Senior Brand Manager

About Us

At Open Farm we are transforming the way people feed their pets, with a focus on producing premium, healthy food and treats, all ethically sourced from farm-to-bowl. Headquartered in Toronto and with team members across the US, Open Farm is one of the fastest growing CPG companies in North America. We believe that the best foods are made with consciously sourced, top-quality ingredients from farmers and fisheries who believe in doing good for all animals and the environment.

The Role

Open Farm is a premium pet food brand built on trust, transparency, and doing things the right way, always. The Senior Brand Manager is a commercial business owner who manages a category end to end: the category strategy, the P&L, the portfolio and the go-to-market plans, working across distribution channels, Creative, Retail Marketing, Brand Marketing, Social, Creators and PR.

You are an OMNI leader. You set category direction and economics based on channel input, then work cross-functionally to brief and align every channel. This is a builder and execution role: we need someone who creates frameworks from a blank page, not someone who adapts an existing playbook, and who can go deep into the weeds to make sure we execute with excellence. You partner closely with the Director of Brand Management on tentpoles and innovation.

What You’ll Own

Category management and insights

• Monitor and Manage the category plan: where the category is growing, who are the players, where do we play and win, and how we grow share across channels.
• Own pet-parent and shopper insights for one of our categories: who the consumer is, what they need, how they shop and where competitors are winning.
• Gather business and consumer insights so we can translate them into claims, positioning and product briefs that sharpen the work of each channel.
• Partner with Sales and channel teams on category plans for each channel.

P&L and commercial ownership

• Manage the category P&L: revenue, margin, activities ROI and marketing investment. Support with building the forecasts and monitor performance weekly and monthly.
• Own the base business plan for the category (incl. Renovations), and identify and act on risks and opportunities early.

Portfolio strategy, Price Pack Architecture and SKU optimization

• Builds and executes the portfolio strategy (Price Pack Architecture) and decision guardrails from the ground up, by channel, with defined price ladders, pack-size roles and channel-specific assortments. in partnership with the Director.
• Lead SKU and portfolio optimization, using sales, margin, velocity and complexity data to recommend what to add, change or exit.

Integrated GTM for tentpoles and innovation

• Lead the GTM for your category, from concept to launch and post-launch learning.
• Ensure that the brand spirit is integrated, and that activations are pushing the envelope so that we can punch above the weight.
• Collaborate XFN across Sales, Innovation, E-com, Finance, Creative and Marketing.
• Define success metrics, track post-launch performance and bring learnings back into the category plan.

OMNI channel collaboration

• Write clear, insight-led briefs for Marketing, Creative, Retail Marketing, Social, Creators and PR.
• Make sure each channel team has the inputs, data and support to succeed, and bring channel feedback back into category decisions.

What Success Looks Like

• Delivers against revenue and margin goals, and can clearly explain the drivers.
• Builds frameworks and guardrails that teams use to make faster decisions.
• Launches land on time and deliver on their business cases.
• Cross-functional partners feel aligned, briefed and supported.

What We're Looking For

Experience

• 5+ years in CPG brand management, category management or similar. Pet, food or premium consumer experience is preferred.
• Hands-on P&L management or deep P&L involvement, including budget and forecast ownership.
• Experience building category plans, portfolio strategies, PPA or SKU analyses yourself, and not only maintaining existing ones.
• Led or played a primary role in at least two launches or tentpole GTM plans.

Capabilities

• Analytical and curious: you go to the data first, ask why, and are fluent in syndicated data and Excel.
• Able to build commercial models.
• A generalist who played on both sides of the brand – commercial and comms, who understands the role of the brand and how brand marketing works.
• You build trust and align Finance, Sales, Supply Chain, R&D and channel teams.
• Strong collaborator, with the ability to persuade and influence.
• Clear writer and presenter, comfortable with senior stakeholders.
• Strong AI capabilities: able to build agents and automate analysis and workflows.

Who Thrives Here

• Is commercially driven and takes ownership of a business and its results. Builds from a blank page and creates frameworks others adopt.
• Is an OMNI leader who is energized by working across channels and functions.
• Is curious about the consumer, the shopper, the numbers and the competition.
• Is curious about the consumer, the shopper, the numbers and the competition.
• Some who understands the role brand play in building the business and can lean on all brand fronts.
• Someone who can roll up the sleeves to get things done, and who sees opportunities in every situation.

Why You'll Love It Here

You will own a business, work directly with senior leaders, and have room to grow as the function scales.

What We Offer You - it's The Perfect Package:

• An opportunity to grow, develop, and thrive within a mission-driven, dynamic, and fast-growing company, alongside thoughtful and passionate individuals dedicated to their work and community
• Comprehensive healthcare coverage and RRSP plans with company match
• Great office culture (with lots of adorable pets!) where your pet interrupting video calls or in-person meeting is the norm
• Discounted food, apparel and insurance for your furry family members
• In addition to your PTO, we offer company-wide wellness days and personal days to support your wellbeing
• Volunteer days to give back to our community

AI Statement:

Open Farm may use AI tools to help organize and review applications efficiently. While technology supports our process, every hiring decision is made by our team, with care and intention. We also prioritize meaningful human connection, which is why our interview process includes in-person conversations—because technology can support the process, but can’t replace the impact of human connection.

Hybrid Work

At Open Farm, we believe in the power of collaboration, meaningful connections, and enjoying our work together—furry friends included! That’s why we’ve adopted a structured hybrid approach that allows you the benefit of a reduced commute while still building strong workplace relationships. Currently, all employees are expected to be in the office two days per week at minimum, with Tuesday and Thursday as our anchor days. In addition to this, each month our Leadership team dedicates three consecutive days onsite to continue to foster alignment and connection across the team. During this time we expect everyone to join us in person to do the same. Please note: our hybrid approach may evolve over time as we adapt to the needs of our team and business.

Vacancy Type: New Position

Our Values

We Raise the Bar | We Open the Barn Doors | We Graze Lightly | We Are Customer Obsessed | We Are One Team | Win-Win Partnerships

To learn more about Open Farm, follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn.

Open Farm values diversity in its workforce and encourages applications from all qualified individuals. Applicants requiring a disability-related accommodation at any stage of Open Farm's recruitment process should contact [email protected]. As required by legislation, Open Farm will consult with applications requesting such an accommodation to ensure that Open Farm's recruitment process takes into account their accessibility needs.