Brand Director

For nearly a century, The Jel Sert Company has focused on creating high-quality, high-value foods and beverages that help bring people together. Jel Sert is proud of being awarded the Great Place to Work certification, along with being recognized by Fortune as a Great Place to Work in Chicago and a Great Place to Work in Manufacturing and Production. We are currently looking for a passionate and dedicated individual to join our team as a Brand Director. If you are looking for a work environment that encourages personal growth, responsibility, and a shared vision for creating incredible products that help create lasting memories, then Jel Sert wants you!

The Brand Director will serve as the strategic leader responsible for the management, growth, and innovation of Jel Sert's branded portfolio. This individual will drive long-term brand equity, accelerate omnichannel growth, and bring breakthrough innovation to market across key categories in our freezer bars and dessert mix categories - leading brands such as Otter Pops, Fla-Vor-Ice, Royal, and My T Fine. The role requires a results-driven leader who combines consumer-centric thinking with strong business acumen, team leadership, and cross-functional influence.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include the following. Other duties may be assigned.

30% - Brand Planning & Execution - Translate brand strategies into actionable marketing plans. Own the calendar of initiatives and ensure all programs, campaigns, and activations are flawlessly executed.

* Develop and maintain annual brand activation calendar aligned with business objectives.

* Create detailed project briefs outlining objectives, timelines, deliverables, and responsibilities.

* Ensure brand voice, tone, and visual identity are consistently applied across all materials.

* Track progress of initiatives and adjust as needed to meet deadlines and maintain quality.

20% - Team Leadership & Development - Manage, coach, and inspire a small brand team to deliver excellence in execution.

* Set clear priorities, expectations, and success metrics for direct reports.

* Provide ongoing coaching, feedback, and development opportunities.

* Foster a collaborative, high-energy environment that encourages creativity and accountability.

* Model a hands-on, solution-oriented leadership style.

20% - Cross-Functional Leadership - Serve as the "center spoke" of the brand wheel, connecting teams across Marketing, Sales, R&D, Innovation, Insights, and Operations to align on priorities and deliverables.

* Facilitate cross-functional meetings to ensure alignment on project timelines and milestones.

* Partner with Innovation to support product launches with integrated go-to-market plans.

* Collaborate with Insights to translate research into actionable execution tactics.

* Proactively communicate updates and resolve roadblocks that could impact timelines or deliverables.

15% - Marketing Program Management - Oversee the execution of digital marketing, shopper marketing, packaging updates, and promotional activities to ensure consistent brand messaging and quality standards.

* Manage the execution of promotions, customer programs (in partnership with shopper marketing team), and experiential activations (in partnership with events team).

* Partner with digital team to implement content, paid media, and influencer strategies.

* Oversee packaging refreshes and updates to maintain quality and compliance.

* Ensure all customer-facing materials support sales objectives and align with brand positioning.

10% - Agency & Vendor Management - Manage relationships with external agencies to deliver on time, on budget, and on brand.

* Write and communicate clear briefs to agencies and creative partners.

* Review and approve creative concepts, ensuring alignment with brand guidelines.

* Negotiate contracts and manage project budgets with external partners.

* Monitor agency performance and provide constructive feedback for continuous improvement.

5% - Creative & Collaborative Problem-Solving - Drive solutions and creative ideas to elevate brand presence, strengthen customer relationships, and enhance consumer engagement.

* Identify and act on opportunities to differentiate the brand in the marketplace.

* Brainstorm new promotional or experiential ideas that align with brand values.

* Bring forward creative solutions to overcome executional challenges.

* Encourage a culture of innovation and idea-sharing within the team and with partners.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed above are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE

• 8+ years in brand management, preferable in CPG food and beverage, with 3+ years managing a team.
• Proven ability to execute integrate marketing plans in a lean, fast-moving environment.
• Experience managing multiple projects and stakeholders with competing priorities.
• Bachelor's degree in marketing, communications, business administration, or related field (MBA a plus).
• Demonstrated ability to manage both internal teams and agency/vendor relationships.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• Strong understanding of brand building, campaign execution, and marketing channels.
• Excellent presentation skills and ability to influence across levels.
• Strong track record of cross-functional collaboration and people leadership.
• Proven people leadership skills with the ability to inspire, mentor, and develop team members.
• Excellent relationship building skills to foster trust and alignment across departments.
• High degree of creativity with the ability to adapt quickly to market changes.
• Exceptional organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Comfortable in a hands-on role with willingness to roll up sleeves and get involved in execution.
• Passion for quality and delivering a premium consumer experience.
• Proficient Microsoft Office skills, especially Excel and PowerPoint.

The Jel Sert Company is committed to pay transparency and will provide further compensation information during the interview process. The minimum compensation for the Brand Director is $151,350 annually. This position is also eligible for the EBIT Bonus program. Compensation is determined by a candidate's experience, education, skills, training, and the internal equity within our organization. Actual compensation to be paid will be determined upon an offer. In addition to a competitive compensation package, regular full-time corporate employees of Jel Sert are eligible for our extensive benefits programs that can be reviewed here.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Reaching: Extending hand(s) and arm(s) in any direction.
• Standing: Remaining upright on the feet, particularly for sustained periods of time.
• Walking: Moving about on foot to accomplish tasks, particularly for long distances or moving from one work site to another.
• Pushing: Using upper extremities to press against something with steady force in order to thrust forward, downward or outward.
• Pulling: Using upper extremities to exert force in order to draw, drag, haul or tug objects in a sustained motion.
• Lifting: Raising objects from a lower to a higher position or moving objects horizontally from position to-position.
• Fingering: Picking, pinching, typing or otherwise working, primarily with fingers rather than with whole hand or arm as in handling.
• Grasping: Applying pressure to an object with the fingers and palm.
• Feeling: Perceiving attributes of objects, such as size, shape, temperature or texture by touching with skin, particularly that of fingertips.
• Talking: Expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word; those activities where detailed or important spoken instructions must be conveyed to other workers accurately, loudly, or quickly.
• Hearing: Perceiving the nature of sounds at normal speaking levels with or without correction and having the ability to receive detailed information through oral communication, and making fine discriminations in sound.
• Repetitive motions: Making substantial movements (motions) of the wrists, hands, and/or fingers.
• Medium work: Exerting up to 50 pounds of force occasionally, and/or up to 20 pounds of force frequently, and/or up to 10 pounds of force constantly to move objects.
• The worker is required to have close visual acuity to perform an activity such as: preparing and analyzing data and figures; transcribing; viewing a computer terminal; extensive reading; visual inspection involving small defects, small parts, and/or operation of machines (including inspection)
• The worker is required to have visual acuity to operate motor vehicles.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

Office environment and travel up to 20%

• Subject to inside environmental conditions: Protection from weather conditions but not necessarily from temperature changes and to outside environmental conditions: No effective protection from weather as activities occur inside and outside.
• Subject to vibration: Exposure to oscillating movements of the extremities or whole body.

FOOD SAFETY and QUALITY RESPONSIBILITIES

Follow applicable procedures and work instructions.

Monitor Quality Control Points (QCP) if Applicable QCCP's.

Backup to VP of Marketing and Digital Commerce

IMPACT ON JEL SERT SUCCESS

As both a leader and a connector, the Brand Director ensures the company's marketing vision is executed with excellence, speed, and creativity. By guiding a high-performing team and aligning cross-functional partners, this role strengthens market presence, deepens consumer loyalty, and delivers on our promise of unmatched quality in every product we make.