The Absolut Company, Pernod Ricard

The Absolut Company has the worldwide responsibility for the production and marketing of ABSOLUT VODKA, MALIBU, KAHLÚA, WYBOROWA, LUKSUSOWA and FRÏS:

– ABSOLUT VODKA is the world’s fourth largest premium spirits brand

– MALIBU is the number one coconut-flavoured rum in the world, sold in more than 150 countries

– KAHLÚA coffee liqueur is the world leader in its category

As of July 2008, The Absolut Company is a company within the Pernod-Ricard group, which holds one of the most prestigious brand portfolios in the spirit sector. The head office is located in Stockholm, Sweden and has 500 employees. Pernod-Ricard employs 18,000 employees throughout the world

Company Cultures & Values:

– Entrepreneurial creativity: Combination of risk-taking and individual initiative, with strategic thinking and out of the box mind set. Strong culture of creativity and entrepreneurial spirit

– Mutual Trust: Transparency and honesty in everything we do

– Sense of Ethics: As a spirits brand owner, we recognize the impact of what we do and take our responsibility in all areas we operate

– Conviviality: Good interpersonal relationships and happy to socialize, teamwork

The position:

The main purpose of this position is to lead the development of Innovation projects for Malibu & Kahlua. Specifically this person will lead the projects through all stages of the innovation process including identifying business opportunity areas, hunting for consumer insights, ideating & developing concepts, coordinating market research as well as setting up business cases and launch plans. The Brand Manager, Innovation will be responsible for partnering with a broad cross-functional team of operations, finance, legal, creative agencies and lead markets to deliver evolution & stretch innovations to the market.

The Brand Manager, Innovation requires a highly motivated self-starter with strong analytical, organizational, creative problem solving and interpersonal skills as well as the ability to partner and motivate effectively across functions with passion and enthusiasm. This individual should have the desire to tackle challenges with creativity and flexibility.

Geographical area of responsibility: Global

Location: Stockholm

Type of contract: Permanent – Local

Key Contact points

• Immediate manager

• Malibu & Kahlua brand strategy, communication & trade marketing teams

• Consumer Insights team & Market Research agencies

• Operations team

• Regulatory & Legal department

• Creative agencies including Packaging Design

• Lead markets

Key Activities

• Analyse trends, market & consumer data to help identify business opportunities

• Setup project plans & timelines

• Lead development of concepts, organize workshops if required

• Lead development of drygoods from design brief to approving final artwork

• Coordinate development of wetgoods with operations, organize tastings

• Coordinate market research

• Coordinate trademark registration with legal department

• Align project details with local market & collect input

• Manage project budgets

Skills Required:

• Strong business acumen – understanding the full value chain from product development, production as well as go to market from both a consumer and trade point of view

• Turn a strong curiosity and innovative mind set into tangible relevant business proposals

• Sense of urgency – capability to deliver significant output under tight deadlines

• Exceptional project management skills with a highly structured way of working

• Collaborate efficiently and thrive in a cross-functional and navigate a corporate environment

• Ability to think strategically as well as energetic hands-on operational capabilities

• Comfortable in challenging conventions

• Outgoing personality with an interest in the spirits & entertainment

• Fluency in English

Experience Required

• Master’s degree in business

• 4 to 6 years in marketing from the consumer goods sector in an international organization

• New Product Development or relevant cross-functional team work

This position requires occasional international travel.

Experience from the US market is a strong advantage (work, studies, etc..).

For more information, please contact Linus Andersson at linus.andersson@headagent.se, +4673-735 29 02 or Anna Nordstrand at anna.nordstrand@headagent.se, +4676-322 21 59.