JOB FILLED - VP of Marketing - Joe Produce | Produce Jobs, Produce Careers, Agriculture Jobs, Agriculture Careers

Job Description:

SUMMARY: The VP of Marketing is responsible for creating and implementing all aspects of the marketing strategy including but not limited to branding, content, packaging, innovation, public relations, customer events and related budgets. Responsible for strengthening the Markon brand and increasing sales and customer loyalty by working with the management team, associates, and member distributors in developing and deploying a cohesive customer experience and engagement strategy. These responsibilities include the development of annual marketing communications plans, identifying opportunities for innovation including products and services, budgets, evolution of marketing channels and assets to ensure we are articulating our message with customers, associates and suppliers. Responsible for delivering on these activities to meet the company’s strategic business objectives.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Brand Development & Leadership

Builds the Markon brand and fosters the development of Markon as the premier produce solution including customers, members, suppliers, and boards
Champions the brand positioning and story for Markon to consistently communicate to all audiences from Operator to Member to Supplier
Directs customer research and customer outreach (via Surveys or similar means) centrally and with alignment of the members in order to direct messaging and marketing initiatives to align with the “voice of the customer”
Leverages industry trends and key statistics to draw conclusions from research (primary and secondary) in order to maintain relevancy of Markon for all customer channels
Organizes, disseminates, and maintains critical data (e.g. sales and customer behaviors) to assist in driving strategies forward and identifying opportunities for innovation and engagement
Manages (and where appropriate innovates) Markon communication channels and platforms in a way that consistently adds value to the distributor, and ultimately, our mutual customers
Works across sourcing and culinary teams to develop new products and platforms to ensure Markon maintains leadership as an innovator in the industry
Collaborates with the Brands Committee to activate the customer experience through events, content plans, and assets for use at national and local (member) level
Supports Markon and Member sustainability positioning through benchmarking, target setting, reporting and communications
Demonstrate capability to show ROI with marketing projects

Merchandising

Collaborates with sourcing, suppliers, and members to develop the merchandising and promotional schedule (including new item launches) to leverage Markon scale and support case growth locally
Executes the development of an enhanced Marketing strategy, GDSN initiative, New Product strategy, Sustainability positioning, and Process and Event strategy
Develops a partnership marketing revenue stream, offering marketing opportunities for supplier and association partner participation
Supports/ enhances the member e-commerce experience through strengthened data and assets, optimizing digital product merchandising efforts, maximizing social media content
Develops and executes Markon Event strategy (including engagement with industry events and support of member events – e.g. food shows)

Organization

Works with Markon Leadership, Board, and membership to create the annual sales plan, and ensures alignment of brand, marketing, and merchandising activities to achieve the growth metrics as agreed by board
Provide leadership with the Markon Action Committee (MAC) and lead the Customer Experience Committee
Provides strategy and leadership for public relations and communication
Leads, coaches, and develops the Marketing team to deliver value-added marketing support to Markon Members
Primary facilitator and solution provider to our members for all marketing areas
Manages the execution of strategic initiatives according to action plans, delegates responsibilities to team members as appropriate, collaborates with internal and external stakeholders (including agencies) leading change management related to initiatives
Budgets and manages all expenses and revenue to deliver a maximum return on investment for all areas of the department
Other duties & projects as assigned

QUALIFICATIONS:

8-10 years of Multi-Channel Advertising and/or Marketing Communications experience
Strong problem solving. Ability to determine the clear and succinct marketing issue and develop recommendations
Proven experience in building and developing marketing campaigns including familiarity with multiple communication channels including digital
Excellent verbal and written communication skills
Highly organized with strong presentation skills
Ability to think creatively & bring innovative solutions to marketing challenges
Strong strategic thinking skills
Ability to perform under stress and manage multiple projects to deadlines
Ambitious, easy to work with, have a good sense of humor, and positive attitude

Education and Experience:

Experience in managing people including multiple stakeholders to achieve buy-in or consensus
Experience and flexibility to establish new processes to improve overall communications effectiveness
Bachelor’s degree required. MBA or Masters in Marketing preferred
Produce or perishables experience desired, but not required

WORKING CONDITIONS: described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

ENVIRONMENT: