Brand Manager - Emerging Markets

LOCATION: LONDON (WITH REGULAR TRAVEL)
KEY MARKETS: FRANCE, BELGIUM & MOROCCO, SUPPORTING ON OTHERS.

IN A NUTSHELL, YOU WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR...

• Be the guardian of the Vita Coco brand across France, Belgium and Morocco, responsible for driving growth across key full-funnel metrics, including awareness, consideration and purchase intent
• Support Senior Brand Manager on execution across other Export markets, working collaboratively to ensure every Euro works hard.
• Develop and own annual market brand plans, translating the wider Export and EMEA strategy into clear local priorities and activation plans.
• Build strong relationships with our distributors and local market teams, ensuring Vita Coco remains a priority and plans are delivered to a high standard.
• Develop and execute locally relevant experiential events, partnerships, sampling campaigns, influencer, digital and shopper activity.
• Manage your market’s marketing budgets, making investment recommendations based on consumer insight & opportunity, commercial priorities and expected impact.
• Track local consumer trends, cultural moments and occasions translating relevant insight into brand moments
• Work collaboratively with wider EMEA brand and digital team to identify opportunities to scale successful activations, partnerships and learnings across multiple markets.

IN MORE DETAIL THIS MEANS...

MARKET STRATEGY & BRAND OWNERSHIP 

• Own and be fully accountable for the growth of the Vita Coco brand across your markets, driving brand awareness and household penetration while ensuring consistent representation of the brand across consumer, trade and partner activity.
• Develop annual market plans based on clear market, consumer and commercial priorities, aligned with the wider Export strategy.
• Translate consumer behaviour, cultural trends, market performance and competitor activity into clear recommendations and activation opportunities.
• Identify the biggest growth opportunities for Vita Coco within each market
• Ensure global and EMEA brand platforms are translated effectively for local markets whilst maintaining strong brand consistency.
• Develop compelling brand stories and toolkits that give distributor and sales teams the tools they need to drive the brand locally.

CAMPAIGNS, PARTNERSHIPS & ACTIVATION 

• Lead the development and execution of impactful, locally relevant marketing campaigns that connect Vita Coco with target consumers.
• Identify and manage relevant partnerships, events, influencers and cultural opportunities, ensuring investment is aligned with strategic objectives and ROI is carefully considered.
• Drive pack-in-hand sampling initiatives, ensuring product reaches the right consumers in the right places and occasions.
• Brief and manage creative requirements, ensuring assets are delivered on time and in line with Vita Coco brand guidelines.
• Collaborate with Digital, Creative, PR, Shopper and Sales teams to deliver a connected 360 approach across markets.

DISTRIBUTOR & MARKET MANAGEMENT 

• Act as the lead day-to-day marketing contact for distributors and local market teams, leading regular conversations that set clear priorities, agree actions and maintain momentum against market plans.
• Influence and constructively challenge local partners where required, ensuring activity remains ambitious, commercially relevant and aligned with Vita Coco's brand strategy.
• Work closely with distributors to understand local customer, consumer and cultural dynamics and use these insights to strengthen market plans.
• Maintain clear ownership and follow-through across agreed activations, timings and deliverables.
• Act as the link between local partners and EMEA teams, ensuring information, opportunities and learnings flow effectively in both directions

BUDGET MANAGEMENT, TRACKING & REPORTING 

• Own and manage marketing budgets across your markets, maintaining clear visibility of committed and actual spend.
• Make budget and investment recommendations, ensuring spend is focused behind the opportunities most likely to deliver against market and brand objectives.
• Track and report the effectiveness of marketing activity against agreed KPIs, recommending changes where required to optimise performance.
• Establish clear post-campaign learnings and use these to improve future activation and investment decisions.
• Share market performance, key learnings and opportunities with the wider Export and EMEA marketing teams

CROSS-FUNCTIONAL & EMEA COLLABORATION 

• Work closely with digital team, briefing in activations and local insight to ensure wider amplification and relevance.
• Work closely with Sales to ensure marketing priorities support wider commercial objectives and customer opportunities.
• Partner with Brand Managers and marketing teams across EMEA to share learnings, best practice and local insight, and to scale successful partnerships and activations across markets, negotiating multi-market deals where this creates greater scale and efficiency.

The job description is not exhaustive, and the post holder will be required to undertake other duties in line with their ability and the changing needs of the business.

PREFERRED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & EXPERIENCE:

• Fluency in French is mandatory, further European languages are a bonus
• Minimum of 2+ years Brand Management experience in FMCG
• Able to travel regularly across Europe
• Exceptional project management skills with a willingness to get stuck in
• A self-starter with impact and ability to deliver outstanding results within a fast moving dynamic environment
• A winning work ethic with a high level of personal accountability
• Can think outside the box and demonstrate initiative to get the job done
• Strong understanding of consumer behaviour and market trends in FMCG
• Strong communications and stakeholder management skills to influence and build relationships, creating excitement inside and outside the organisation
• Power user of MS 365 Suite
• And of course, a love of all things coconuts!

The Vita Coco Company is committed to the principles of equal employment. We believe in building a diverse and inclusive culture and a positive employee experience and are dedicated to equal employment opportunities regardless of race, including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, age, disability, gender or gender reassignment, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation, marital/civil partnership, pregnancy, and maternity. We welcome applications from a diverse range of individuals and will consider any reasonable adjustments to enable candidates to perform as well as possible during the recruitment process.

COCO PERKS (the good stuff):

• 30 days holiday, plus your birthday off! 
• Flexible working hours + early Friday finishes all year round* - more balance, less clock-watching.
• Discretionary bonus - all permanent employees are eligible.
• Competitive pension - up to 8% employer contribution / 10% employee contribution.
• Vitality private healthcare - plus access to a Virtual GP 24/7.
• Life insurance - 4x your annual salary.
• Enhanced family policies - extra support when life changes.
• Employee Assistance Programme - confidential support for you and your household.
• 5 volunteer days - to give back to causes you care about.
• ClassPass membership credits - for workouts, wellness, or whatever helps you recharge.
• Fresh fruit, snacks and office lunch provided* - we like to keep people fuelled.
• Dog-friendly office - four-legged colleagues welcome.
• Free Vita Coco products, of course