| Detail | For this role |
|---|---|
| Department | Marketing |
| Level | Senior management |
| Reports to | Marketing Director |
| Direct reports | Brand Manager, Brand Executive |
| Experience | 7 to 10 years in brand management, including 2 years leading brand managers |
Senior Brand Manager job description template
Copy this job description, replace the text in square brackets and post it on your careers page or a job portal.
Job title: Senior Brand Manager
Department: Marketing
Reports to: Marketing Director
Location: [City], [office, branch or site]
About the role
A Senior Brand Manager runs a large brand or a group of related brands, usually in FMCG, consumer durables, food and beverages or OTC healthcare. They own the brand plan and budget, lead brand managers and brand executives, and make the calls on communication, launches, packs and consumer promotions. The job is measured in hard numbers, namely brand revenue and volume, market share and margin, along with the long-term health of the brand.
Key responsibilities
- Write the annual brand plan covering volume, value, share and margin goals, target consumers, launches, media and consumer promotions.
- Manage the brand's promotion budget across media, sampling, digital and in-store activity, and reallocate it each quarter based on results.
- Lead launches of new variants, packs and price points, from consumer research to stock in trade and the first media burst.
- Brief agencies on campaigns, and approve creative, media plans and packaging artwork together with the brand manager.
- Track retail audit share, offtake and distribution by region every month, and plan corrective actions with sales and trade marketing.
- Work with finance on brand profitability, costing and price increases, and propose price or grammage changes when input costs move.
- Coordinate with R&D, quality and supply chain on product improvements, pack changes and launch stock readiness.
- Design consumer promotions and trade schemes with sales, and measure the extra volume each one delivered after it ends.
- Coach the brand managers and brand executives in the team on analysis, briefs and handling stakeholders.
- Present brand reviews to the marketing director and leadership, with clear asks on investment and priorities.
Requirements
- MBA or PGDM in Marketing from a reputed institute
- Graduate degree in any discipline
- Brand management experience in FMCG or consumer goods is preferred
- 7 to 10 years in brand management, including 2 years leading brand managers
KRAs and KPIs for a Senior Brand Manager
Key result areas for the appraisal form, each with a KPI you can measure every month or quarter.
| Key result area | How to measure it |
|---|---|
| Brand revenue and volume | Brand net revenue and volume at or above the annual operating plan every quarter |
| Market share | Brand value share in the retail audit up by the agreed points in priority regions |
| Brand margin | Brand gross margin at or above plan after costing and price changes |
| Launch success | New variants reach the planned outlet distribution and sales within 90 days of launch |
| Promotion effectiveness | Every consumer promotion evaluated within 30 days, with incremental volume worth more than its cost |
| Brand health | Brand health scores in the annual study stable or better than last year |
Skills and tools
Tools used day to day: Retail audit and household panel reports, SAP or similar ERP, MS Excel for brand P&L models, MS PowerPoint, Power BI.
Reporting line and career path
Next roles: Marketing Director, Head of Brand, General Manager Marketing
Interview questions for a Senior Brand Manager
- Your brand's volume is growing but value share is falling. What could be happening?
- How do you decide the launch price and pack size for a new variant?
- Walk me through how you evaluated a consumer promotion. Did it pay back?
- How would you brief an agency when the real problem is distribution rather than awareness?
- Input costs have jumped. Would you take price, cut grammage or absorb it, and why?
- How do you coach a brand manager whose analysis is sound but whose briefs are weak?
Managing a Senior Brand Manager in ZeniaHR
Hire and manage your marketing team in one place
Post the role, onboard the new hire, and track attendance, leave and KRAs in ZeniaHR. Free for your first 50 employees.
Book a free demoSee pricingFrequently asked questions
What does a senior brand manager do?
A senior brand manager runs a large brand or a group of brands. They write the brand plan, manage its promotion budget, lead launches, approve campaigns and packs, work with finance on pricing and margin, and coach the brand managers who report to them. Results are judged on revenue, share and margin.
What is the difference between a brand manager and a senior brand manager?
A brand manager runs day-to-day plans for one brand or a few SKUs. A senior brand manager owns a bigger brand or portfolio, decides budget allocation and launch priorities, takes pricing proposals to finance and leadership, and manages brand managers. The senior role carries more commercial accountability.
Do you need an MBA to become a senior brand manager?
Almost all FMCG and consumer companies in India hire brand managers from MBA or PGDM programs, so an MBA in marketing is the usual route. A few people move in from sales, trade marketing or agency roles without one, but they generally need a strong record of results on a brand.