About the role
What makes this a great opportunity?
At Suntory Global Spirits, we craft spirits of the highest quality and deliver brilliant experiences to people around the world. We are seeking a Senior Manager, Commercial Marketing to help build the end-to-end activation engine that connects brand strategy to execution in market.
As part of the newly formed Trade Marketing team, which brings together Commercial Marketing, Field Marketing and Partnerships for the US, you will help connect strategy to execution. You will partner with Brand to shape below-the-line activation platforms, translate them into commercially relevant programs, and equip Sales, Field Marketing and agency teams with the tools and standards needed to execute with clarity, consistency and quality. You will also lead two direct reports, setting priorities, building capability and creating the conditions for strong delivery. This role is ideal for a strategic builder who can turn strong ideas into commercially viable activation
Role Responsibilities
Build an integrated Trade Marketing capability
• Help establish the operating model, decision points and handoffs that connect brand briefs, channel translation, toolkit development, market deployment and learning.
• Create practical frameworks, templates and routines that reduce fragmented execution, late rework and inconsistent activation across channels and markets.
Shape activation platforms with Brand
• Partner with Brand teams early in planning to translate brand strategy, priority consumers, occasions and cultural insights into clear below-the-line activation platforms.
• Develop commercial activation briefs that define the program role, core experience, required assets, execution guardrails, channel considerations and definition of done.
• Pressure-test ideas for commercial relevance, scalability and feasibility while protecting the integrity of the central brand idea.
Translate strategy into channel-ready programs
• Lead modular program architecture across on-premise, off-premise, strategic accounts and local market activation, with clear choices rather than one-size-fits-all execution.
• Convert activation platforms into practical components such as point-of-sale, displays, menus, sampling, experiential and digital assets, sell-in materials and activation guidance.
• Partner with Sales and Field Marketing to validate commercial viability and clarify which elements are mandatory, recommended or adaptable.
Enable strong execution
• Create concise, user-centered toolkits that help Sales, Field Marketing and local agencies understand, sell in, access and activate programs.
• Provide clear briefs, timelines, asset lists, roles, handoffs, activation standards and decision points across the program lifecycle.
• Coordinate with Marketing Services, agencies and production partners so approved assets are organized, accessible and released on time; lead briefings that translate strategy into action.
Lead cross-functional delivery and learning
• Own assigned workstreams from brief through launch and post-program learning, managing milestones, stakeholders, risks and dependencies with limited oversight.
• Align Brand, Sales, Field Marketing, Strategic Accounts and agency partners around one integrated plan; surface trade-offs and escalate material risks.
• Use available business, execution and qualitative field inputs to identify barriers, capture strong execution and recommend what to continue, stop or improve. This role stewards learning and improvement rather than owning all measurement systems or field tracking.
Lead and develop a high-performing team
• Lead two direct reports, translating team priorities into clear goals, ownership and development plans.
• Coach for strong strategic thinking, disciplined program management and effective cross-functional partnership.
• Create an inclusive, accountable team environment with timely feedback, clear decisions and opportunities for growth.
Qualifications
Required
• 7+ years of relevant experience in commercial marketing, shopper or channel marketing, field marketing, brand activation, integrated marketing, agency leadership or a comparable CPG environment.
• Demonstrated experience translating brand strategy into below-the-line programs, activation platforms or toolkits used by Sales and field-facing teams.
• Working knowledge of on-premise, off-premise, customer and local market activation, with the judgment to adapt programs by channel while protecting brand consistency.
• Strong cross-functional program leadership, including agency briefing, timeline and deliverable management, stakeholder alignment and issue resolution.
• Ability to synthesize consumer, customer, channel and market inputs into clear recommendations and practical tools.
• Excellent writing, presentation and facilitation skills, with confidence communicating across Brand, commercial leadership, Sales, Field Marketing and agency teams.
• Comfort operating in ambiguity and helping build new ways of working during transformation.
Preferred
• Experience in beverage alcohol, CPG, retail, hospitality or another regulated, multi-channel environment.
• Experience with point-of-sale, sampling, experiential, customer-specific programming, multicultural activation or portfolio planning.
• Familiarity with commercial planning cycles, agency scope management and execution or asset-management platforms.
What success looks like
• Brand ideas reach market with a clear, recognizable through-line, even when execution is tailored by channel or local need.
• Sales, Field Marketing and local agencies receive timely, easy-to-use tools that enable high-quality execution.
• Programs are commercially grounded earlier, reducing late rework, unclear handoffs and disconnected local adaptations.
• Market learning is consistently brought back to Brand and Trade Marketing to strengthen future activation platforms.
• You are known for strategic judgment, disciplined delivery, collaborative influence and making complex programs easier to execute.
Who you'll work with
Primary partners: Brand Marketing, Sales, Field Marketing, Strategic Accounts Marketing, Partnerships, Marketing Services, agency teams and production partners.
Nearest Major Market: Chicago
Job Segment: Field Marketing, Channel Marketing, Marketing Manager, Branding, Marketing