Ritter Sport

We believe that you do something exceptionally well when you do it with joy, passion and conviction. That’s why we at Ritter Sport do everything we can to bring our mission statement to life. The motivation, creativity and drive of our employees makes us what we are – a chocolate brand that likes to set standards for quality and sustainability. Ritter Sport is a Premium Chocolate Brand, family owned and founded in Germany in 1912. In the U.S., we are growing fast and our team is growing too! Visit us at www.ritter-sport.com

How You’ll Contribute:

• Plans, develops, and directs the annual marketing plans, creative strategies, and tactics to drive brand awareness in the local U.S. market.
• Collaborates with the Global Marketing team in Germany to deploy brand design, strategy, content, and digital tools to the U.S. and adjust plans as necessary to meet market demands.
• Creates, leads, mentors, and evaluates a creative team focused on U.S. market development and plan activation.
• Responsible for the management of brand forecasts and marketing expense budgets.
• Seeks market growth opportunities by conducting market research, staying informed of industry trends, and translating this into actionable initiatives.
• Identifies and evaluates both existing products and new products for entry into the US market.
• Develops go-to-market plans and creates programs to establish Ritter Sport products in the US and within key retailers.
• Leads critical initiatives to expand distribution, accelerate and grow market share including performance analysis, commercialization projects and marketing activities.
• Understands market product performance, analyzing core drivers and summarizing clearly and succinctly to facilitate efficient organizational comprehensive and alignment.
• Works closely with Sales, Finance, and Operations partners on planning processes, contributing critical performance insights to sharpen forecasts and inform actions.
• Aligns with the Sales team to create compelling sales materials and builds strong plans to achieve growth objectives.
• Cultivates effective relationships with vendors and agencies to further promote the brand.
• Monitors all product communications to ensure the accuracy of information and positioning.
• Utilizes technology and data to identify changes in the competitive environment and enables responsive marketing activities.

About YOU:

• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing or related field required.
• Minimum of 7 years of experience in confectionary/food brand strategy leadership/execution including experience managing a creative team and managing agency relationships.
• Self-starter, experience leading the development of new or existing products from conception to implementation.
• Proven experience developing brand marketing strategies and plans and managing external agencies/vendors to execute marketing plans.
• Project management experience.
• Strong problem-solving and analytical skills.
• Proven partnership and communication techniques to influence team members and stakeholders to gain alignment and drive results
• Willingness to work onsite in our Chicago office (with future hybrid options).

Why we are the right fit for YOU:

• Be part of a fast-growing business and team and experience our start-up spirit!
• Competitive pay and bonus
• 401k and health insurance plans
• Generous PTO!
• A lot of delicious chocolate and fun colleagues are waiting for you!