Senior Brand Manager - Incubator Brands

About the role

We’re looking for an ambitious, commercially driven Senior Brand Manager to lead our GB & International incubation agenda.

Kerry Dairy Ireland has relaunched as Kinisla, marking an exciting new chapter of growth and ambition as we focus on building future-fit dairy brands designed around evolving consumer needs.

As part of this renewed ambition, we are creating an exciting opportunity for a Senior Brand Manager to lead the development of high-potential incubator brands and unlock new avenues for growth.

The Senior Brand Manager – Incubator Brands will be responsible for shaping, scaling, and accelerating the success of our incubator portfolio, with an initial focus on our new start-up brand, Smug Dairy.

Launched into the food-to-go snacking category in January 2025, Smug Dairy has already secured distribution with some of the UK’s most-loved retailers. While the brand has built strong early momentum, there remains significant opportunity to accelerate growth, expand distribution, and establish a meaningful position within the rapidly growing snacking category.

Combining strategic brand leadership with hands-on commercial execution, this role will drive sustainable growth through cross-functional collaboration, compelling retailer partnerships, innovation, and agile marketing activation.

Operating with a founder’s mindset, you will thrive in a fast-paced, evolving environment where creativity, initiative and commercial acumen are equally valued.

This is a hybrid role, with 2 days per week in our Staines offices (Tuesday & Wednesday) and requires occasional travel to our partners in London and our sites across Ireland and the UK.

About Kinisla 

Kinisla is a vertically integrated farm-to-fork business with a very substantial consumer foods presence and a leading nutritional and dairy ingredients division, delivering high-quality dairy solutions with a focus on sustainability and innovation. From partnering with local family farms to producing world-class dairy products, we ensure every step of our value chain reflects our commitment to excellence.

With over 50 years’ experience in milk processing, dairy and nutritional technology advancement, and product innovation, we are a key stakeholder in the global food industry and creators of a strong portfolio of market leading dairy brands including Cheestrings, Charleville and Coleraine Cheese, Dairygold, Golden Cow and our new SMUG range. Our from food, for food culture and deep-rooted connection to our 2,800 milk suppliers differentiates our business and offers captivating opportunities for our customers and consumers. 

Our dairy comes from some of the world’s richest grazing land and is produced by a network of Irish family farms that have one of the lowest carbon footprints in the world. Through a combination of expertise, innovation, and sustainability, Kinisla is proud to shape the future of dairy while meeting the diverse needs of our farmers, customers, and communities.

Headquartered in Tralee, Co. Kerry, we operate multiple manufacturing facilities in the southwest of Ireland, including Listowel, Charleville, Newmarket, and Farranfore. Additionally, we manage 29 Farm & Home stores throughout the region, ensuring comprehensive coverage and service. In Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom, our presence extends to key locations in Portadown, Coleraine, and Ossett.

Globally, Kinisla employs over 1,600 dedicated professionals across Ireland, Northern Ireland, the UK, USA, Netherlands, Spain, Germany, and China. In 2024, we achieved a turnover of approximately €1.3 billion, reflecting our commitment to excellence and growth.

What you’ll be doing

• Define and lead the long-term brand strategy, including positioning, target audience, proposition development and growth priorities.
• Build and execute brand plans that drive both short-term commercial performance and long-term brand equity.
• Partner closely with the Business Unit Controller, Commercial, R&D, Supply Chain, Finance and external agency partners to deliver growth objectives.
• Lead retailer engagement and sell-in, developing compelling commercial narratives that secure distribution, visibility and activation opportunities.
• Develop and deliver agile, insight-led marketing plans that maximise impact and return on investment.
• Lead creative development and ensure distinctive, consistent execution across all consumer touchpoints.
• Monitor brand performance, identify opportunities and optimise plans through data, insight and learning.
• Drive the innovation pipeline in conjunction with the innovation team from concept creation through to launch, evaluation and continuous improvement.
• Coach and develop a direct report, fostering a high-performance and growth-oriented team culture.

What you can bring to the role

• Proven experience in brand management, ideally within FMCG, challenger brands, start-ups, scale-ups or innovation-led businesses.
• Strong commercial acumen, with experience working closely with retailers and leading customer sell-in initiatives.
• Exceptional stakeholder management and cross-functional leadership skills.
• A proactive, entrepreneurial mindset with the ability to balance strategic thinking and hands-on execution.
• Strong creativity and a track record of turning consumer insight into impactful brand ideas and campaigns.
• Comfortable navigating ambiguity and making decisions in a fast-changing environment.
• Resilient, adaptable and energised by building brands from the ground up.

What we can offer

At Kinisla, we believe in giving talented, curious people the opportunity to make a difference. We work as a team, searching for the best ways to inspire food and nourish life.

We are a community of innovators, working across disciplines to solve global food challenges with a fresh approach. We want you to achieve whatever you put your mind to.

We also offer:

• 25 days annual leave (excluding bank holidays)
• Health Care
• Matched pension scheme
• Benefits platform offering discounts and cashback on major retailers.

Get in touch today!

In Kinisla we benefit from the knowledge of our colleagues who bring a diverse range of cultures, backgrounds, lifestyles and experiences. One team fostering an inclusive culture that, above all, inspires food and nourishes life. One culture where everyone brings their unique perspectives and experiences to help make us better, together. We are committed to nurturing an environment of positivity and inclusiveness, where everyone can be at their best, both personally and professionally.

Our recruitment, selection and assessment process are based on the skills and competencies of the specific roles and based entirely on merit.  We are committed to and value Diversity and Inclusion in all recruitment processes within Kinisla and do not discriminate based on gender, race, class, economic status, ethnic background, sexual orientation, age, political beliefs, veteran status, marital status or any other protected characteristic.

Please note: We do not accept CVs or candidate profiles from recruitment agencies where Kinisla terms of business have not been signed. Additionally, we will not consider or agree to payment of any recruiter fee under these circumstances. This also applies to CVs or candidate profiles sent directly to any Kinisla Hiring Managers.