements and success measures.
• Brief and manage internal and external creative partners, provide actionable feedback and guide work through reviews and approvals while protecting Sarku Japan's brand voice, visual identity and strategic intent.
• Own the production process for campaign assets, including pre-production planning, shot lists and asset needs; attend photo and video shoots as the brand lead to ensure the food, product and creative execution are brand-right.
• Route, proof and approve final campaign assets for accuracy and consistency across restaurant POP, digital, social, CRM/loyalty, third-party delivery, menu and other guest-facing channels.

Drive POP, Restaurant Readiness and Launch Execution

• Lead the development, printing, kit configuration and distribution of national point-of-purchase and in-restaurant marketing materials, partnering with creative teams, print vendors and Operations to deliver accurately and on time.
• Validate restaurant lists, quantities, ship dates, installation instructions and campaign details, and proactively troubleshoot fulfillment or execution issues before they affect the guest experience.
• Maintain campaign toolkits, final asset libraries, launch checklists and restaurant communications so field and restaurant teams have one clear source of truth for execution.

Measure Performance and Build a Stronger Brand

• Use consumer insights, competitive activity, cultural trends and business performance to inform the marketing calendar, strengthen briefs and identify opportunities to improve future campaigns.
• Partner with Analytics and Finance to define campaign KPIs and build post-launch recaps that connect marketing activity to sales mix, traffic/transactions, offer performance, digital or loyalty engagement and other agreed measures.
• Manage assigned campaign and production budgets, vendor scopes and invoices with strong attention to financial discipline and delivery against plan.
• Stay close to the restaurant and guest experience through periodic market visits and restaurant feedback, bringing executional learnings back into future creative, campaign and brand decisions.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of brand, integrated or consumer marketing experience, preferably within QSR, fast casual, restaurants, retail, CPG or another multi-unit consumer business.
• Demonstrated experience managing integrated campaigns, promotions or product launches from strategy and brief through creative development, production and go-to-market execution.
• Strong creative brief-writing skills and the ability to translate consumer and business strategy into clear messaging, creative direction and actionable deliverables.
• Experience managing creative production, including photo and/or video shoots, agency partners and asset development across multiple channels.
• Experience with in-store merchandising or point-of-purchase programs, including print production, vendor coordination, store distribution and executional QA.
• Strong brand judgment and attention to detail, with the confidence to provide clear creative feedback and protect consistency without slowing the work down.
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional initiatives and influence partners across Marketing, Operations and other functions without direct reporting authority.
• Excellent project-management and organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple campaigns, deadlines, stakeholders and changing priorities simultaneously.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, analytical and commercial mindset, and comfort working with performance data to identify learnings and recommendations.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

Sarku Japan strongly supports equal employment opportunity for all applicants regardless of race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, pregnancy, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, marital status, veteran status, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, sexual orientation, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by state or federal law.

Founded in 1987, Sarku Japan began with four entrepreneurs who saw an opportunity to introduce Japanese teppanyaki cooking to the United States. Starting with a single location in the Liberty Tree Mall in Boston, Massachusetts, they built the company through hard work, shared responsibility, and a commitment to continuous improvement.
From the beginning, the vision was simple: serve fresh, made-to-order meals cooked directly in front of customers while delivering an experience that stood apart from traditional food court dining. Through energy, showmanship, and quality, Sarku Japan quickly built a loyal customer following.
The early years required determination, long hours, and an unwavering belief in the brand. As the company grew throughout the Northeast, Florida, Texas, and eventually across the country, the founders stayed committed to the philosophy of Kaizen — continuous improvement. That mindset continues to shape how we operate today, from refining recipes and operations to investing in our people and guest experience.
Today, Sarku Japan has grown into a nationally recognized brand with locations across the United States, including shopping centers, street-front restaurants, and military bases. While we have grown significantly since 1987, our commitment to quality, teamwork, innovation, and growth remains at the center of everything we do.