Marketing Manager, LATAM – São Paulo

IRCA is a leading international provider of semi-finished ingredients for the bakery, pastry and gelato markets, serving independent producers as well as large food manufacturers (e.g. CPG). Core products include chocolate, chocolate decorations, creams, pastry mixes, gelato ingredients, and other bakery / pastry ingredients.

The Company, headquartered in Italy, was acquired by Advent International, the global Private Equity firm, in July 2022, and has a strong track record of growth over the last decade.

Thanks to the recent acquisitions of important players in the belonging market, IRCA is becoming a global leader in the semi-finished ingredients industry, with 22 manufacturing facilities in Europe, US and Vietnam and a combined €1 billion of revenues.

Purpose of Position

We are looking for a proactive, results-oriented, digital-savvy and creative Marketing Manager who will be responsible for ensuring the successful delivery of the launch and implementation of our LATAM efforts, including all integrated campaigns and marketing initiatives within a rapidly growing and leading company in the food ingredients industry.

They will be responsible for shaping and prioritizing our Marketing efforts mix for all channels (Food manufacturers, Gourmet, In-store Bakery, Professional Home-baking) with the development and execution of the annual strategic marketing plan with complete analysis of market, consumer insights, client needs, competition and trends.

A segment approach, as well as a regional sales account planning view is required for this position, as this role will work hand in hand with our regional leadership and sales team on the ground.

All activities need to be steered in close collaboration with the relevant departments, in particular Marketing Americas as well as global stakeholders within the IRCA Group.

The focus of the position lies in the strategic understanding of the management of all product categories and brand positioning in alignment with the regional market needs per channel.

Description Of Main Activities

• Define the marketing plan in terms of campaigns, initiatives and events, proposing the right mix of activities capable of achieving the agreed objectives in terms of leads, revenues, margin and profitability;
• Strategic Assortment management and push/pull efforts per segment and channel
• Product market intelligence: Research and analyze market conditions, Identify Key competitor, client and consumer trends, Articulate market requirements and opportunities, Identify opportunities for product innovation and product enhancement
• Define trade marketing tool-box for the region
• Ensuring and overseeing all go-to-market initiatives, verifying that all assets have been utilized to their full potential and that deployment times are perfectly synchronized with the sales plans
• Manage the presence of marketing initiatives with key accounts & distributors, to improve brand awareness and update customers on new initiatives;
• Monitor the ROI of marketing investments through pre and post analysis of the results for the segment;
• Study of the market, products, potential customers, competition: analyze and evaluate market trends and competitors’ activities and propose strategies;
• Drafting and managing of the annual budget for marketing and communication for all channels
• Segment Multi-branded Product Basket per application to implement channels foundation and growth
• Activation of cross-branded campaigns/toolkits aligned with commercial plans on and KPIs setting and tracking
• Shape Industry events strategy ( Ex.FIPAN )
• Lead Digital efforts incl. Community management (ex. Creation and nurturing of @ircagroup.brasil & Ircagroup.latam pages)
• Marketing Partnerships, Joint activation plans, Digital/E-commerce content creation (it-platform digital), including Distributor Toolkit : proactive sales support (campaigns), speed trainings content, workshops with distributors and product solution one pagers (among other tools).

Behavioral Requirements

• Fully autonomous, communicates effectively and has exceptional written and verbal communication skills
• Develops strong working relationships with colleagues across departments, legal entities and seniority levels.
• Capable of managing multiple projects simultaneously
• Excellent analytical skills
• Prone to autonomous management and organization of work

Qualifications & Experience

• Degree in Business Administration, Marketing or related field
• 5 – 7 years of experience in the role, ideally within the Chocolate & Cocoa industry
• Mastery in data analysis and the according tools
• Outstanding project management skills
• Excellent product management skills
• Trade Marketing background
• Digital knowledge
• Language Skills: English, Portuguese and Spanish mandatory, Italian a plus
• Computer Skills: SAP, Sales Force, Office, Photoshop, Canva