Associate Communication Strategy & Activation

Job description

***Have you ever enjoyed Arnold®, Brownberry® or Oroweat® bread? A Thomas’® English muffin or bagel? Or perhaps snacked on a Sara Lee®, Entenmann’s® or Marinela® cake or donut? If the answer is yes, then you know Bimbo Bakeries USA!*** ***More than 20,000 associates in bakeries, sales centers, offices and on sales routes work to ensure our consumers have the freshest products at every meal. In addition to competitive pay and benefits, we provide a safe and inclusive work environment that appreciates diversity, promotes development and allows our associates to be their authentic selves.*** ***#LI-LF1*** **Come join the largest baking company in the world and our family of 20,000 associates nationwide!** **Top Reasons to Work at Bimbo Bakeries USA:** **Salary Range: $54,800 - $71,300** **Annual Bonus Eligibility** **Comprehensive Benefits Package** **Paid Time Off** **401k & Company Match** **Position Summary:** Bimbo Bakeries USA (BBU) is undergoing a marketing transformation to accelerate Branded growth. The **Associate of Communications Strategy & Activation** will be critical in elevating brand storytelling and delivering bold, breakthrough, culturally relevant creative activations. The ideal candidate is a strategic brand builder with experience developing creative and translating to integrated activations and brand experiences. This role reports to the Manager of Communications Strategy & Activation and is part of the Marketing Center of Excellence at Bimbo Bakeries USA. **Key Job Responsibilities:** **Brand Partner** - Partner with assigned Brand teams on all aspects of brand building to achieve annual business goals and improve brand equity. - Provide expertise and enable excellence across brand foundations, packaging design, visual identity, creative development, paid asset production, and integrated communications. **End-to-End Creative Development & Production** - Responsible for the end-to-end creative development process for brand platforms and brand campaigns that are distinctive, relevant, and have proven potential to extend across full-funnel consumer touchpoints. - Craft creative briefs for agency partners, working closely with Brand and Consumer Insights to ensure we are providing clear direction that is informed by a strong understanding of the brand purpose, business strategy, and audience. - Inform creative testing approach and stimulus development, participate in research when possible, and guide creative optimizations to apply learnings. - Guide creative asset production process, with production cost consultants when applicable, through pre-production, shoot, and post-production to deliver assets on time and on budget that uphold the creative integrity and are aligned to brand strategies, standards, and specs needed. - Steward the brand purpose, personality, and tone of voice throughout the creative development process. **Integrated Communications Strategy, Planning & Activation** - Responsible for the communications strategy, planning, and activation of assigned Brand’s annual integrated plan designed to achieve full-funnel objectives. - Spearhead collaboration across functions and agencies to ensure the big idea guides how the plan is built, connecting touchpoints, providing budget recommendations, and defining and measuring KPIs for each channel and tactic. - Coach brand teams and cross-functional partners on how to drive consistent storytelling excellence across all consumer touchpoints. - Champion a big-picture perspective and consumer-centric approach that leverages insights and prioritizes relevance. - Steward the brand platform and campaign throughout full-funnel plan development. **Cross-Functional Connector** - Serve as the cross-functional quarterback and dot connector, identifying and including the relevant cross-functional partners across the Engagement Studio, Media, eComm, Shopper, and Consumer Insights for expertise and visibility. - Provide expertise and guidance to internal stakeholders on creative excellence, production, and holistic comms strategy that includes earned. **Agency Management** - Support team efforts to centralize agency management and governance (internal and external), holding our agencies accountable to pre-defined deliverables and standards (excludes our Media Agency of Record). - Foster IAT collaboration, establishing ways of working that enable fully integrated plans that are informed by the idea. - Agency management to foster long-term relationships and maximize agency output. **Key Behavioral Competencies:** - Relationship builder who practices empathy and respects diverse backgrounds and needs. - Authentically builds credibility and followership through courage and self-awareness, resulting in allies. - Confidence in managing complexity, uncertainty, and ambiguity. - Strong problem-solving and analytical skills; ability to determine critical issues and develop effective action plans. - Effective verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to use storytelling to influence decisions. - Gritty and resourceful when necessary. - Trusted to make well-informed decisions and take evidence-based risks. - Self-starter who can meet deadlines, is well organized and can work autonomously. - A strong project manager with expertise in designing ways of working across a global, matrixed organization. - Experience working in a remote team setting under pressure and in a fast-paced environment. - Ability to travel 10-20% domestically and/or internally for internal meetings, conferences, creative shoots, and/or brand activations. **Leadership Competencies:** - Use a combination of feedback and reflection to gain productive insight into personal strengths and weaknesses. - Build partnerships and work collaboratively with others to meet shared objectives. - Take on new opportunities and tough challenges with a sense of urgency, high energy, and enthusiasm. - Understands the business and organizational environment and shows interest in adapting to their culture and ways of working. **Education and Work History:** - 4+ years of relevant experience in agency and/or brand roles. - A bachelor’s degree is in Marketing, or a related field is required. A master’s degree is a plus. - The ideal candidate will have creative agency experience, brand creative experience, or both. - Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) experience is preferred. - Understanding the inner workings of agencies across creative, packaging, digital, social, and PR. - Collaborations with peers in consumer insights and media, driving consumer-centric activations. - Strong understanding of campaign production. - Experience leading an integrated agency team from brand side, agency side, or both. - Experience with packaging design, aligned to best practices to stand out on the shelf. *The physical and mental demands described in each job posting are representative of those that must be met by an associate to successfully perform the essential functions of each job. Reasonable accommodations may be requested to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of each job.* *Bimbo Bakeries USA is an equal opportunity employer with a policy that provides equal employment opportunity for applicants and employees regardless of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity), national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, veteran status, any other classification protected by law.* *It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.*