Senior Brand Manager

Senior Brand Manager - Remote (excluding Alaska, Hawaii, or California)

(MUST HAVE Experience with QSR, food & beverage, retail, hospitality, or consumer brands)

The Senior Brand Manager is responsible for brand strategy, marketing calendar management, and creative oversight. Key responsibilities include building and stewarding an insights-led annual marketing calendar, developing compelling promotional and brand initiatives, and bringing campaigns to life across paid, owned, and earned channels with high-quality, effective execution. This position will also play a primary role in overseeing media strategy and managing the relationship with the media agency.

Reporting to the Senior Director of Brand Marketing, the Senior Brand Manager will manage two direct reports: Manager, Graphic Design & Art and Associate Manager, Brand Marketing. A Marketing Operations Associate will partner closely with this role to support execution.

This is a critical position within the Marketing organization, accountable for both setting brand strategy and ensuring it is executed with excellence. The role is intentionally hands-on—the Senior Brand Manager is expected to lead, build, and deliver the work, not simply direct it.

Key Responsibilities

Brand Strategy & Stewardship

• Own brand positioning, messaging, tone, look and feel, and brand guidelines.
• Ensure consistent application of brand voice and visual identity across all channels.
• Translate consumer insights and performance data into actionable brand strategies.

Annual Marketing Calendar Leadership

• Build and manage a forward-looking marketing calendar extending at least six months.
• Balance traffic-driving and brand-building initiatives to meet business goals.
• Define initiative timing, sequencing, and success metrics.

Promotions & Campaign Strategy

• Lead the development of promotions and key initiatives across cross-functional teams.
• Define offer strategy, messaging, and business objectives.
• Ensure campaigns align with brand strategy and deliver against business objectives.

Channel Planning & Media Integration

• Define channel roles across paid, owned, earned, and in-store environments.
• Ensure channel requirements, asset needs, and readiness timelines are clearly established.
• Partner with the media agency on planning, execution, and optimization.

Creative Leadership & Development

• Develop clear, strategic creative briefs that translate brand strategy into execution.
• Lead end-to-end creative development across internal and external teams.
• Provide clear, consolidated feedback aligned with strategy, brand standards, and performance.
• Ensure creative assets are tailored to channel-specific formats and optimized for performance.

Agency & Partner Management

• Manage the creative agency roster, including partner selection, scope, and performance.
• Partner with the PR agency on earned media strategy and key brand moments.
• Hold agency partners accountable for quality, performance, brand alignment, and timelines.

Cross-Functional Leadership & Execution

• Partner with Operations, Digital, Finance, and Field teams to align on initiatives.
• Drive readiness, coordination, and execution across functions.
• Take a hands-on leadership approach by personally driving progress and solving problems.

Experimentation & Performance Optimization

• Establish and lead a testing and learning agenda across campaigns and channels.
• Use data and insights to refine strategies, creative, and channel plans.
• Drive continuous improvement while maintaining brand consistency.

Reporting & Operational Excellence

• Lead post-campaign analysis and translate findings into actionable recommendations.
• Provide leadership visibility into campaign performance and marketing calendar health.
• Build and maintain operating rhythms, processes, and governance.

Team Leadership

• Manage and develop direct reports across creative and brand/production functions.
• Foster a collaborative, high-performing team environment.
• Establish clear expectations, processes, and development opportunities.

Essential Physical Functions

• Ability to work extended hours as needed.
• Ability to travel as required.
• Ability to sit, stand, and work at a computer for extended periods.
• Ability to communicate effectively through text, telephone, email, instant messaging, video conferencing, and in-person interactions.

Experience, Education & Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in marketing, Business, or a related field preferred.
• 7–10+ years of progressive experience in brand, integrated, or category marketing.
• Experience in QSR, food and beverage, retail, hospitality, or consumer brands preferred.
• Proven ability to lead brand strategy, including positioning, messaging, voice, and identity, and translate it into execution.
• Demonstrated success building and managing high-velocity marketing calendars with at least six months of forward planning.
• Strong creative leadership experience, including briefing, feedback, and overseeing development across internal and external teams.
• Experience managing creative, media, and PR agencies, including performance management and ways of working.
• Experience overseeing production for brand content, including photo and video, and/or in-store creative ecosystems preferred.
• Strong strategic thinking and the ability to connect brand, creative, and business outcomes.
• A highly hands-on approach, with the ability to drive work from concept through execution.
• Clear and decisive communication, sound judgment, and strong prioritization skills.
• Collaborative cross-functional leadership skills and the ability to influence without direct authority.
• Strong organizational skills, planning capabilities, and calendar discipline.
• Excellent creative judgment and the ability to evaluate work against brand and performance goals.
• A learning mindset focused on testing, iteration, and continuous improvement.
• Ability to balance long-term brand building with performance-driven marketing.