Assistant Director, Marketing

Job Type

Full-time

Description

Lactalis American Group is currently seeking candidates to join our Marketing team in New York City, NY. 

Lactalis Group, the world leader in dairy, is a family-owned business with more than 85,000 pragmatic and ambitious professionals worldwide, committed to providing healthy and delicious dairy products that bring people together every day. At Lactalis, our core values of AMBITION, ENGAGEMENT, and SIMPLICITY are at the heart of everything we do.

If you’re looking for a unique experience with a company that offers strong brands, professional expertise, and a dynamic work environment that champions entrepreneurial spirit, hands-on responsibility, and real opportunity for career development, we want to hear from you!

At Lactalis American Group, we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace and we know that our candidates come from many different backgrounds, cultures, and experiences. If you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job posting, we still encourage you to apply and share with us your STORY, your PASSION, and your EXPERTISE! You may be just the perfect candidate for this or other roles within our company. 

From your PASSION to ours

To hold the position of Assistant Marketing Director to manage a core category for the President Brand at Lactalis America Group in the USA.

Based in New York you will be in charge of Marketing for President of Soft Ripened category (Brie and Camembert cheeses) + the Imported Cheese portfolio for Lactalis American Group.

We are looking for a strong marketer who wants to be a part of continuing to build the President pillar segment of Brie/Camembert, manage the Media strategy for the Brand, and manage the imported portfolio under President and other core brands for the group.

Expected to bring to market game-changing marketing initiatives and strategy to grow this business. This position requires a candidate who is a strategic thinker, a creative problem solver, has great communication skills, well rounded in business and people management, and is a driver of results. You will also optimize the profitability of the business while meeting marketing, financial, and corporate growth objectives. 

From your EXPERTISE to ours

Key responsibilities for this position include:

• Create a strong business strategy along with Marketing Director to move business ahead and achieve high-level objectives/metrics; demonstrate a deep understanding of brand strategy and the competitive landscape in which the brands operate, including key competitors, general market conditions such as milk pricing, the dynamic retail environment, etc. This would include a “real-time” understanding of what is driving our products, consumer trends and purchasing cycle, individual retail strategy (each retailer executes differently), and category trends in the marketplace.
• Develop and execute effective annual marketing programs that builds the brands in the long run and achieves targeted operating results as specified in the current year budget; work collaboratively with key inter-dependences to construct this plan: R&D, Industrial, Sales, Category, Trade Marketing, direct supervisor senior management and across business units; actively monitor and adjust plans as needed during the operating cycle to assure that business results are met; have a framework for best practices and manage marketing plan development accordingly; sets A&P strategy
• In development of the annual plans, demonstrate expertise in the full marketing mix and utilize “best practices” to achieve business results; pricing: monitor the market and proactively set optimal price points, recommending pricing action as needed; promotions: work effectively and collaboratively with the creative agencies to develop and execute impactful advertising and promotions to achieve results and continuously improve best practices: distribution: work with Sales and Category/Trade Marketing to set appropriate distribution goals particularly with new products that require slotting; product: maintain an appropriate and optimal product range in terms of number of SKUs, sizes, etc., demonstrate a true mastery of the marketing mix and how to manipulate it to achieve results. 
• Be an equal, highly active member of the Team reporting directly to the Marketing Director. Mutually proactive and supporting behavior that is expected to be standard operating procedure for all team members.
• Be a key voice in the area of input to Sales through the Category team to provide accurate budgets and forecasts pertaining to volume and mix; provide input in the area of upside potential and downside risk.
• Perform annual market research needed to guide new product development, and communications work : omnichannel campaigns and other executions involving the expression of the brand positioning and strategy; work closely with outside suppliers and internal Lactalis personnel to set action standards, establish annual plans for required VOC input.
• Set strategic goals for packaging graphics and all other in-store communications vehicles to ensure that the brand image is contemporary, consistent with brand strategy, and competitive within the shelf set; expertly manages the outside agency as required to achieve excellence in product presentation at retail.
• Demonstrate strong expertise in the use of all business information systems that provide key information on the state of the business, including Stratum, syndicated data (eg. IRI), etc.; routinely query these systems, collaboratively develop, and refines reporting to stay on top of business performance; constantly improve business information by working with Finance, IT, outside suppliers, etc. to improve visibility to results; perform ongoing as well as ad hoc analysis as needed to understand business conditions; acts on findings to improve business results.
• Demonstrate an in-depth understanding of the business P&L and actively manage marketing programs to impact results, including pricing, A&P spending, and all other marketing mix activities that impact volume and profit; work closely with Finance and Director to ensure accuracy of financial reporting and when developing pro-forma P&Ls for products; actively monitor monthly results along with Finance to assure that the business is on track, and proactively develop gap closing plans when results are off; maintain a list of upside possibilities.
• Interact with the Category Management team to understand the latest category trends and consumer insights.
• Maintain ability to travel 15-20% of the time. 
• This description reflects management’s assignment of essential functions, it does not proscribe or restrict the tasks that may be assigned.
• To fulfill these responsibilities, tools such as a computer, and/or allowance(s) may be provided.
• Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Supervisory Responsibilities:

Incumbent is responsible for the overall direction, coordination, and evaluation of these units in accordance with the organization’s policies and applicable laws. Responsibilities include interviewing, hiring, and training employees; planning, assigning and directing work; appraising performance; rewarding and disciplining employees; addressing complaints and resolving problems.

Requirements

From your STORY to ours

Qualified applicants will contribute the following:

Education

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience required; 
• MBA degree is preferred, or equivalent experience to include a minimum of fifteen (15) years job-related experience

Experience

• 15+ years of Marketing Management experience required
• 15+ years of related experience required
• Experience in the Dairy/Food Industry preferred
• Experience in Marketing with Imported products preferred

Specialized Knowledge

• Must have a solid understanding of financial concepts including profitability, budgeting, pricing, etc., and a working knowledge of a profit and loss statement – both how to prepare one and how to interpret existing ones.
• Must be able to coordinate several activities internally with a variety of departments and functions.

Skills / Abilities

• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint is required. 
• Must have the ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from groups of managers, clients, customers, and the general public.
• Must have strong communication, organization, and project management skills. 

Salary Description

$125,000 – $150,000

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