Kiilto has been shaping the future since 1919, and this is your chance to be part of it. We are looking for a Brand Manager to join our rapidly growing and increasingly international company. As a Brand Manager, you will be responsible for laundry care category within the Consumer business area. Our ideal candidate is someone who has good visionary skills and who is willing to grow as a professional and currently searching for their next growth opportunity in the world of brand building.
About the role
Your main responsibility is to develop consumer brand and product portfolio, sales and market share of laundry category in FMCG channels. Your role is to create and execute the brand strategy, optimise current portfolio, drive future growth through an active NPD pipeline and lead our brand and portfolio development to the next level. You ensure the profitability of product portfolio as well as the planning and implementing marketing activities within your own area of responsibility. As a brand manager you have the possibility to have a major influence on the future direction of the brands, and we expect you to be able to create and implement new long-term strategic plans for detergent category including product, packaging and marketing concepts. You are responsible for your own sales and cost budgets.
You will also take part in the general business development of the business unit, together with other teams. You will be part of an international marketing team and work closely with our internal sales team and other internal stakeholders. You will also be supported by the brand team, which includes the Head of Marketing and Brand Managers from each of our other categories. The location of this job is Helsinki, but the work also requires regular travel to other parts of Finland. You will report to the Head of Marketing, Consumer Goods.
You will be a perfect fit for the Kiilto community if you have most of the following strengths:
- Portfolio and project management – You have at least three years of experience in creating and developing a profitable product portfolio and leading new product development projects successfully, preferably in brand owner company in consumer goods industry.
- Experience in the FMCG industry – You have experience within the fast-moving consumer goods industry, working in the role of a product or brand manager.
- Brand building and B2C marketing– You have experience in building and developing a consumer brand in Finland or abroad. You also have experience of co-operating with advertising, PR and media agencies.
- Analytical and systematic approach – You know how to lead your area of responsibility through numbers and analytics.
- Customer-oriented mindset – You are here for our customers, and your goal is to ensure we reach our company target of providing the best customer experience in the industry.
- Collaboration and relationship building – We work as a team, supporting each other, and we always win or fail together. You will be driving your area of responsibility forward very independently, but also seamlessly, as part of our extensive internal team, including Sales, Marketing, RDI and Supply Chain.
- A can-do attitude – You have an open mind and are willing to give new ideas a fair chance, and you are eager to learn from every attempt at innovation regardless of how well it succeeds.
- Negotiation, influencing and problem-solving skills – You have the skills of a visionary, ensuring a long-lasting brand strategy and long-term growth. You are also able to influence internally to get the best out of the organisation to support your commercial goals. You don’t get tired of searching for solutions when facing problems.
- ICT skills – You have an excellent command of Excel and PowerPoint, and you are able to produce presentations and analyses independently.
- Language skills – You are fluent in Finnish and English.
- Education – You have a commercial degree or a degree in another relevant field (Bachelor’s or Master's level).
Imagine a typical day as Brand Manager, Consumer Goods, at Kiilto
It is Monday morning, and you decided to skip the idea of working remotely because of the weekly team meeting at 10 am, which is a fun gathering with the whole team where we enjoy sharing all our news from the weekend. In this meeting, you can also discuss any ongoing tasks and get support and sparring from your team-mates. Sharing best practices is one of our biggest strengths, we never leave team-mate alone. For the rest of the day, you decide to prepare retail sales analyses of the personal hygiene category for the Sales and marketing management team meeting that is taking place on Friday. At the end of the day, you get a call from our R&D manager, who has great news for you about your next product development project. Your R&D team from Denmark has been able to create an innovative formulation for your next product line.
The next day, you decide to work remotely, because your NPD projects require your attention, and you need to focus on keeping to your timetable. You have a meeting with your project team, and you can share with them your great news about the project that you heard from the R&D manager the day before. The launch will be taking place as planned in February 2024. You also have a one-hour 1-to-1 meeting with your supervisor, where you consider how to proceed with the next projects and make sure you will have all the possible support you need to succeed.
The content of the days varies, and you can decide how you reach the targets. In addition, the decision to work at the office or remotely from home is for you to make, although we strive to create a community where people naturally favor office work and enjoy the feeling of working together.
A workplace that cares
At Kiilto, you will be working with a growing and international, but down-to-earth family business. Kiiltonians appreciate our long-term perspective, open and transparent company culture, the Kiiltonian team spirit and versatile opportunities to acquire new skills and grow alongside the company. We organise internal innovation programmes and encourage Kiiltonians to develop their skills through our own training programmes. We are especially proud of our award-winning activities that promote the well-being of our employees. For example, we have been awarded the 'Finland's Most Active Workplace' certificate twice.
In case you got this far, continue reading for just a bit more
Do you want to be part of our community? Do not hesitate to apply. The last day to apply is 10 August 2023. Please attach a self-introduction via a one-minute video alongside your application with a salary request and CV.
For further details on the position, please call Head of Marketing Kaisa Tuppura, +358 45 632 5933, either 5 July between 9-10 (EET) or 4 August between 9 – 10 (EET).
We operate in compliance with Kiilto's recruitment process and treat all communications related to the posting with absolute confidentiality. We ask applicants to reserve 15 and 16 August 2023 as possible interview dates.
Kiilto is a family-owned company based in Finland, with over a hundred-year history and a vision looking ahead to 2080. We develop, produce and market chemical industry solutions in the fields of construction, industrial adhesives and fireproofing, professional hygiene, and consumer goods. The key principles underlying our operations are environmental leadership, closeness and commitment to the future. Our operations span 9 countries, and we employ around 800 people. In 2022, the group's net sales amounted to 260 M€. www.kiilto.com