Job Title: Senior Director of Brand Marketing
Function: Ornua Foods North America, Marketing
Reports to: Chief Marketing Officer, Americas
Location: Evanston, Illinois
Position Type: Full-Time
Schedule: Standard business hours
Direct Reports: Brand Marketing and Innovation leaders
Are you an experienced brand and innovation leader ready to shape the growth of Kerrygold and the Ornua Foods North America portfolio?
Ornua is seeking a Senior Director of Brand Marketing to lead its brand marketing and innovation teams and turn consumer opportunities into profitable, sustainable growth.
WHY THIS ROLE IS VALUABLEReporting to the Chief Marketing Officer, Americas, the Senior Director of Brand Marketing has overall accountability for brand strategy, portfolio performance and the innovation agenda for Ornua Foods North America, with Kerrygold at its core. The role connects long-term brand building with near-term commercial results, owning brand and portfolio P&L performance, market share and brand equity.
This leader sets the annual and long-range growth agenda, directs marketing and innovation investment, and leads the Brand Marketing and Innovation leaders and their teams. Working with Sales, Finance, Insights, R&D, Supply Chain, PMO and global partners, the Senior Director makes strategic tradeoffs, aligns priorities and ensures that brand plans and the innovation pipeline deliver measurable business outcomes.
WHAT YOU WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FORStrategy- Brand Strategy Development: Lead the development and implementation of comprehensive brand strategies to achieve annual and long-range business objectives. Define where the brand competes, how it wins, and how it scales across key categories, channels, and consumer opportunities.
- Annual and Long-Range Planning: Lead annual brand planning and support long-range strategic planning for the portfolio, translating business priorities into clear growth roadmaps, resource allocation choices, and measurable action plans.
- Market, Consumer and Competitive Analysis: Analyze category, shopper, consumer, customer, and competitive data to identify trends, market dynamics, unmet needs, and profitable growth opportunities. Translate insights into actionable strategies that strengthen brand relevance and commercial impact.
- Portfolio Strategy and Lifecycle Management: Develop and execute portfolio strategy, including product mix, innovation priorities, lifecycle management, packaging, assortment, and renovation opportunities.
- Channel, Customer and Distribution Strategy: Ensure brand strategy aligns with distribution, customer, channel, and expansion priorities. Partner with Sales and commercial teams to identify and prioritize growth opportunities across key customers, channels, and occasions.
- LATAM Go-To-Market Strategy: Develop the expansion play book on where to play and how to win with clear prioritization and sequencing of initiatives
Business Management- P&L and Business Performance Ownership: Own brand performance across revenue, margin, market share, growth objectives, and overall business health. Balance growth, profitability, brand equity, and long-term value creation.
- Pricing, Packaging and Assortment Strategy: Lead pricing, packaging, promotional, and assortment strategy in partnership with Finance, Sales, Category Management, and Customer teams. Ensure decisions support brand positioning, channel strategy, margin objectives, and consumer value perception.
- Go-to-Market Strategy: Lead go-to-market planning and sell-in of new products in collaboration with PMO, Marketing, Sales, Category, Finance, and Supply Chain. Define success metrics, align commercial teams, and adjust tactics as needed to deliver business results.
- Budget and Investment Management: Manage brand budgets, marketing investments, and resource allocation to maximize ROI, commercial value, and long-term business impact. Make tradeoff decisions across competing priorities and investment opportunities.
- Performance Tracking, KPIs and Governance: Establish and monitor business, brand, consumer, and marketing effectiveness metrics. Build dashboards, reporting processes, and governance routines that improve transparency, accountability, and decision-making. Provide regular performance updates, insights, and recommendations to senior leadership.
- Innovation Priorities and Investment Management: Manage innovation priorities, pipeline investments, and budgets to ensure resources are aligned against the highest-value growth opportunities.
- Innovation and Portfolio Performance: Establish performance metrics and success criteria, continuously monitor innovation and portfolio performance, and recommend actions to improve business outcomes.
- LATAM Marketing Execution: Leverage and re-purpose OFA & Global Marketing tools to build brand awareness / equity, best in class commercial / retail materials, innovation pipeline, social / digital support, etc. for low cost / high ROI entry approach
Innovation- Consumer-Led Innovation Strategy: Develop and lead a consumer-insight-driven innovation strategy that identifies unmet and underserved consumer needs while aligning with market dynamics, competitive trends, brand priorities, and financial objectives.
- End-to-End Innovation and Commercialization: Lead the end-to-end innovation process from strategy and concept development through commercialization, including product design, channel strategy, pricing, packaging, forecasting, and market launch execution.
- Global Innovation Collaboration: Collaborate with Global Innovation Team to drive the prioritization, scaling, localization, and consistency of innovation development, while adapting global platforms and ideas to meet U.S. market needs.
- Stage-Gate Governance and Investment Decisions: Direct stage-gate governance and investment decision-making, evaluating strategic fit, market opportunity, consumer demand, competitive landscape, sales potential, profitability, commercial risk, resource requirements, and timing.
- Cross-Functional Innovation Execution: Partner cross-functionally to move concepts from insight through commercialization, ensuring clear ownership, sound decision-making, and strong execution.
- Key Customer Innovation Support: Provide innovation support for key customers and translate customer and market needs into actionable growth opportunities.
Team Leadership- Cross-Functional Leadership and Influence: Work closely with internal and external stakeholders, including Sales, Finance, R&D, Supply Chain, Category/Insights, PMO, agency partners, and executive leadership to drive brand and business initiatives. Influence across functions to align priorities, resolve ambiguity, and accelerate execution.
- Team Leadership and Organizational Effectiveness: Lead, coach, mentor, and develop direct reports and broader team members. Assess team capabilities, identify development opportunities, and build a collaborative, high-performance culture. Create processes, systems, and performance measures that improve execution, prioritization, and accountability.
- Executive Communications and Stakeholder Management: Lead executive communications and manage key stakeholders across OFNA and the wider Ornua Group.
WHAT YOU WILL BRING- Strategic and commercial judgment that connects consumer needs and brand equity to profitable growth, with the confidence to make difficult portfolio and investment choices.
- Fluency in consumer-led innovation methods, including Design Thinking, concept testing and disciplined new product development, supported by a deep understanding of the U.S. retail environment.
- Strong financial and analytical capability across P&L management, business cases, margin, forecasting and ROI, using syndicated data, research and performance analytics to guide decisions.
- Executive communication, negotiation and stakeholder-management skills that align senior leaders, customers, agency partners and cross-functional teams around clear decisions.
- The ability to lead through other leaders, set direction in ambiguity and build a collaborative culture with high standards for performance, learning and accountability.
- A passion for high-quality food and brands, with sound judgment in balancing U.S. opportunities, brand integrity and wider Ornua Group priorities.
EXPERIENCE AND REQUIREMENTSMinimum Qualifications- Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Business Administration or a related field.
- At least 12 years of progressive CPG brand management, marketing, innovation or commercial leadership experience, including substantive responsibility across both brand marketing and innovation.
- At least five years of people leadership, including experience leading managers or functional leaders and developing multidisciplinary teams.
- Demonstrated accountability for brand, category or portfolio P&L performance, with a track record of growing sales, improving profitability and building brand equity.
- Proven success taking consumer-led innovation from strategy through commercialization and delivering integrated brand plans for consumer products sold through U.S. retail channels.
- Experience leading complex cross-functional initiatives and influencing executive stakeholders in a matrix organization.
- Willingness to travel domestically and internationally up to 20%.
- Authorization to work for any employer in the United States.
Desired Qualifications- MBA or other relevant advanced degree.
- Food and beverage experience, particularly in dairy or premium consumer brands.
- Experience leading across multiple categories or channels and adapting global brand and innovation platforms for the U.S. market.
- Experience strengthening team capabilities, innovation governance and marketing effectiveness in a growing business.
DYNAMIC WORKINGOrnua's Dynamic Working policy supports flexible hours and hybrid working, with three days per week in the office and a two-week-per-year Work From Anywhere option.
PAY RANGE: $165,150 - $201,850This range represents the overall market pay rate for candidates who meet the necessary qualifications and experience requirements for this role. Actual compensation may vary based on factors such as experience, education, and performance.
COMPENSATION AND TOTAL REWARDSOrnua offers a competitive salary and annual bonus opportunity. Total Rewards at Ornua Foods North America includes medical, vision and dental coverage, a 401(k), paid time off, maternity and parental leave, flexible working, fitness reimbursement, charitable donation support, complimentary Kerrygold products, free parking and secure bicycle storage, office snacks and drinks, reward and recognition programs, volunteering opportunities, and long-service awards.
Would you like to make an impact? Apply today!
