Senior Brand Manager

the ideal candidate:

· has a minimum of 3-4 years in FMCG marketing, with trade/shopper marketing experience delivering retail media plans in the UK’s top 5 supermarkets

· has commercial & numerical strength, with proven track record of setting budgets, reviewing P&Ls & analysing trade marketing performance

· is ambitious, intelligent, hard-working, a fast learner and a self-starter with a can-do attitude

· has strong communication skills & is a confident presenter

· is analytical, proficient on Excel and has experience analysing market data & making recommendations for growth

· is very organised

· is passionate about itsu and our products & want to grow with the company

· has line management experience & is a team player

about us:

itsu is the healthy eating, Asian inspired quick service retail & grocery brand with over 70 stores in the UK and a leading grocery business across Europe and beyond. Renowned for its best-in-class food made fresh in each shop every day, itsu has huge global ambitions with a commitment to continue to open many more stores and intensify the growth of its already thriving grocery arm. With its best-in-class healthy food, latest technology, innovation, and talented workforce, itsu is the future of fast food.

itsu [grocery], which this role falls under, takes the itsu brand into supermarkets, health food stores, online, wholesale and internationally with products such as crispy seaweed thins, frozen gyoza & soup’dumplings, brilliant’broth, rice’noodles & miso’easy to name a few…

D&I statement:

itsu [grocery] is committed to building a diverse, equitable and inclusive organisation. We encourage applicants from a wide range of backgrounds to apply for all of our opportunities.

When applying for a role with us, please remove your: full name, name of University/School, address, email address and any photos of you on your CV and covering letter. non-anonymised CVs may not be reviewed.

the role:

This role manages trade/retail marketing and buyer engagement for a selection of itsu [grocery]’s core product ranges, which are strategically significant to sustain strong growth. This commercial-focused marketing role works closely with the sales team and retailers, alongside the brand and innovation teams, to bring the itsu brand to life in store and online.

responsibilities:

· Buyer sell-ins: With the category team, build the NPD [new product development] presentations to attend & present at 1) internal sell-in meetings to the sales team 2) external buyer meetings.

· Trade/retail marketing activity: Manage all trade marketing activity in store and online across Grocery Multiples and Convenience, in line with budgets. Conduct ongoing performance and execution reviews to make recommendations for optimisation.

· Commercial analysis: Support the Marketing Controller in analysing marketing spend to find efficiencies & growth opportunities

· Buyer engagement & Trade PR: Oversee all buyer engagement [samples, food safaris, trade shows and head office sampling]. Lead LinkedIn, The Grocer [trade publication] and industry award activity. Manage the Marketing Executive who will execute.

· Business reporting & consumer insight: Manage trade marketing evaluations & analysis to report on uplift & ROI. Stay on top of industry news & support Marketing Innovation team on strategic insight projects when required.

· Budget Management: Work with the Marketing Controller to set the trade marketing & buyer engagement budget, reporting on spend to the management team monthly. Support the team in JBP negotiations for retailer media investment.

· Line Management: manage and train 2 Marketing Executives

what we offer:

• competitive salary
• competitive bonus scheme
• 25 days holiday + bank holidays (2 bank holidays are interchangeable for other religious holidays)
• health insurance
• company pension scheme
• hybrid working (2 days wfh)
• opportunity to work from home abroad
• 50% employee discount in itsu shops
• free itsu lunch
• discounts at major retailers
• a sizeable training budget to support your ongoing development