Senior Brand Manager, Drink Mixes

The Jel Sert Company marks a major milestone this year, 100 years of success, innovation, and industry leadership. The Jel Sert Company has focused on creating high-quality, high-value foods and beverages that help bring people together. Jel Sert is proud to have been awarded the Great Place to Work certification, as well as recognized as a Best Workplace to Work in Chicago and a Best Workplace to Work in Manufacturing and Production. We are currently looking for a passionate and dedicated individual to join our team as a SENIOR BRAND MANAGER, DRINK MIXES. 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 Senior Brand Manager, Drink Mixes is responsible for the executional leadership, commercial performance, and day-to-day brand management of Jel Sert's owned drink mixes portfolio - the company's highest growth and most strategically important category. Reporting to the Director of Brand Strategy & Innovation, this role is accountable for translating brand strategy into winning brand plans, impactful marketing campaigns, disciplined product launches, and strong in-market execution informed by consumer and brand insights.

This role offers significant autonomy and accountability, with the opportunity to operate as a true brand owner within a highly collaborative business environment. The Senior Brand Manager is expected to bring creative thinking and a willingness to challenge the status quo, thoughtfully questioning legacy approaches and pushing for sharper ideas, stronger execution, and new ways to drive relevance and growth. Close partnership with internal teams and external agency partners enables fast, aligned movement from decision to action.

In addition to leading established brands, this role provides the opportunity to contribute to the development of future brand platforms and new brand opportunities as Jel Sert continues to evolve and expand its portfolio. Success requires a hands-on, high-ownership brand leader who balances creativity with rigor, makes sound decisions with confidence, and fully owns outcomes.

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

Brand Management & Execution Leadership

• Lead day-to-day management of assigned drink mix brands - currently Pure Kick, Wyler's Light, Fla-Vor-Aid, and All Sport - ensuring execution aligns with brand strategies and priorities
• Translate overall brand strategies into clear annual brand plans, initiatives, and execution roadmaps
• Own brand performance at the operating level, proactively identifying risks, opportunities, and corrective actions
• Challenge existing brand and category assumptions to unlock new growth and relevance opportunities
• Partner with the Insights team to help define, support, and apply branded research initiatives, ensuring insights are translated into actionable brand and marketing decisions

Marketing Campaign & Activation Management

• Lead planning and execution of integrated marketing campaigns across digital, promotional, retail, and advertising channels
• Drive creative development of campaigns from briefing through launch, optimization, and post-campaign evaluation
• Oversee digital, social, and promotional activities to ensure modern, culturally relevant brand activations that are consistent with strong brand standards
• Manage agency partners and internal resources to deliver high-quality, on-time, and on-budget execution

Product Launch & Go-to-Market Management

• Own launch management for new products and renovations, ensuring disciplined, end-to-end execution
• Lead brand-level launch readiness, including positioning, claims, packaging input, calendars, and communication plans
• Coordinate closely with Innovation, Sales, R&D, Operations, Finance, QA, and Legal to ensure launches are supported and executable
• Lead post-launch evaluation and learning to inform future initiatives

Budget Management & Financial Stewardship

• Own and manage the brand marketing budget, including annual planning, tracking, and optimization
• Allocate spend across campaigns, promotions, and brand initiatives to maximize effectiveness and ROI
• Partner with Finance to ensure budget alignment with business targets and disciplined financial management

People Leadership & Performance Monitoring

• Directly manage and develop junior brand talent, providing clear priorities, coaching, and feedback
• Conduct ongoing performance reviews, course correct as needed, and elevate execution quality over time
• Establish success metrics for brand initiatives, campaigns, and launches, and monitor results against KPIs
• Identify improvement opportunities across brand execution, processes, and ways of working to strengthen future outcomes

New Brand & Portfolio Development Support

• Contribute to the exploration, development, and execution of new brand platforms or emerging brand opportunities beyond the existing portfolio, as assigned
• Support early-stage brand work through creative input, executional leadership, and launch readiness

QUALIFICATIONS

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

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE

• Minimum of 7 years of progressive brand management or marketing experience; consumer packaged goods experience required, with food and/or beverage experience strongly preferred
• Bachelor's degree in marketing, business or a related field required; MBA or advanced degree a plus but not required
• Demonstrated experience leading integrated marketing campaigns across digital, promotional, and advertising channels
• Proven track record of managing product launches and go-to-market execution in collaboration with cross-functional partners
• Experience managing brand or marketing budgets with accountability for spend effectiveness
• Prior people management or direct supervisory experience preferred
• Experience contributing to brand building beyond established portfolios i.e. new brand launches, line extensions, or portfolio expansion initiatives a strong plus

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS and/or ABILITIES

• Strong brand execution and brand management capabilities with high attention to detail and follow-through
• Managing multiple complex brands with the ability to multi-task, organize, and prioritize tasks
• Proven ability to lead integrated marketing campaigns across digital, promotional, and advertising channels
• Demonstrated ability to manage, coach, and develop junior brand talent with high EQ
• Creative thinker with the confidence to challenge the status quo and push for better outcomes
• Ability to balance bold ideas with commercial discipline and executional rigor
• Interest in helping build and shape new brands and platforms, beyond established portfolios
• Experience managing product launches in a cross-functional CPG environment
• Strong visual and creative judgement, with experience in concepting, evaluating, and testing artwork
• Strong financial acumen, including budget management and ROI evaluation
• Ability to interpret consumer and brand insights and translate them into clear, actionable brand decisions
• Comfortable operating with high autonomy and accountability as well as collaborating across functions in a team-based environment
• Strong written and verbal communication for executive reporting, pitching plans, and stakeholder alignment
• Results-driven leader who owns outcomes and raises standards
• Flexibility to adapt to fast changing environment
• Proficient in Microsoft Office applications, with high level Excel skillset
• Proficient in NIQ data, with exposure to Numerator a plus
• Experience with project management software is a plus

BENEFITS AND SALARY

Jel Sert Company is committed to pay transparency and will provide further compensation information during the interview process. The minimum compensation for Senior Brand Manager, Drink Mixes is $151,350 per hour. 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.

Department: Business Development

Location: West Chicago, IL

Minimum Salary: $151,350 per year

Employment Type: Regular Full Time

Shift(s): 1st shift

WORK ENVIRONMENT/LOCATION

This position is a remote position with the requirement to come to headquarters for key meetings and events.

Ideally, candidates will be based in the Chicagoland area; however, we highly encourage applications from qualified candidates in other locations and will consider remote applicants as well.

Based upon one's location, travel for this role may range from 10% - 25%.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

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

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

  
  
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  Must be able to sit for long periods of time for computer/office work and/or travel (vehicle or airplane) - up to 6 hours.

  
  
• 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 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.
• Light work: Lifting up to 10 - 20 pounds as needed
• The worker is required to have close visual acuity to perform computer work.
• The worker is required to have visual acuity to determine the accuracy, neatness, and thoroughness of the work assigned or to make observations to ensure work is accurate and as requested.

IMPACT ON JEL SERT SUCCESS

This role plays a critical part in Jel Sert's continued growth by ensuring the company's most important strategic category remains relevant, competitive, and performance-driven. The Senior Brand Manager, Drink Mixes will have a direct and meaningful impact on how Jel Sert's owned brands show up in market, win with consumers, and fuel the company's broader success.