We are Kao, listed as one of the world’s most ethical companies for the last 20 years.
Our EMEA brand portfolio spans across three sectors; Consumer Care (John Frieda, Guhl, Bondi Sands, Bioré, Jergens, Curél), Professional Hair (Goldwell, Oribe, KMS Hair, Kerasilk), and Molton Brown.
Our corporate philosophy, The Kao Way, guides us in everything we do – acting with integrity, courageously driving innovation, and treating each other with trust and respect.
About our role:
The Senior Brand Manager will join the Global John Frieda Innovation & Portfolio Strategy team, helping to shape what comes next for the brand and taking ownership for making it happen. The role combines strategic and creative innovation thinking with hands-on, end-to-end project leadership. You will identify and develop compelling new product opportunities while owning complex innovation projects from initial idea through development to launch.
Working in a international and cross-functional environment, you will partner closely with R&D, Kaihatsu, Packaging Development, Legal & Regulatory, Communications, Supply Chain and regional and local Commercial teams.
What you will do:
Own and drive complex innovation projects end-to-end. Lead New Product Development projects through the Stage Gate process, from initial opportunity through development and launch. Own timelines, deliverables and critical dependencies; anticipate risks, identify gaps and resolve issues to keep projects moving forward.
Lead the cross-functional project team. Be the central Marketing lead connecting R&D, Kaihatsu, Packaging Development, Legal & Regulatory, Supply Chain, Communications and Commercial teams. Create clarity on actions and decisions, follow through with discipline and ensure teams remain aligned against the overall objective.
Solve problems and navigate change. Innovation rarely follows a straight line. Respond quickly and constructively when formulas, claims, costs, timings, feasibility or market requirements change, bringing the right people together and driving pragmatic solutions without losing sight of the consumer proposition.
Shape what comes next. Stay close to consumers, culture, beauty trends, emerging technologies and competitive activity to identify new opportunities for John Frieda. Translate these into compelling innovation territories, product concepts and recommendations.
Turn opportunities into propositions that can win. Combine consumer insight, brand strategy, technical possibilities and commercial understanding to develop distinctive product concepts and stories, including claims, naming, design and copy.
Build compelling innovation stories. Translate consumer insights, trends, technologies and product benefits into clear, distinctive and engaging stories that bring innovation to life, create excitement and make the proposition easy to understand and sell across markets and audiences.
Bring commercial discipline to innovation. Evaluate opportunities against consumer relevance, market potential, portfolio role, feasibility, scalability and cost. Manage Cost of Goods and identify and drive TCR/value-engineering opportunities while protecting the consumer experience and brand proposition.
Help shape the Innovation Masterplan. Bring a clear point of view on future growth opportunities, informed by global trends, competitive activity, consumer needs and brand and product performance. Help prioritize where the brand should – and should not – invest
Partner closely with our markets. Build strong relationships with regional and local Commercial teams, incorporating their market expertise throughout development and ensuring they have compelling propositions and tools to maximize in-market success
- Create alignment and influence decisions. Present recommendations clearly and confidently, facilitate discussion across different perspectives and constructively challenge thinking to drive strong decisions and maintain momentum
What you will need:
University Degree/MBA ideally with a focus on Marketing, Business Management or equivalent
5+ years in similar Global Brand position, with relevant Brand Management, Innovation or New Product Development experience, ideally within Beauty, Personal Care or consumer goods sector
Exceptional project leadership and executional discipline, with the ability to manage multiple complex innovation projects simultaneously, anticipate risks and dependencies, maintain attention to detail and proactively resolve issues before they derail timing or quality.
A creative and curious mindset, combined with strong analytical and conceptual thinking and a genuine passion for beauty, consumers and innovation.
A confident and influential communication style, enjoying presenting and engaging audiences, with strong storytelling skills and the ability to simplify complexity and turn strategies, technologies and consumer insights into compelling narratives.
Experience in a fast-paced, dynamic and highly collaborative environment with the ability to remain positive and pragmatic when faced with changing priorities, ambiguity or unexpected challenges, and enjoying working with and influencing large cross-functional teams.
Strong cultural sensitivity and appreciation of the different consumer, market and commercial needs that exist across countries with experience working in a pan regional role.
- Strong consumer and commercial instinct, with the ability to identify opportunities and translate consumer insights, market dynamics and trends into differentiated propositions with clear growth potential.
- Strong experience in problem solving with strong ownership and resilience, bringing the tenacity and solution-oriented mindset needed to keep complex projects moving forward.
At Kao, we believe the diversity of our teams strengthens our global mission. Here we trust and respect each other, collaborating in a friendly and inclusive work environment to achieve great results.
What you can expect from us:
- An entrepreneurial environment where passionate and innovative teams come together.
- Respect, teamwork and collaboration are at the heart of how we work.
- A workplace culture that prioritises employee wellbeing, with opportunities to get involved in initiatives such as Mental Health First Aiders, our Charity Committee, and DE&I communities
- A broad range of benefits, including flexible working, competitive salaries, health and wellbeing offers, pension schemes, insurance options, and more…
- Learning and development opportunities
Your voice matters here, we value entrepreneurial thinking and innovation from our teams.
To find out why 33,000 people across the Globe work at Kao please visit:
https://candidate-brochure.kao.com/kao-emea/full-view.html
https://www.kao.com/emea/en/careers/
Discover careers at Kao and how we live our purpose, Kirei – Making Life Beautiful.
https://kao.voyse.io/
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Skills Required
- University degree or MBA, ideally in Marketing, Business Management, or an equivalent field
- 5+ years of experience in a similar global brand position
- Relevant experience in brand management, innovation, or new product development
- Experience ideally within the beauty, personal care, or consumer goods sector
- Exceptional project leadership and execution discipline, including management of multiple complex innovation projects
- Ability to anticipate risks and dependencies, maintain attention to detail, and resolve issues proactively
- Creative, curious, analytical, and conceptual mindset with passion for beauty, consumers, and innovation
- Confident communication, presentation, storytelling, and ability to simplify complex information
- Experience working in a fast-paced, dynamic, collaborative environment
- Ability to influence large cross-functional teams and manage changing priorities or ambiguity
- Strong cultural sensitivity and experience working in a pan-regional or international role
- Strong consumer and commercial instinct, including translating insights, market dynamics, and trends into differentiated propositions
- Strong problem-solving, ownership, resilience, tenacity, and solution-oriented mindset
What We Do
Ever since the company's founding in 1887, Kao has strived to deliver value to the life of people everywhere in the world. Today, we are a leading manufacturer in the fields of hygiene, beauty and health, while our chemical business contributes to the development of diverse industries. With more than 33,000 employees, our mission is to enrich the lives of people globally and contribute to the sustainability of the world. In the regions of Americas, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), we focus on our Beauty Care business with premium brands in three business sectors: Consumer, Salon and Cosmetics. Our Business Sector represents skin and hair care brands that are recognized worldwide for their innovation and quality, such as Jergens, Curél, Bioré, Guhl, and John Frieda. Our Salon Business Sector is committed to unleashing the creativity of stylists around the globe. With our industry leading brands Goldwell, KMS and Oribe, stylists have everything in their hands to create beautiful show-stopping hair representative of the individuality of their clients. Our London-based boutique brand, Molton Brown, offers luxury beauty products found only in our exclusive Molton Brown stores, high-end department stores and travel retail, as well as five-star hotels around the world. All three business sectors are driven by the same values and beliefs: Creating high-quality products and constantly striving for the best is what is at the heart of everything we do. This is why we understand that our people are one of our core assets, and we strive for a working environment that allows team members to flourish and grow. Join us, and you will have opportunity to help us make life beautiful
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