Ben & Jerry’s:
Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Inc., started in 1978 in a renovated gas station in Burlington, Vermont, USA, founded by childhood friends and dedicated activists Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield. In 2000 Ben & Jerry’s became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Unilever with the remainder of an independent Board of Directors to provide leadership focused on preserving and expanding Ben & Jerry’s social mission, brand integrity, and product quality.
Ben & Jerry’s has an inspiring ambition. We are expanding rapidly in Europe and in new markets in Asia and Latin America. This translates into a high-paced growth environment married without uncompromising grassroots and activist spirit. That is how we remain a true purpose-led organization with a connected 3-part mission that are reflected in our KPI’s:
Social mission: We initiate innovative ways to improve the quality of life locally, nationally and internationally specifically on Climate Justice and Social Justice, Racial Justice, and Economic Justice
Product mission: We make and distribute the finest quality natural ice cream and euphoric concoctions
Economic mission: We operate our Company for sustainable, Profitable financial growth
About the Role
Ben & Jerry’s is looking for a creative, driven, analytical, and organized Assistant Brand Manager – Asia New Markets to join our mission and use our business to create progressive change in the world while making the best possible ice cream in the nicest way possible.
This position will be responsible for delivering new product launches, and managing the existing product portfolio across several of our global export markets. The role will require strong project & timeline management skills and requires a strong partnership with Brand, R&D, CMI, Design, Supply Chain, Procurement, Specification Management, Finance, Legal, Integrated Marketing and regional brand teams, to deliver projects on time and in full. Responsibilities will encompass key aspects of the business including Product, Packaging, Proposition and Pricing, across several key export markets. We are looking for a strong candidate who is comfortable supporting global projects and can work well both independently as well as collaboratively, cross functionally, and across geographic regions to deliver NPDs to agreed timelines.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
This role includes the following duties and responsibilities, but additional requirements may be assigned as needed. Working with the Brand Manager- Asia New Markets, leverage the existing US and/or EU portfolio to launch new products for export markets that build awareness, drive trial, demonstrate leadership in progressive values and deliver the fun and irreverence that define Ben & Jerry’s.
- Manage regional product innovation process across several key export markets (AUS, NZ, BR) to vet feasibility and financial viability of new products being scoped for launch
- Lead the cross-functional team involved in the end-to-end workstream associated with launching a new product; manage project timelines to ensure key milestones are met and launch is delivered on time and in full; lead weekly cross-functional team meetings
- Support Business Case development for NPD projects, including transfer price and P&L analysis
- Partner with ANM Brand Manager and local country leads to develop a portfolio strategy that will drive a 12Q product roadmap, and growth initiatives for key market
- Leverage market and consumer insights to drive business recommendations and decision making
- Support process development and optimization initiatives, as needed
- Exhibit commitment to the brand’s social mission and help lead Marketing’s contribution to delivering all three elements of Ben & Jerry’s three-part mission statement
- Additional responsibilities as required
Qualifications:
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The qualifications listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
- Bachelor of Science degree in Business, Marketing or the equivalent
- +5 years experience in marketing, new product development, brand management or brand operations
- Excellent project and time management skills
- Proven capability in analytical thinking and creative problem solving
- Demonstrated success in leading cross functional teams
- Demonstrated ability to achieve results through others
- A strong bias for action – and entrepreneurial spirit
- Capable of working both independently and collaboratively
- Flexibility in working hours to accommodate meetings in different time zones
- Passion for brand, innovation, and problem solving
- Passion for consumer-centric thinking and decision making to drive insightful innovation
- Experience or exposure working in a cross cultural or international environment preferred
- Ability to build strong networks remotely, with understanding and appreciation for agile working styles
- Excellent written & verbal communication skills.
- Computer proficiency, especially Microsoft software (Excel, Project, and PowerPoint)
Key Competencies
- Growth Mindset: A strong focus on growth through a winning, competitive mindset. Understanding key competitors and how we would win through differentiating our mix.
- Consumer & Customer Focus: Putting our consumers & customers first is a must. Distilling consumer understanding into key insights as well as understanding the customer proposition are instrumental to success.
- Bias for Action: A heightened emphasis on speed and urgency in all our actions. In order to ensure our continued category leadership, the successful candidate will have to think outside the box and challenge traditional ways of working in order to ensure quick delivery.
Over the past year, we have dedicated ourselves in new ways to understanding and developing strategies for the deep work necessary to uproot the systemic racism underpinning our racial inequity. Ben & Jerry’s is committed to becoming a truly antiracist company by eliminating racial disparities within the company and to disproportionately create Black wealth through our business relationships.
We are actively working to achieve equity in our workforce, franchise network and supplier base through a wide range of ongoing and evolving strategies that eliminate barriers, increase access to opportunity, and make real changes in our business practices and culture. This work will be supported by goals and internal metrics to maintain and report on our progress.
We have chosen to center on racial equity out of an understanding that the culture of white supremacy must be dismantled to achieve equity for all marginalized people. We have focused our strategies on outcomes for Black people because slavery and its legacy remain such a defining element of American life. We believe this targeted work will help us achieve our broader commitment to universal social equity.
The initial phase of this work focuses on our home market of the U.S., where the majority of our employees and business is located. As we learn and build our capacity for this work, we will expand it to our global markets where systemic racism in other forms, with roots in colonialism, persists.