Brand Manager, Marketing – Classico

The Kraft Heinz Company is one of the largest food and beverage companies in the world, with eight $1 billion+ brands and global sales of approximately $25 billion. We’re a globally trusted producer of high-quality, great-tasting, and nutritious foods for over 150 years. While Kraft Heinz is co-headquartered in Chicago and Pittsburgh, our brands are truly global, with products produced and marketed in over 40 countries. These beloved products include condiments and sauces, cheese and dairy, meals, meats, refreshment beverages, coffee, infant and nutrition products, and numerous other grocery products in a portfolio of more than 200 legacy and emerging brands. 

We fuel deliciousness around mealtime with our iconic brands, including Kraft, Oscar Mayer, Heinz, Philadelphia, Lunchables, Velveeta, Maxwell House, Jell-O, Capri Sun, Ore-Ida, Kool-Aid, Primal Kitchen, and Classico, among others. 

No matter the brand, we’re united under one vision: To sustainably grow by delighting more consumers globally. Bringing this vision to life are global teams of 39,000+ food lovers, creative problem solvers, and transformational leaders worldwide. Together, we help provide meals to those in need through our global partnership with Rise Against Hunger. We also stand committed to responsible, innovative and sustainable practices that extend to every facet of our business, our consumers, and our communities. Every day, we’re redefining the food industry with bold thinking and unprecedented results. If you share our passion – and are ready to create the future, build a legacy, and lead as a global citizen – there’s only one thing to do: join our table and let’s make life delicious! 

Our Culture of Ownership, Meritocracy & Collaboration 

We're not afraid to think differently. Adopt new ideas. Dream big. We empower our people at every level – from intern to senior leader – to own their work. We share a responsibility to think like Owners – to be mindful of the collective and sustained success of Kraft Heinz – which we apply to every situation, every day. As part of Kraft Heinz, you're supported to grow and achieve. You’re encouraged to bring your authentic self to work every day, to lead and drive outstanding performance at every level – and you’ll be rewarded. You’re given opportunities to leave a mark and build a legacy. But you won’t do it alone. You’re supported by dedicated teammates along the way, and our collective, committed teams fuels our incredible progress. 

Position Summary  

The Brand Manager, Classico, will act like the CEO of the Classico Pasta Sauce business, challenging the status quo to drive transformative, profitable growth for Classico. This person will be accountable for developing the long-term brand strategies as well as one-year action plans and programs, guiding a cross-functional team from insights through delivery. They will own the full Classico P&L and all end-to-end marketing strategy and execution.  This role has broad exposure to all functional activities on the brand, including Consumer Insights, Omnishopper, Sales, Operations, and Finance, resulting in strengthened marketing fundamentals and a holistic approach to driving business growth.  

Key Components of the Role 

• Develop short- and long-term business and marketing plans and strategy for Classico 

• Lead Brand Communications strategy and partner with Omnishopper teams to bring brand strategy to life consistently at every consumer touchpoint 

• Build, strengthen, and optimize key elements of the brand foundations, such as point of difference, and socialize and drive buy-in for the evolution of the brand- both internally and with retailers 

• Determine financial viability, operational feasibility, and strategic fit of brand activities. 

• Build roadmap for brand growth, including both demand and supply-generating initiatives 

• Own the full P&L for Classico, with accountability for delivering profit, volume, and market share objectives 

• Leverage multiple syndicated data sources to understand own and competitor performance, diagnose and clearly communicate own brand challenges and marketplace whitespaces, and develop a strategy and action plan to drive growth  

• Partner with Revenue Management/Finance to assess Price Promo Architecture plans and lead SKU rationalization 

• Manage cross-functional commercialization team to deliver product and packaging changes, including quality improvements, cost reductions and new item launches 

• Partner with Consumer Insights team to drive consumer learning plan 

Qualifications 

• Bachelor’s Degree in Business, Marketing, or related field; MBA with Strategy, Marketing, or General Management emphasis preferred 

• 7 + years of experience (at least 3 years in marketing, product management, or brand management preferred) 

• Strategic, big picture thinker who can also execute with excellence 

• Experience renovating and reimagining legacy brands 

• Ability to manage a full business- from big, strategic projects to running the business day-to-day  

• Strong influence and experience in “selling” people on their ideas 

• Intellectually curious, who can bring outside-in thinking to help find new, bold solutions to existing challenges 

• Strong collaborator, who can lead cross-functional teams 

• Self-starter, who operates independently  

• Prior experience managing a P&L preferred, strong commercial acumen  

• Experience in a 360 degree/end-to-end marketing role, owning P&L, communications, shopper experience, etc. 

• Consumer–obsessed with the ability to identify market trends and key insights 

• Comfortable challenging the status quo and driving decisions via strong, data–led stories 

• Outstanding verbal, written and interpersonal communications skills 

• Excellent organization and project management skills