Associate Brand Innovation Manager, American Whiskey

Beam Suntory is Crafting the Spirits that Stir the World. Rooted in two centuries of family heritage, Beam Suntory has evolved into the world's third largest leading premium spirits company ... where each employee is treated like family and trusted with legacy. With our greatest assets - our premium spirits and our people - we're driving growth through impactful marketing, innovation and an entrepreneurial spirit. Beam Suntory is a place where you can come Unleash your Spirit by making an impact each and every day.

Associate Brand Innovation Manager, American Whiskey  

The following position is open in New York, United States.

What makes this a great opportunity?

Beam Suntory is the third largest Premium Spirits company in the world. We are an organization that creates brands that are a part of celebrations and our culture reflects this. The Associate Brand Innovation Manager, American Whiskey role gives you the opportunity to gain exposure to global leadership, a deep knowledge of the American Whiskey category, and fully leverage our award winning portfolio of iconic brands to capture new consumers in new occasions. You will work on exciting and high-profile initiatives developing and launching new products throughout several global markets, identifying new category opportunities, and implementing brand strategies in conjunction with cross-functional teams (Global Brand House, R&D, Finance, MIT, Consumer Insights, etc.) to build a best in class product pipeline. You will also contribute to long-term strategic planning and serve as a brand steward in developing new drinking experiences and solutions. 

Role Responsibilities

• Lead cross functional teams across several strategic global innovation projects from shaping and strategy to execution, with oversight from Senior Innovation leaders

• Deliver priority brand 1-2 year innovation execution and launches including: briefing, design, liquid development and procurement

• Engage global teams to collaborate across brand teams, markets, and/or enabling areas to implement and execute our American Whiskey portfolio’s strategy

• Help shape BSI’s future American Whiskey pipeline by inspiring and facilitating the development of products that target emerging trends, white-space opportunities, and unmet consumer needs across global markets

• Maintain connectivity to competitive, category, consumer + culture, shopper, and retailer insights to identify opportunities and validate and optimize concepts

• Lead agenda & collaboration for meeting status with key stakeholders in support of business: GBH, MIT, Ambassadors, etc

• Identify and implement best practices, to develop even better ideas and a more efficient pipeline development cycle

• Organize ideation sessions and design sprints for ideas in the early stages of pipeline development

• Co-create and validate strong testable consumer-driven propositions, concepts, business cases, pricing, and packaging direction leveraging relevant consumer + shopper insights, trends, category analysis, and internal or external interviews with subject matter and context experts

• Coordinate required inputs to the business case for the innovation projects in terms of capital expenditure, working closely with the global Procurement, Finance, Supply and R&D teams

• Prepare all gate documents and decision papers as inputs into the BSI Seed-to-Sip Project Management process for all assigned innovation projects

• Manage all supporting aspects of key innovation projects: budget management, performance reporting, brief development, research stim development, design development, launch plan development, and key commercialization documents

Qualifications & Experience

COMPETENCIES/KEY SKILLS

• A born leader: You can lead cross-functional teams within a matrix organization opportunity serving point on meetings and driving decisions to achieve one common goal
• A positive change agent: You influence team members to develop creative solutions when things go off-course, resulting in a different way to execute the project
• Detail Oriented: You have sharp project management skills and pay close attention to detail
• Strong Connector: You effectively work with and connect with all levels of colleagues across multiple functions using active listening skills and open mindset to understand needs
• Analyst & Simplifier: You can synthesize data from a variety of input sources and complex concepts, into a coherent whole/clear picture to effectively define the opportunity and drive key decisions
• Agile Self-Starter: You are experienced working autonomously; very proactive in identifying opportunities; Comfortable with ambiguity and pivoting priorities
• Resourceful “out-of-the-box” thinker: You leverage your network, internal and external resources to inform, educate, and come up with innovative solutions
• Team Player: You love being part of a team, both leading and serving; easily develop relationships by demonstrating deep commitment to colleagues; highly effective in a matrix environment

PREFERRED QUALITIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree
• 3+ years consumer brand marketing experience (Bev Alc experience preferred)
• Travel 5 - 20 % mainly domestic but some international travel may be required
• Strong communication skills in writing, meetings and presentations
• Experience identifying and applying consumer insights to new product and/or program development
• Proven ability to execute on marketing/ innovation projects that align with overall Brand strategy
• Proficient in MS Office: Word, Power Point, Excel, etc.
• P&L/budget management, project management and/or business development experience
• Ability to lead within a matrix organization, integrating complex multifunctional efforts crossing multiple business areas

(If you have the following characteristics, it would be a plus):

• MBA
• Spirits or Beer innovation experience
• Experience in digital marketing and understanding how it can be incorporated into product innovation
• Prior drinks experience either within Beverage alcohol or non-alc industries
• Experience virtually collaborating across multiple time zones

Salary Range

• The salary range for this role is a base salary of $96,000 - $114,000 along with an annual bonus, 401K match, profit sharing, and medical and wellness benefits. Salary range is commensurate with candidate’s location, experience and skillset.

At Beam Suntory, people are our number one priority, and we believe our people grow together in diverse and inclusive environments where their unique insights, experiences and backgrounds are valued and respected. Beam Suntory is committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity, military veteran status and all other characteristics, attributes or choices protected by law. All recruitment and hiring decisions are based on an applicant’s skills and experience.