Your Opportunity as the Assistant Brand Manager, AFH Hostess 

It is an exciting time to join The J.M. Smucker Away From Home Snacking team! This team will address the significant white space opportunities in Away From Home channels for our handheld snacking brands: Uncrustables and Hostess. The ABM, AFH Hostess position provides the opportunity to accelerate sales growth on the Hostess brand, including efforts to build strategy, innovation, guide activation, manage key projects, and align priorities with the Hostess Brand team.   

Location: Orrville, Corporate Offices

Work Arrangements: Hybrid - onsite a minimum of 9 days a month primarily during core weeks as determined by the Company; maybe more as business need requires

In this role you will:

Market & Competitor Analysis 

• Evaluates data and market trends impacting the business 

• Develops actionable insights and recommendations through close collaboration with brand team, AFH sales, and insights team. 

• Catalog relevant consumer and operator information (Circana: Scan Data, Panel Data, Supply Track & Consumer Studies, etc.) to feed the business planning process and innovation strategy. 

• Prepare for, attend and actively participate in supply and operations planning business meetings, assisting in development & tracking of volume delivery plan  

Brand and Marketing Management 

• Work with AFH Marketing Communication Team and agency partners to develop and execute messaging tactics consistent with the brand positioning and our operator target. 

• Support AFH Snacking team in the development of annual brand plans and marketing objectives, including gaining alignment on all strategies and recommended initiatives. 

• Partner with Channel Marketing and Sales teams to develop channels strategies including implications for assortment, merchandising, pricing and sizing, new business opportunities, and tracking of new item distribution and performance.  

Innovation 

• Work closely with Hostess Brand and Innovation teams to develop an Innovation pipeline for AFH channels 

• Champion AFH Hostess projects through the gate process 

• Collaborate with innovation team and cross-functional partners on new product ideas, product improvements or value engineering, and new product activation strategies that benefit unique AFH operator needs 

• Work closely with cross-functional partners to deliver executions that link to brand strategy and financial targets. Develop and track key metrics to understand performance and recommend potential optimizations  

General / Administrative 

• Work with Hostess team to plan, forecast and manage Hostess Marketing budget for AFH 

• Manage AFH pet business including planning, price/pack changes and innovation projects 

• Support other SBA priorities as needed 

• Foster, contribute and lead, as appropriate, communication flow across teams 

• Ability to multi-task and excel at a fast pace of work. 

• Understand data reporting systems including AWS, Circana and Spotfire to create insight-based data reporting 

• Continuous improvement mindset, willing to challenge status quo when needed to advance thinking & outcomes 

• Foster team environment and knowledge sharing 

What we are looking for:

Minimum Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree is required (Marketing degree preferred)

• 3 years of relevant CPG (Consumer Packaged Goods) brand marketing experience

• Excellent interpersonal skills 

• Excellent communication skills (verbal and written) 

• Strong attention to detail resulting in executing with excellence 

• Ability to work with people at all levels within/outside JMS 

• Analytical experience with large data sets, budget management, and tracking key business objectives 

• Proven ability to turn data into insights and action

• Experience in bringing ideas to market through a concept to commercialization process 

• Ability to create consumer and customer sales stories and rationale 

• Willingness to travel occasionally, up to 25% of the time 

Additional skills and experience that we think would make someone successful in this role:

• Master of Business Administration

• Foodservice / B2B Experience

The Right Place for You

We are bold, kind, strive to do the right thing, we play to win, and we believe in a strong community that thrives together. Our culture is rooted in our Basic Beliefs, and we believe in supporting every employee by meeting their physical, emotional, and financial needs.

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