On Premise State Manager-Newport Beach, CA

Brown-Forman is one of the largest American-owned companies in the wine & spirits business, producing high quality products such as Jack Daniels, Southern Comfort, Finlandia Vodka, Bolla Wines, and Korbel Champagne.  Brown-Forman also produces high quality consumer products such as Hartmann. Come join our dynamic team representing high quality and well known wine and spirits brands in the industry.

Job Description:

Assumes leadership role in understanding, developing and implementing key customer initiatives.

Creates customer focused win-win initiatives that enhance BF and customer profitability.

Establish positive customer rapport at all levels in all assigned accounts.

Conducts business performance reviews in accordance with achieving customer plans.

Provides annual customer overview for brand teams

Communicates pricing expectations to customer and brands

Manages the execution of National/Regional programs through distributor account teams.

Work to encompass the development of on-premise brand building plans that are successfully executed through the distributor/broker region.  Brand responsibility includes the entire BF portfolio.

Champions the on-premise effort in winning at the point of purchase, by building lasting trade relationship and working unusual hours including late nights and weekends.

Collaborates with multiple divisional contacts consisting of sales team, brand team, channel development managers, brand marketing managers and market development managers. 

Connects with multiple external contacts including the distributor, retailers, bartenders, wait staff, promotion agencies and consumers. 

Reporting Relationships:

Reports to:  State Manager

Partners with:  Distributor, Key Customer Contacts, Brand Business Managers, Market Brand Manager and Sales Operations Managers, Regional Account Managers

Success Factors:

Creative Intuition: Ability to quickly orient to assignments, shift gears and change direction when working on multiple projects in different stages of the program cycle, innovative and creatively approach problems, quickly understand and respond, pursue related information, ask appropriate questions, identify connections between issues and go beyond the obvious.

Collaborative Approach:  Understands and demonstrates awareness of the inter-relatedness of different functions within organizations and collaborates appropriately when addressing problems, resolving issues, or formulating strategies.

Results Orientation:  The ability to operate with a high level of energy focused on outcomes.  Establishes, communicates and develops methods for monitoring performance against objectives.  Engages in a process of consultative problem solving which creates new and effective solutions.  Demonstrated ability to work on projects towards the accomplishment of established goals and objectives.  The ability to influence the behavior of others through written, oral or interpersonal communication toward desired outcomes.

Strategic Thinking:  Initiates, guides and participates in the establishment and articulation of a long-term strategy including a plan for allocation of staff time and resources.  Ability to identify new opportunities and applications that add value for the customer while enhancing the value for B-F.

Communications Skills: Proven ability to communicate information and ideas to others in an understandable manner.  The ability to comprehend and understand new information.  The ability to be straight forward, candid while setting a professional standard for treating others with dignity and respect. Ability to act as spokesperson/educator at consumer events.  Represent the brand in a manner consistent with the brand building model.

Business Acumen:  Demonstrates good business sense, including the ability to correctly interpret financial information.  Ability to utilize appropriate financial data to develop, track and monitor a budget. 

Functional knowledge of the sales process:  Identifying new opportunities and applications that add value for the customer while enhancing the value for B-F.  Experience managing large, multi-site clients.  Demonstrated ability to drive sales and marketing growth while building brand equity.

Leadership:  The ability to articulate vision and inspire others toward achieving brand goals.  Establish and communicate a clear direction while developing and inspiring a shared sense of purpose.  Able to persuade and influence external stakeholders to take incremental interest in Brown-Forman brands.

Planning, organizing, prioritizing:  Directs or allocates finite resources towards the achievement of specific plans, projects, goals or objectives which are identified as having precedence in importance.  Ability to effectively manage and complete all aspects of complex projects. 

Analytical Ability:  The ability to appropriately allocate necessary and sufficient time and effort to analyze and resolve problems.  The ability to develop alternative courses of action and commit to actions based on logical assumptions that reflect factual information; providing rationale for recommendations; appropriately weighing and prioritizing data.  The ability to identify problems, analyze relevant data, think critically, generate alternatives, and select solutions to problems.

Must have requirements:

Demonstrated ability to build relationships and maintain effective working relationships with distributors and accounts and all internal stakeholders.

Demonstrated strong coaching and sales training skills

Demonstrated knowledge of on-premise business and three-tier distribution system

Team player:  Able to put the needs of the overall Brown-Forman business above the specific needs of the territory or team.  Seeks out opportunities to collaborate with leaders in other channels and territories.  Keeps relevant parties informed of activity and seeks similar behavior from the area team.

Literate with word processing programs (such as Word), spreadsheet programs (such as Excel), and presentation programs (such as PowerPoint).

Must have valid state driver?s license.

Physical ability to lift 60 pounds.

Bachelor?s degree plus 2 years industry experience, and/or 4 years sales experience in a consumer products industry.

TO APPLY: Please visit us at http://www.brown-forman.com/bfjobs/index.htm

Please look for "On Premise State Manager? or for the requisition # "706BR? in the keyword search field.