Senior Brand Manager - 12 month FTC

Senior Brand Manager - 12-Month FTC

Location: Cambridgeshire (Hybrid Working - minimum 3 days on-site)
Contract Type: 12-Month Fixed Term Contract
Sector: FMCG / Food & Beverage

Are you a highly collaborative Senior Brand Manager with a passion for innovation, consumer-centricity, and a record of full accountability of building a strong innovation pipeline?

A unique opportunity has arisen for an experienced Senior Brand Manager to join this manufacturing business on a 12-month FTC basis. It offers the chance to re-launch a key product range, drive growth in the protein drinks segment, and build an innovation pipeline aligned with the dynamic "on-the-go" breakfast occasion.

You will be responsible for delivering the full brand plan - from strategy to execution - ensuring strong brand performance, effective budget control, and cross-functional alignment across the business.

Key Responsibilities:

- Lead the re-launch and execution of a breakfast drinks brand, building a robust ''on the go'' innovation pipeline.

- Drive growth in the protein drinks category through targeted marketing plans, consumer-led campaigns, and innovation.

- Build a 24-month innovation pipeline grounded in insight and category trends, working with NPD and cross-functional teams from concept to launch.

- Design, implement, and measure a 12-18-month brand plan to achieve KPIs and brand growth targets.

- Full accountability for brand budget allocation, monitoring and control, ensuring resources are maximised and ROI is delivered.

- Collaborate closely with Category, Sales, Finance, NPD, and Operations to align strategy and delivery.

- Act as the face of the brand with key retail partners, presenting innovation plans, marketing campaigns, and performance updates.

- Lead the execution of integrated campaigns across digital, PR, shopper, and experiential channels.

About You:

You''re a confident and collaborative marketer with strong commercial acumen, a passion for consumer trends, and the ability to lead cross-functional teams to deliver real business results.

You bring:

- Proven experience in a brand management role within food / beverage industry.

- A strong track record of product re-launches, innovation delivery, and performance management.

- Excellent strategic thinking, communication, and stakeholder management skills.

- Strong analytical capability - able to interpret data, generate insights, and turn them into actionable plans.

- Comfortable being both strategic and hands-on - this is a role where you''ll own the end-to-end brand journey.

- Integrity - dealing with others in an honest manner, take accountability for actions, supporting company values and maintaining confidentiality.

What''s on Offer:

- High-impact, strategic role on a brand with strong growth ambitions

- Opportunity to own full brand responsibility and lead a major product re-launch

- Hybrid working with a collaborative, cross-functional team

- Competitive salary, benefits, and the chance to make a visible difference in 12 months

If you''re a brand leader ready to hit the ground running and make your mark in a dynamic and growing category, we''d love to hear from you.

As you know over here at Zest we like to do things properly and always want to keep you, the candidate in the loop. Applying to this ''one of a kind'' role you give Zest permission to hold your information. If you want to know more about how Zest look after your personal information please visit our privacy policy on the website (url removed)