Brand Ambassador for Penfolds - CA United States

Since 1844, Penfolds has been grounded in experimentation, curiosity and uncompromising quality. It is this pioneering spirit and curiosity that still rings true after nearly two centuries, it is what has helped us become one of the most celebrated winemakers in the world today.

Summary:
To drive profitable growth of the Penfolds brand and to protect and enhance brand awareness and affinity with key industry stakeholders and consumers.

Key Responsibilities:

30% Consumer Events & Public Relations: Own the execution and delivery of localized events and public relations initiatives and serve as a Brand Ambassador; becoming the face of the brand in the absence of Penfolds winemakers. Support strategic luxury brand activation as agreed with local field managers and the VP of Penfolds

30% Sales Liaison: Develop and maintain strong relationships and levels of influence with the sales organization. Partner with the sales local market leaders to identify Penfolds SKUs requiring depletion support. Work together with local market leaders to develop plans and programming to facilitate the sale of excess items to end consumers. With the help of a local field manager, identify and develop brand relationships with key distributor contacts and important image/prestige accounts, hand-selling the complete Penfolds portfolio.
Work with sales to develop mutually agreed-upon scorecards to measure local market success and report back to the brand team on program activation and regional support. Work with Strategic Accounts to attend priority Penfolds meetings and support customer tastings.

15% Customer Contact: Support private client DTC team with top priority collectors/events that wish to create a personal relationship with the winery, nurturing those relationships to increase DTC wine sales.

10% Brand Education: Ownership in developing brand training tools used by consumers and trade. Assist in the
training and development of regional ‘Wine Educators’ on the Penfolds Brand.

5% Market Analyst: Report back on local market conditions to assist with strategic planning, identifying markets that require support. Stay ahead of trends and changes in the marketplace and strategically plan to optimize against them.

5% Market Analyst: Report back on local market conditions to assist with strategic planning, identifying markets that require support. Stay ahead of trends and changes in the marketplace and strategically plan to optimize against them.

5% Winemaker Liaison: Work closely with winemaking staff to keep up to speed on brand developments and assist winemakers in the planning and execution of their local market visits as they relate to sales support or brand events (not PR).

Success:
•    Success shows the delivery of annual brand business objectives (enacting price increases and depleting inventories prior to the next release)
•    The person in this role is highly regarded by local sales managers and is sought after for their support
•    Monthly reporting back to the VP Penfolds answers the following questions in a recurring and structured way:
–    How many consumers were reached via events and tastings conducted? Are they worth repeating?
–    How many new listings were achieved by accounts visited? Measure via APODS.
–    What change in distributor back-vintage inventory occurred in the month following your visit?
–    What of the above activities was generated by the person in this role vs. local management?
–    Was the return on the investment visible post visit (recap T&E and event cost)?
–    Did we generate and DTC sales from the activation?

About you:

•    Advanced Sommelier level Wine knowledge / Winemaking background
•    Focused Wine related institutions
•    Hospitality background which encompasses a business degree
•    Strong inter-personal skills
•    Strong communication skills
•    Ability to think creatively and challenge status quo
•    Ability to quickly adapt and take ownership in start-up type environment
•    Ability to understand and manage to superior financial returns
•    Min 10 years experience in the trade either with Wholesaler or suppler management
•    Have a proven track record in on-premise sales and educational expertise
•    Significant management experience
•    International experience (preferred)
•    Winemaking background

Culture

We bring our whole selves, we’re courageous and we deliver together – that’s our DNA. We’re a passionate bunch who enjoy working together, like to have fun, and keep things down-to-earth. We’re brave enough and care enough to have the right conversations to get the best outcome and are famous for our can-do attitude. We’re definitely “glass half full” people and see challenges as opportunities and move with pace to achieve our goals.

If you’re ready to help us be the world’s most desirable luxury wine company, please apply now!