Brand Manager

CREATIVITY IS OUR SUPERPOWER
. It's our heritage and it's also our future. Because we don't just make toys. We create innovative products and experiences that inspire, entertain and develop children through play. Mattel is at its best when every member of our team feels respected, included, and heard—when everyone can show up as themselves and do their best work every day. We value and share an infinite range of ideas and voices that evolve and broaden our perspectives with a reach that extends into all our brands, partners, and suppliers.

The Team
This is an exciting opportunity to join our dynamic marketing team for Benelux & Nordics, which is responsible for defining the local brand strategy, executing local activations, and driving our Mattel portfolio across six countries. We are an international team based in the Mattel office in the Netherlands and our mission is to grow our brands via an innovative portfolio and exciting new initiatives, whilst keeping play at the heart of what we do.

The Opportunity
We are recruiting for a Brand Manager that will support on our Dolls portfolio. The Brand Manager is reporting into the Dolls Category Lead and manages a portfolio of Mattel-owned dolls brands as well as licensed dolls brands. They are responsible for developing brand strategies, marketing plans, and assets on their brands to effectively deliver plans and gain category share in a profitable way.

The role requires that the BM works closely with the Customer Marketing & Media Team, the Sales Teams, the Planning Team, the Consumer Products Team, and the EMEA Regional Team to support the brand action plans. A large part of this role also includes the management of licensed brands, requiring close collaboration with large licensors from the entertainment industry.

This portfolio offers a great opportunity to be working with different audiences from kids over parents up to fans & collectors and includes collaboration with external agencies and partners.

What Your Impact Will Be

• Develop and execute the brand strategies for Benelux & Nordics markets under the guidance of the category lead, delivering results on regionally aligned priorities
• Collaborate closely with Sales, gathering retail feedback for strategy finetuning and pitching new products to retailers
• Build close relationship with external licensors, develop joint plans to drive licensed brands success, and manage licensor forecasting process
• Work hand-in-hand with Customer Marketing & Media Team and external media and PR agencies to develop and execute impactful campaigns and activations across audiences
• Manage large strategic projects such as brand launches, content-driven tentpoles, special retail activations or brand building events ensuring executional excellence
• Manage your portfolio by selecting the most appropriate products to fit local consumer preferences within given margin and growth targets
• Team up with the Regional Marketing Team and peers from other markets to bring learnings into Benelux & Nordics
• Monthly forecasting of demands and quotas, based on continuous monitoring of brand performance and KPIs (analysis of shipment trends, sales data, market trends, etc)
• Plan, track, and evaluate local marketing and PR budgets
• Partner with consumer products team where appropriate to drive bigger franchise plans and activations
• Prepare larger analyses and business reviews for management visits

What We're Looking For

• Degree in Marketing, Sales, Business Administration (Bachelor/Masters/Diploma) or equivalent qualification
• A minimum of 4+ years' experience in Marketing, Media, or Customer/Trade Marketing, in Toys, FMCG, or Entertainment industry. Experience in licensing business is a strong bonus.
• Good understanding of brand management with experience in line selection, media planning, retailer presentations, and cross-functional collaboration
• Fluency in spoken and written English with excellent communication skills – ideally also speaks/writes at least one of the following languages Dutch, French, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, or Finnish
• Someone who's consumer-centric and sees the importance in both brand and sales, with experience in and a strong understanding of the Benelux & Nordics retail environment
• Can build and maintain strong and collaborative relationships with a large number of internal and external stakeholders
• Result orientated, winning mentality, competitive spirit, strong will to succeed with good strategic thinking and tactical skills
• Proactive problem solver with a creative and analytical mind-set and a tenacious attitude with a bias for action. Able to read and interpret data and make proactive recommendations based on given insight
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment with wide variety of projects and aggressive deadlines and can react to change, prioritize and multi-task accordingly
• Solid financial acumen and good commercial understanding, with a proven ability to deliver ROI aligned to brand objectives
• A team player is essential, cross departmental collaboration is integral to the role - must have the ability to work with multiple stakeholders at any one time and be agile
• The ability to influence effectively at different levels within the organization. Strong presentation and negotiation skills
• Good MS office knowledge

What It's Like To Work Here
We are a purpose driven company aiming to empower the next generation to explore the wonder of childhood and reach their full potential. We live up to our purpose employing the following behaviors

• We collaborate Being a part of Mattel means being part of one team with shared values and common goals. Every person counts and working closely together always brings better results. Partnership is our process and our collective capabilities is our superpower.
• We innovate At Mattel we always aim to find new and better ways to create innovative products and experiences. No matter where you work in the organization, you can always make a difference and have real impact. We welcome new ideas and value new initiatives that challenge conventional thinking.
• We execute We are a performance driven company. We strive for excellence and are focused on pursuing best in class outcomes. We believe in accountability and ownership and know that our people are at their best when they are empowered to create and deliver results.

Who We Are
Mattel is a leading global toy company and owner of one of the strongest catalogs of children's and family entertainment franchises in the world. We create innovative products and experiences that inspire, entertain and develop children through play. We engage consumers through our portfolio of iconic brands, including Barbie, Hot Wheels, Fisher-Price, American Girl, Thomas & Friends, UNO and MEGA, as well as other popular intellectual properties that we own or license in partnership with global entertainment companies. Our offerings include film and television content, gaming, music and live events. We operate in 35 locations and our products are available in more than 150 countries in collaboration with the world's leading retail and ecommerce companies. Since its founding in 1945, Mattel is proud to be a trusted partner in empowering children to explore the wonder of childhood and reach their full potential.

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Mattel is an Equal Opportunity Employer where we want you to bring your authentic self to work every day. We welcome all job seekers including minorities, females, individuals with disabilities, and those of all sexual orientations and gender identities.