Sr. Brand Manager, Innovation

About Liquid I.V.

This job description indicates in general the nature and levels of work, knowledge, skills, abilities and other essential functions expected of the role. It is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities required. It is not intended to limit or in any way modify the right of any supervisor to assign, direct, and control the work of employees under his/her supervision. Ability to competently perform all the essential duties of the position, with or without reasonable accommodation, demonstrated commitment to the company’s mission, and the ability to work productively as a member of a team or work group are basic requirements of all positions at Liquid I.V.

We are committed to building an inclusive culture of belonging that not only embraces the diversity of our people but also reflects the diversity of the communities in which we work and the customers we serve. We know that the happiest and highest performing teams include people with diverse perspectives that encourage new ways of solving problems, so we strive to attract and develop talent from all backgrounds and create workplaces where everyone feels seen, heard, and empowered to bring their full, authentic selves to work.

Liquid I.V. is an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex including sexual orientation and gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

About our Team:

We are a world-class team of innovators and passionate change-makers, looking to develop transformative hydration solutions and make a meaningful impact on the world around us.  

At Liquid I.V., we are committed to building an inclusive culture of belonging that not only embraces the diversity of our people but also reflects the diversity of the communities in which we work and the customers we serve.    

Our team members enjoy a flexible and inclusive working environment, a highly collaborative and innovation-forward culture, generous benefits and perks that empower employees to champion their wellbeing every day, as well as an infinite supply of Liquid I.V. for extraordinary hydration. 

About the role:

The Senior Brand Manager, Innovation is a builder and a sprinter – someone who can move from consumer insight to validated concept in compressed timelines. They are equally comfortable leading a cross-functional ideation session, briefing technical teams on formulation and cost targets, and presenting an innovation business case to a retailer – all in the same week. Reporting into the Sr. Brand Director, this highly organized professional will be responsible for upstream innovation design and developing strategic product concepts and positioning, for new functions and benefit spaces as well as new formats, championing them all the way to execution.

This person will own both the 3-5 year innovation product pipeline and fast-cycle agile sprints. They will work closely with R&D, Operations, Sales, and Finance to ensure the products are hitting OKR’s and targets from concept to commercialization.

Functions and duties of this role include, but not limited to:

Functions and duties of this role include, but not limited to:

• Drive the development of the Liquid I.V. 3–5 year innovation
• strategy and product pipeline with a distinct focus on new functional benefit spaces and blue ocean innovation (new formats, business models, categories).
• Stay up-to-date and regularly educate the team on emerging trends across relevant industries and competitors, particularly in the sustainability space, to identify new opportunities and perform ongoing competitive analysis.
• Lead agile innovation sprints end-to-end: from consumer tension identification and rapid concept development through iterative validation, formulation briefing, and commercialization – compressing timelines without sacrificing quality or business rigor.
• Analyze opportunity of product launches (size of total market, target audience, competitive analysis) and participate in all aspects of new product launch including pricing, packaging, benefits/key points of differentiation, product copy, asset creation, and pitch decks.
• Manage the claims for new product launches ensuring the products are competitive in the marketplace and speaking to the target audience’s needs.
• Develop brand strategies and plans for packaging development, product/marketing qualification and forecasting.
• Own the innovation launch timelines, driving multiple product launches across the business.
• Support creation of product training documents and toolkits for brand marketing, sales, and education needs.
• Collaborate with a multi-functional project team to ensure excellence in execution (initiative/promotion/pricing plan development, planning, execution, and summarizing results/learning).
• Assist with managing new product development from concept to launch.
• Drive sustainable market share and profitable growth, based on in-depth competitive landscape and consumer insights.
• Collaborate with Brand Innovation peers to integrate new benefit spaces & blue ocean innovation with existing plans on core improvement and new flavor launches. Together these components must show up as one unified innovation pipeline.
• Create creative brief development, copy & claims clearance, and any necessary trademarks/studies.

Qualifications:

The successful candidate will have the following qualifications:

• Degree or Certificate in related field.
• 5-8 years of experience in brand marketing and/or product marketing.
• Demonstrated ownership of innovation from strategy through commercialization
• Experience with human-centered design methodologies (design thinking, design sprints, co-creation) applied to real innovation launches
• Experience leading agile innovation sprints
• Experience working front-end innovation, blue ocean innovation, or

something of the like.

• Global experience a plus.
• Experience developing pitches & concepts – including size of prize, competitive analysis, and trends.
• Experience working with retailers (club, food, drug, mass, e-commerce).
• Proficient in data and reporting platforms such as Circana, Nielsen, WGSN, Mintel, Numerator, Suzy/Metrix Lab.
• Highly analytical and motivated by data.
• Solutions oriented and pro-active.
• Highly organized and proactive.
• Strong communicator and collaborator.
• Strong ability in presentation development and storytelling in PowerPoint.
• Sound understanding of consumer/customer/market and detailed business analysis to identify business drivers and opportunities.
• Experience in health and wellness/beverage categories is a plus.
• Ability to multi-task and thrive in a deadline driven environment.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced setting under tight deadlines.

What We Give:

• 100% company-paid medical, dental and vision insurance for employees (PPO, HMO and Kaiser options).
• A 401k plan with company match, short and long-term disability coverage. 
• A generous PTO and sick policy that includes 13+ paid annual holidays. 
• Wellness classes (fitness, mental health, nutrition, finance, etc.). 
• An Employee Assistance Program, including membership for guided meditation for all employees. 
• Monthly tech and wellness reimbursement. 
• An infinite supply of Liquid I.V. for endless hydration!  

Work Environment:

• This role is HYBRID office environment (El Segundo). Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship.

The compensation band for this position is $126,000 - $184,000 annually. The exact salary is determined by various factors including experience, skills, education, geographic location, internal company equity, and budget. The listed range is applicable only to the annual base salary and does not include additional perks, benefits, or applicable bonus eligibility comprising the total compensation package.

This job description indicates in general the nature and levels of work, knowledge, skills, abilities and other essential functions expected of the role. It is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities required. It is not intended to limit or in any way modify the right of any supervisor to assign, direct, and control the work of employees under his/her supervision. Ability to competently perform all the essential duties of the position, with or without reasonable accommodation, demonstrated commitment to the company’s mission, and the ability to work productively as a member of a team or work group are basic requirements of all positions at Liquid I.V.

We are committed to building an inclusive culture of belonging that not only embraces the diversity of our people but also reflects the diversity of the communities in which we work and the customers we serve. We know that the happiest and highest performing teams include people with diverse perspectives that encourage new ways of solving problems, so we strive to attract and develop talent from all backgrounds and create workplaces where everyone feels seen, heard, and empowered to bring their full, authentic selves to work.

Liquid I.V. is an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex including sexual orientation and gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

You can find the Unilever privacy note here