VP, Category Management & Marketing

Aspire Bakeries is a North American baking company with a leadership position in specialty frozen baked goods. Formed from leading bakery companies, its innovative food portfolio includes breads, artisan breads, buns, cookies, donuts, muffins and pastries from beloved brands like La Brea Bakery®, Otis Spunkmeyer®, and Oakrun Farm Bakery®. With 13 bakeries in North America, we are committed to driving innovation, predicting upcoming consumer trends and flavors, and exceeding our customers’ expectations. Aspire Bakeries champions the values of Integrity, Ownership, Customer Focus, Creativity and Care to help us deliver on People Safety, Food Safety, Quality and Collaboration.

Category management lead for Artisan bread category in Retail and Marketing lead for the La Brea Bakery brand as part of the Retail Business Unit. Aspire Creative Services team for Proactive Innovation would fit under this role. The Category Management part of this role focuses on leveraging analytics to be the Category Captain for our existing customers in order to grow our business, as well as using data to tell the story to gain new Retail customers for La Brea Bakery and expand distribution. Brand Marketing part of this VP role leads the La Brea Bakery Marketing team to grow topline revenue by leveraging consumer insights, analytics and marketing plans and ideas to drive profitable growth for the La Brea Bakery business/P&L.

Accountabilities:

• Develop Category Management as a core competency for La Brea Bakery and Aspire.
• Create and implement best practices of category management for existing and new Retail customers.
• Partner with VP Sales to achieve customer level Sales goals (volume and GM).
• Develop and implement a strategic plan for Aspire Bakeries’ La Brea Bakery retail business utilizing industry, competitive market, and financial data.
• Develop a 3-year Marketing plan for Retail with La Brea Bakery focus with concentration on consumers and customers/retailers (customer marketing).
• Oversee brand marketing in Retail looking to identify and lead Marketing Strategy with new creative ideas and approaches.
• Oversee customer marketing planning and execution for Retail.
• Leverage the La Brea Bakery branded portfolio to deliver growth for Aspire.
• Lead Proactive Innovation for Aspire - create innovation strategy for Brand and Category portfolio - La Brea Bakery.
• Partner with VP Sales on new customer distribution drive.
• Drive growth via new channels e.g. e-comm. 
• Lead creative services and graphics team with eye toward 3YP, leveraging tech platforms.
• Drive LBB P&L growth - top line and bottom line.
• Lead annual Key Issues/Situation Assessment and Planning process across all key brands.
• Lead Marketing Spark as the functional Marketing expert in the organization.
• Lead, engage and develop a high performing marketing team in the development and execution of aggressive business growth plan. 
• Interface with senior executives to drive strategies and initiatives to achieve growth targets.
• Publish KPI and other managerial reports to effectively communicate performance.
• Be an innovator and help drive the ideation process with R&D.
• Lead and hold accountability for the team’s projects, timelines, and budgets to meet or exceed stakeholder expectations.

Focus category for this role is artisan bread. Aspire is a matrix organization focused on the Business Units, and success will depend on this individual’s cross-functional experience and expertise. In this role, people development is as important as business results.

Qualifications:

• College degree in a business field; marketing preferred. MBA preferred.
• 15+ years of consumer and customer-facing experience in the CPG/Food industry in the Retail sector.
• Demonstrated results in growing branded topline revenue and market share.
• Experience at Nielsen or IRI/Circana in category management utilizing data analytics to sell through the Retail channel. 
• Experience with financial data and running a business/P&L.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate and lead cross-functionally.
• Strong oral, presentation, and written communication skills.
• Strong analytical skills coupled with the ability to make business decisions in situations where there is either too much or not enough data.
• Desire to work in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment.
• Strong analytical skills; ability to link strategies and objectives to tactics.
• High proficiency in Excel and PowerPoint.

Salary Range: $180,000 - $220,000

Aspire Bakeries LLC values the contribution each Team Member brings to our organization. The final determination of a successful candidate’s starting pay will vary based on a number of factors, including, but not limited to location, shift, education, skill, and experience within the job or the industry. The pay scale listed for this position is generally for candidates that meet the specified qualifications and requirements listed In this specific job description. Additional pay may be determined for those candidates that exceed these specified qualifications and requirements. We provide a competitive compensation package that recognizes your experience, credentials, and education alongside a robust benefits program to meet your needs. For union-represented postings, wage rates and ranges are governed by applicable collective bargaining agreements.

Aspire Bakeries is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or veteran status.