Kerrygold Brand Manager

Job Title:  Kerrygold Brand Manager 

Reports to:  Global Brand Director 

Division:  Commercial 

Location:  Dublin, Ireland 

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Ornua is a leading dairy co-operative which sells premium dairy products globally on behalf of its Member Co-operatives, Ireland’s dairy processors and, in turn, Irish dairy farmers.  

Ornua has revenues of €3.4 billion and is supported by a global team of approximately 2,800 employees. The Group operates as a commercial organisation across 10 business units, including 12 production facilities located in Europe, North America, the Middle East and Africa.  

The commercial organisation is responsible for the marketing and sales of Ornua’s consumer brands including Ireland’s most successful food export: Kerrygold. Consumer markets are served by production facilities in Ireland, Germany and the UK and by in-market Sales & Marketing Teams in Asia, Germany, Ireland, MEA, Poland, Spain, rest of Europe and North and Latin America.  

It also manages the procurement of Irish and non-Irish dairy products, the sale of dairy ingredients to food manufacturing and foodservice customers globally, and the implementation of de-risking and trading strategies to manage market volatility. These activities are supported by production facilities and in-market teams in Europe, North America, the Middle East and Africa. 

Kerrygold 

From humble beginnings in 1962, Kerrygold has grown to become Ireland’s first and only billion-euro food brand, with over 10 million packets of Kerrygold butter and cheese sold each week across the globe in over 70 markets. In the US, Kerrygold butter is now the number two butter brand and Kerrygold Dubliner is the number one specialty cheese. In Germany, a 250g block of Kerrygold butter is the fastest-selling food or drink item on supermarket shelves. Now entering its 60th year, there is a new and exciting chapter ahead for the Kerrygold brand and we want a Senior Global Brand Manager to join us on this journey and be as passionate and proud of the brand as we are. 

Role Summary 

The Senior Global Brand Manager for Kerrygold, as part of the Global Marketing Team, is the strategic brand guardian for Kerrygold. This role supports the global brand direction and drives growth through marketing thought leadership, world-class communications and media execution, and the evolution and implementation of brand strategy across markets. The Senior Global Brand Manager supports cross-functional and cross-market stakeholders to deliver integrated plans, ensures disciplined governance and brand consistency, and translates insight into clear priorities, decisions and executive-ready recommendations that deliver on targeted goals for the commercial business. 

Key Areas of Responsibility 

• Owns global brand governance and guardianship, ensuring all centrally developed and in-market work adheres to brand positioning, guidelines, tone of voice and communications framework. 

• Leads end-to-end creative development and activation for global initiatives across channels (TV, video, digital, social, print, radio, OOH, PR, events and sponsorship), setting standards for craft and effectiveness. 

• Accountable for delivery and iteration of global brand protocols and strategic frameworks (e.g. brand foundations, sustainability, experiential) to enable consistent execution. 

• Develops measurement frameworks and KPIs to assess brand health and campaign performance; leads readouts that turn data into clear recommendations, optimisations and decisions for senior stakeholders. 

• In partnership with Global Insights, leads insight generation (brand tracking, comms testing, market/consumer trends and competitive review), ensuring research briefs, timelines and outputs are fit-for-purpose and actionable. 

• Provides global leadership on brand assets and messaging (e.g., packaging, design systems, claims/RTBs, and trademark administration), partnering with in-market teams to ensure compliance, speed and consistency. 

• Leads annual global brand planning process and aligns cross-market priorities, ensuring a clear, resourced plan with defined milestones and governance. 

• Manages the global brand marketing budget and agency/partner spend, ensuring robust financial governance (including POs, invoices and reconciliations), transparent reporting, and investment aligned to strategic priorities. 

• Provides people leadership for an Assistant Brand Manager (and/or other junior team members as the team evolves), setting clear objectives, coaching day-to-day delivery, and supporting development through regular feedback and performance management. 

• Owns marketing risk management and compliance governance, ensuring appropriate Legal/Regulatory/Technical approvals for claims, packaging and communications, and that brand activity meets internal policies and external codes across markets. 

Key Requirements 

• Bachelor’s degree in business, marketing, or food related discipline. 

• Significant experience in CPG/FMCG brand marketing (client-side and/or agency), with demonstrable leadership across multiple markets and stakeholders. 

• Proven leadership in production and creative development across multiple channels (TV, video, print, radio, OOH, social and digital), including integrated campaign development and optimisation. 

• Strong track record leading external creative, media and research agencies to deliver outstanding work with pace, rigour and clear governance (briefing, feedback loops, decision-making and on-time execution). 

• Excellent stakeholder management and influencing skills, with the ability to align markets, cross-functional partners and senior leadership around clear recommendations. 

• Strong communicator; maintains rhythm that keeps work moving (project chats, weekly updates, co-organising key meetings and ensuring the right stakeholders are looped in at the right time). 

• Fluency in integrated marketing communications and the interplay of different platforms in the consumer experience.  

• Experience developing and delivering a comprehensive annual brand plan and global toolkits across the full marketing mix (above the line and below the line), with clear KPIs and governance. 

• Excellent commercial acumen with the ability to provide strategic input to the business.  

• Advanced project management skills, with a demonstrated track record leading complex, multi-market programmes on-time and on-budget. 

• A critical eye and excellent attention to detail.  

• Ability to prioritize and re-prioritize as business conditions change. 

• Ability to travel up to 20% of time as business demands and allows.   

• Inherent interest in premium food and culture is a plus.