Director Brand Management, Product Brands

Staples is business to business. You’re what binds us together.

Unleash your entrepreneurial spirit by bringing your ideas to life within the Staples Private Brands Team. Our leading brands, along with our high-performing Staples business will provide you with countless opportunities to develop your skills and explore new paths. We are passionate about building the right solutions that enable our customers to work from anywhere most effectively. Our merchandising team aims to deliver the best value and selection to our customers through products, services and solutions all centered around our customers’ needs. We are driven by customer insights and analytics to bring products and solutions to market seamlessly. We’re inclusive, well-rounded professionals who have deep experience in buying, selling, negotiating, operations, design, innovation, finance and more.

The Director, Brand Management leads the brand team in delivering against brand plans, commercial strategies, key initiatives and portfolio objectives. This highly cross-functional role needs to navigate and influence across a matrixed organization to evolve a multi-billion-dollar portfolio of private brands that meet rapidly changing customer needs. The ideal candidate is a dynamic leader, excellent collaborator, communicator, and people manager with a strong bias towards action, who brings the right mix of strategic acumen and flawless execution.

What you’ll be doing:

• Develop comprehensive brand strategies, including brand positioning, target audience definition, value proposition.

• Lead the creation of creative briefs for new brands and brand refreshes, collaborating with creative and agency partners to develop compelling brand identities, including naming, logo design, and visual assets.

• Develop and maintain detailed brand, packaging, and product guides to ensure consistency across all brand touchpoints.

• Responsible for ensuring Staples brands are consistently executed across all customer touchpoints, including packaging, e-commerce content (visual & written), marketing, and digital assets.

• Lead the development of creative briefs for all new product development packaging and digital content, working closely with creative operations to deliver consistent & elevated brand experiences.

• Partner with merchant and marketing teams to develop and execute multi-channel go-to-market launch plans that align with brand positioning and program objectives.

• Monitor brand performance metrics and provide recommendations for optimization.

• Stay informed on industry trends and consumer preferences to drive innovation.

• Build and maintain strong relationships with key stakeholders, including private brand, merchant, marketing, and digital teams.

• Manage 3+ direct reports, providing development and feedback.

What you bring to the table:

• Brand Champion: Authentic brand leader with proven experience promoting, supporting, and advocating for brand(s) with a strong bias for attention to details in execution

• Consumer Insight: Expertise in understanding consumer behavior, preferences, and trends to develop strategies that resonate with target audiences.

• Cross-Functional Partnership: Proficiency in building and nurturing partnerships between brands, merchants, marketing, and digital teams to strengthen efforts and drive growth.

• Strategic Planning & Execution: Ability to develop and implement comprehensive marketing plans that align with business objectives and sales/margin targets, ensuring successful execution.

• Multi-Channel Marketing Expertise: Experience in creating and deploying marketing strategies across various channels, including packaging, digital, social, and content marketing.

• Creative and Data-Driven Decision Making: Capacity to balance creative thinking with data analysis, using insights to inform and optimize marketing strategies.

• Brand Re-imagination and Innovation: Proficiency in revitalizing and reimagining brands, leveraging innovative strategies to differentiate them in a competitive market.

What’s needed- Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; MBA preferred

• Minimum 8 years of experience with relevant application (Brand Strategy, Brand Management, Consulting); private brand experience preferred

• Possesses strong business acumen and demonstrated experience using data to prioritize

• Thrives in new, ambiguous & evolving environments, demonstrating adaptability & determination

• Experienced in building a strong culture and inspiring teams