As the Campus & Community Engagement Manager, you will lead the development and execution of a high-impact sampling strategy that drives awareness, trial, and brand affinity. You will oversee the management of a third-party sampling agency, Field Activation Team, and a strong focus on Collegiate sampling strategy ensuring teams are effectively trained, deployed, and delivering premium brand experiences. Additionally, you will work closely with internal Sales, and Brand teams to align activations with key cultural moments, retail strategies, and seasonal initiatives. This role requires a leader who can balance strategic oversight, agency management, and on-the-ground execution while traveling frequently to key markets.
How you’ll help:
Sampling & Brand Activation Strategy
- Develop and implement a national sampling program, prioritizing college campuses and high-traffic urban markets.
- Identify key universities, cultural moments, and community hubs to maximize brand impact and consumer trial.
- Align sampling activations with national brand campaigns, new product launches, and key seasonal moments.
Third-Party Sampling Agency Management
- Lead the relationship with a third-party sampling agency, ensuring they recruit, train, and manage top-tier brand ambassadors.
- Set clear KPIs, performance expectations, and execution standards for the agency.
- Develop training materials, messaging guides, and event toolkits to ensure consistent, high-quality brand representation.
- Conduct regular check-ins, audits, and field visits to assess agency performance and provide feedback.
- Manage sampling inventory and logistics in collaboration with the agency and internal operations team.
Collegiate Marketing & Activations
- Develop and execute a comprehensive campus sampling strategy to drive product trial and brand engagement.
- Manage 3rd party on campus activation partners that drive continues brand awareness and trial.
- Collaborate with Guayaki campus ambassadors to support sampling efforts and create authentic brand advocacy.
- Identify and collaborate with student organizations, campus events, and local businesses to enhance sampling reach and impact.
- Manage product inventory and distribution logistics for all campus activations.
- Track key performance metrics, gather consumer insights, and provide regular reports on campaign effectiveness.
- Represent the brand with energy, enthusiasm, and authenticity, ensuring alignment with brand value.
- Stay up-to-date on campus trends, social movements, and student behaviors to refine and evolve marketing strategies.
Field Marketing Support & Brand Presence
- Support national brand moments such as festivals, concerts, athletic events, and cultural activations in key cities.
- Build relationships with student organizations, event organizers, and key campus stakeholders to secure prime sampling opportunities.
- Partner with Sales teams to integrate sampling into retail accounts and food service locations to drive velocity.
Performance Tracking & Optimization
- Develop a reporting framework to measure the impact of sampling activations, including trial-to-conversion rates, consumer feedback, and event ROI.
- Monitor agency performance, identifying areas for improvement and ensuring all activations meet brand standards.
- Work cross-functionally with internal teams to refine strategies and optimize market impact.
- Manage sampling budget, ensuring cost-effective execution and resource allocation.
Here’s what you’ll provide:
- 3-5 years of experience in field marketing, experiential marketing, or brand activation within the beverage or CPG industry.
- Proven experience managing a third-party sampling agency, including oversight of training, execution, and performance measurement.
- Strong background in collegiate marketing and campus activations.
- Ability to develop and manage sampling playbooks, training materials, and KPIs.
- Strong project management skills, with an ability to juggle multiple activations across different regions.
- Experience working with Sales teams to support retail sampling strategies
- Willingness to travel frequently (50-60%), including weekends and evenings for major events.
- Passion for Yerba Mate, sustainability, and mission-driven brand marketing.
How you'll be successful:
- Local Brand Awareness:
- Assist in executing programs that build local brand awareness and engage key audiences.
- New tools, processes and systems
- Ensure all tools, processes, and activations are implemented efficiently and effectively.
- Strong Relationship Building:
- The internal conduit of Field Activation, Marketing and cross-functionally with College, Social and Brand Marketing. Accompanied by an ever-growing network of external partners, agencies and brands.
- Collaborative Spirit:
- Work seamlessly with internal teams and external partners to achieve shared goals.
Travel Requirements:
- Travel is an integral part of this role, Willingness to travel frequently (50-60%), including weekends and evenings for major events, company meetings and or activations, partner meetings, training and on boardings.
- LA Office based: 1-2 days/week.
- Field based: 3-4 days/week
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What we offer:
The pay range for this role is an estimate based on a wide range of compensation factors; actual pay offered may vary based on (but not limited to) work experience, education and/or training, critical skills, and/or business considerations. Sales commissions and/or variable pay plans are also offered depending on the position (ex: monthly, quarterly, annual bonuses). Additionally, we offer a competitive benefits package including top-tier benefits, comprehensive medical, dental, and vision plans, employee life and disability, mental health benefits, paid medical leave, paid company holidays, and paid time off, as well as opportunities for career growth and advancement within our team!
Salary Range
$69,000—$90,000 USD
At Guayakí Yerba Mate, we're more than just a beverage company: we believe yerba mate culture allows us to "COME TO LIFE" together and is an invitation to personal, social, ecological and cultural regeneration. Market Driven Regeneration™ is Guayakí Yerba Mate’s business model that aspires to create a net positive impact in the world throughout our operations and supply web. It influences the ingredients we source and products we make, distribute, and sell in order to have a positive impact on people and the planet throughout our business.
As our team expands, we are looking for people to join us who are committed to this aspiration and believe a better world is possible. Our company culture is driven by collaboration, support and teamwork which allows us to grow together. We believe that learning from different perspectives and seeking shared solutions together is an opportunity to grow both individually and as an organization. As an international company rooted in yerba mate native to South America, our people come from different cultures and backgrounds that are welcomed and valued. We question the status quo and seek innovative solutions to help drive the global regenerative business movement. We invite individuals to join our team who embrace work as a collective and aspire to using business as a force for good.
More about who we are:
Yerba mate. We love it, we drink it, but what, exactly, is it? Guayakí Yerba Mate started in 1996 as a passion, guided by a purpose and transformed into a brand with the goal of bringing yerba mate to more people. Known to provide a smooth energy boost and improved focus, yerba mate comes from the naturally caffeinated leaves of a species of holly tree found deep in the Atlantic Rainforest of South America and naturally contains a combination of caffeine (also found in coffee), theobromine (also found in chocolate) and polyphenols (also found in green tea) offering a unique beverage experience.
Guayakí Yerba Mate offers a variety of options to meet energy and refreshment needs through a robust portfolio of ready to drink beverages and traditional loose-leaf products. Brewed with yerba mate and infused with real fruit juices and herbs, Guayaki Yerba Mate is proudly sourced with regenerative, organic and fair-trade certified ingredients.
To learn more about our impact, check out our Impact Report at: impactreport.guayaki.com
Guayakí Yerba Mate is an equal-opportunity employer committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace. All qualified applicants will be treated with respect and receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, gender identity, genetic information, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, uniform service, Veteran status, age, or any other protected characteristic per federal, state, or local law, including those with a criminal history, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including the CA Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance.
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What We Do
At Guayakí Yerba Mate, we're about much more than just yerba mate: we believe yerba mate culture is an invitation to life. Our mantra, “COME TO LIFE” is an invitation to personal, social, ecological and cultural regeneration. The regeneration of the planet is at the heart of our business model. Every time you purchase Guayakí Yerba Mate, you're creating a positive global impact. We call it Market Driven Regeneration™, and it's the driving force behind everything we do. Yerba mate. We love it, we drink it, but what, exactly, is it? Yerba mate has the strength of coffee, the health benefits of tea, and the euphoria of chocolate, all in one beverage. Of the six commonly used stimulants in the world: coffee, tea, kola, cocoa, and guarana, yerba mate triumphs as a balanced, naturally caffeinated option. It is brewed from the nourishing leaves of the yerba mate species of holly tree (Ilex paraguariensis), which is native to the South American Atlantic rainforest.
