Senior Portfolio Marketing Manger

About Ella’s Kitchen

Part of the Hain Celestial Group family of brands, Ella's Kitchen’s mission is to help little ones grow up happy, healthy, and never hungry. Set up in 2006 by Ella's Dad Paul Lindley, the company prioritises health and nutritional value, but never at the expense of taste or convenience. Ella’s Kitchen strives to be good in every sense, offering healthy, handy, and fun food that doesn’t cost the earth. In 2016, Ella’s Kitchen certified as a B Corporation, a global movement of pioneering companies that are using their business as a force for good. By certifying as a B Corp, it reinforces that the business is meeting rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. 

We are looking for someone brilliant who believes in our mission and can live and breathe our values of childlike, winning together, owning it, fostering inclusion and being curious. 

At Ella’s Kitchen, we are guided by our values; they set the tone of our culture and we look out for newbies who will be a natural fit to our values and complement and contribute to our business.

About The Hain Celestial Group

Hain Celestial Group is a leading health and wellness company whose purpose is to inspire healthier living for people, communities and the planet through better-for-you brands. For more than 30 years, our portfolio of beloved brands has intentionally focused on delivering nutrition and well-being that positively impacts today and tomorrow. Headquartered in Hoboken, N.J., Hain Celestial’s products across snacks, baby/kids, beverages, meal preparation, and personal care, are marketed and sold in over 75 countries around the world. Our leading brands include Garden Veggie™ snacks, Terra® chips, Garden of Eatin’® snacks, Earth’s Best® and Ella’s Kitchen® baby and kids foods, Celestial Seasonings® teas, Joya® and Natumi® plant-based beverages, Greek Gods® yogurt, Cully & Sully®, Imagine® and New Covent Garden® soups, Yves® and Linda McCartney’s® (under license) meat-free, and Alba Botanica® natural sun care, among others. 

Our Commitment To Equality, Diversity And Inclusion

At Ella’s Kitchen, we are committed to promoting and enabling a positive culture where everyone can be themselves and diversity of thought is welcomed.

We give a full and fair consideration to all applicants regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership, and pregnancy and maternity.

If you need reasonable adjustments made to the recruitment process, please let us know so we can support you in the right way.

Location: Henley-on-Thames

Contract: Full-time

Reports to: Marketing + Strategy Director 

Direct reports: 1x Senior Portfolio Manager + 1x Portfolio Manager + 1 indirect Portfolio Manager

Purpose of role:

• Devise & lead the Portfolio Strategy (via the Portfolio team) to ensure our products continue to meet the needs of parents & carers in our UK & ATW markets.  

Role activities / responsibilities:

NPD/EPD Pipeline Delivery (50%)

• Accountable for the Ella’s Kitchen portfolio plan, and creating a product pipeline (starting from idea generation via insights all the way through to in-market launch), and range architecture that fuels the Ella’s growth ambitions. 
• Own, curate and run the ‘Discover’ phase of innovation development (i.e. the front-end innovation process)
• Direct leadership responsibility for the Portfolio Team (who lead individual projects in the pipeline).
• Lead, influence and motivate the cross-functional Pipeline team to gain alignment on, and delivery of, our NPD/EPD.
• Direct strategic packaging design in line with brand guidelines across all NPD projects.
• Ensure all NPD initiatives support Ella’s ‘Impact’ (CSR) activities
• Work with the Projects Controller to track current and future innovation delivery versus plan and drive corrective action if required.

Strategy Setting (20%)

• Support the Marketing Director and work collaboratively with Snr Marketing Manager (Comms) to develop and activate Ella’s Kitchen brand strategy in line with wider business strategy.
• Drive, influence and gain alignment on Ella’s product strategy throughout the business.
• Develop and own Ella’s global packaging strategy.
• Co-lead the creation of our rolling, 3Y, total business plans (alongside cross-functional peers).

Commercial Leadership (20%)

• Develop a deep understanding of the category, its dynamics and history (and lead your team in doing the same). The Portfolio team should be the ‘go-to’ for what is going out there, why it is happening, and what we plan to do about it!
• Be an expert in shopper quant data, and lead your team in developing a rounded perspective on data management and interpretation.
• On a day-to-day basis balance the longer term need for working on big, strategic plays with the ‘right here, right now’ commercial reality of quarterly sales delivery through our portfolio.
• Identify the right agency roster for Ella’s, owning and running our agency relationships and motivating our partners to deliver game-changing insights that support the business plan.
• Plan and oversee the insights, design + packaging budgets to support the delivery of the business plan.

Champion our Brand + Values (10%)

• Excite and energise The Barns, customers and partners with Ella’s Kitchen’s inspiring innovation.
• Work with the Group Communications Manager to ensure alignment between product and campaigns strategies.
• Role model our brand values as a senior member of the Ella’s Kitchen team, setting an example of Ella’s-ness for your colleagues.
• Collaborate with cross-functional peers on business-wide projects (on an ad hoc basis) to deliver total business priorities.

You will need:

• To embrace, embody and exude all that is special and unique about Ella’s Kitchen
• Be truly business minded in your approach to projects and products
• Have a creative and imaginative approach to innovation, product development and problem solving
• Commercial acumen with the ability to understand the complex financial issues, a strong grasp of shopper data and an ability to make data-led decisions
• Great team management skills from coaching at an individual level to project team management
• Strong Product/Portfolio Management experience
• Knowledge of NPD with a successful record of developing products from concept to launch across different markets
• Experience of commissioning and using insight to guide product development
• FMCG experience is preferable
• Influencing skills – the ability to persuade others of the commercial and brand value of our product proposition 
• Demonstrable ability to live and breathe our values: We Want to Win, We’re Business Minded, We’re Childlike, We Think Differently, We’re Good to Each Other
• Passion for the brand and what Ella’s stands for – improving children’s lives through developing healthy relationships with food

And What you’ll Get in Return:

• Bucket loads of training and development, supporting your career pathway
• Competitive salary
• Discretionary bonus scheme
• A Box of Treats, including private medical, dental, pension, life assurance, 25 days holiday and the ability to buy more, high street discounts, a yummy breakfast every morning, pamper days, Give It A Go days… to name only a few!
• A really awesome place to work whether over Teams or in our beautiful Barns in Oxfordshire!