Marketing Manager
Chicago, IL / Greater Chicago Area
Marketing – Marketing /
Permanent Full-Time /
Hybrid
A good food story is built on layers—inside, where quality and performance excel, and outside, where artistry shines. Through IRCA Group’s diverse capabilities, premium ingredients, and innovative solutions, they empower chefs and the food industry to create without limits, making the extraordinary simple at every step.
IRCA Group is a global leader in high-quality food ingredient production, specializing in chocolates, creams, fillings, fruits, pistachios, and chocolate and sugar decorations. Its brands include: IRCA since 1919, Dobla, JoyGelato, Ravifruit, Cesarin, Domori and Graffiti Sprinkles, each with its own unique history, specialties and positioning in the market.
With over 100 years of Italian heritage, IRCA operates 21 production facilities across Europe,
the U.S., and Vietnam, serving customers in more than 100 countries. With more than 2,000 employees globally, IRCA Group continues its focus on expansion via acquisition and organic growth. With strong support from Advent, the private equity firm that acquired IRCA in 2022, IRCA Americas is expanding its footprint with new and increased domestic capabilities, particularly in chocolate, fillings, and decorations. In the US, IRCA Group has offices and manufacturing facilities near Atlanta, Chicago, San Francisco and St. Louis. In 2023 IRCA Group had a combined revenue of €1 billion.
The Marketing Manager, Americas will be responsible for supporting the development and execution of comprehensive marketing plans across the portfolio, segment, and channel levels within the Americas region. This individual will work in close collaboration with the Senior Marketing Manager to achieve these objectives and will play a critical role in generating actionable consumer marketing insights.
This position demands a proactive and strategic thinker with a strong capacity for implementation. Key responsibilities will include the development of sales toolbox, providing support before and during customer meetings, driving trade marketing initiatives and campaigns, and serving as the primary leader for consumer insights analysis.
The ideal candidate will demonstrate a passion for collaborative work with sales teams within a fast-paced environment. A keen understanding of market trends and sales insights is essential, as is the proven ability to drive cross-functional collaboration while excelling in stakeholder management. This role requires a highly motivated individual capable of making significant contributions to the region's marketing success.
We are requiring someone to work onsite at our office located in Chicago, IL 3 days per week.
Responsibilities
- Create essential marketing collateral to empower the sales team, including one-pagers, brochures, and capabilities presentations.
- Develop high-impact presentations for strategic customer meetings, collaborating closely with sales and culinary teams.
- Participate in strategic customer meetings to present market trends and provide expert insights that support sales objectives.
- Maintain and update comprehensive libraries of product concepts and innovations developed in partnership with our chefs.
- Collaborate with the Senior Marketing Manager to identify key products and define priority segments for the Americas region.
- Plan and execute integrated segment marketing campaigns to drive commercial penetration in FM, Chains, Distribution and ISB.
- Partner with the creative and culinary teams to develop compelling segment-specific marketing materials and innovative campaign concepts.
- Monitor and analyze campaign performance, providing actionable insights and recommendations.
- Implement Multi-Channel Communication Strategies: Define and execute integrated online and offline communication strategies that maximize reach and engagement for each segment campaign, ensuring consistent messaging across all touchpoints.
- Generate monthly trend reports utilizing tools like Mintel, focusing on key categories and channels to inform strategic decisions.
- Serve as the primary internal and external subject matter expert on market trends and consumer insights, disseminating knowledge across relevant teams.
- Work in close collaboration with the Communications & Digital Team to develop engaging market trend content for our website and social media platforms. Channel Support & Sales Toolbox
- Foster strong partnerships with the IRCA Academy chefs, sales, customer service, and other internal departments to ensure the successful execution of category management initiatives, segment campaigns, and consumer marketing insights (CMI) projects.
- Effectively manage relationships with external agencies and vendors, ensuring alignment with strategic objectives and efficient project delivery.
- Other related tasks, as required.
Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Business Administration, or a related field. A Master's degree is a plus.
- Minimum of 5-7 years of progressive experience in marketing management, preferably within the food, beverage, or CPG industry.
- Proven experience in developing and executing integrated marketing campaigns across various channels.
- Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret market data, consumer insights, and campaign performance metrics to drive strategic decisions.
- Demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively with sales teams and understand sales drivers in a fast-paced environment.
- Excellent communication and presentation skills, capable of conveying complex information clearly and persuasively to diverse audiences, including customers and internal stakeholders.
- Proficiency in marketing technology and CRM software (e.g., Salesforce).
- Strategic mindset with a proactive approach to identifying opportunities and solving challenges.
- Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and prioritize effectively in a dynamic work environment.
- Ability to travel as needed to customer sites, industry events, and other business-related engagements.
$80,000 - $105,000 a year
Salary Base Range of $80,000-105,000 plus bonus is for Employees Located in Illinois. The “base salary range” provided above is a good faith estimate of what we expect to pay for this position. The range provided is for Illinois employees as Irca group is required by Illinois State Law to post pay rates. Irca group reserves the right to pay outside of the given range based on a variety of factors including but not limited to candidate skills and experience, complexity of the job, budgetary factors, and location/geography. Irca group conducts regular reviews of compensation ranges and therefore reserves the right to alter this range at any given time.
Irca Group offers career growth opportunities as well as competitive compensation and benefits:
Medical, Dental, & Vision, 401(k) matching, Paid Vacation, and Holidays, Employee Education Tuition Reimbursement Program
