Senior Marketing Manager

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

• Lead portfolio management and innovation pipeline development for assigned categories within the IRCA Americas portfolio.
• Develop and execute regional marketing strategies aligned with business objectives, customer priorities, and growth opportunities across the Americas.
• Translate market trends, category insights, competitive intelligence, and customer needs into actionable commercial strategies.
• Lead integrated marketing campaigns targeting Food Manufacturing, Chains, Distribution, and In-Store Bakery channels to drive market penetration, customer engagement, and revenue growth.
• Partner closely with Sales, Culinary, Product Management, Business Development, R&D, Customer Service, and Communications teams to develop customer-centric initiatives.
• Build compelling sales enablement tools, including customer presentations, capability decks, product brochures, one-pagers, innovation concepts, and tailored customer proposals.
• Support strategic customer engagements by presenting category trends, portfolio solutions, innovation opportunities, and market insights that strengthen customer relationships and accelerate growth.
• Collaborate with the Communications and Digital Marketing team to ensure consistent brand messaging across online and offline customer touchpoints.
• Oversee the development and maintenance of innovation libraries, product concept databases, category assets, and commercial marketing tools in partnership with Culinary and Innovation teams.
• Measure and analyze marketing campaign performance, KPIs, ROI, and customer engagement metrics, providing recommendations for continuous improvement.
• Build strong partnerships with IRCA Academy chefs and cross-functional partners to support commercial initiatives, category management projects, and customer experiences.
• Manage relationships with external agencies, creative partners, research providers, and vendors, ensuring projects are delivered on time, within budget, and aligned with business objectives.
• Manage marketing budgets and prioritize investments to maximize commercial impact and return on investment.
• Mentor and guide junior marketing team members as appropriate, fostering collaboration, accountability, creativity, and professional development.
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business, Food Science, Communications, or a related field required; MBA or advanced degree preferred.
• 7+ years of progressive marketing experience, preferably in B2B food ingredients, food manufacturing, foodservice, bakery, pastry, chocolate, confectionery, or related industries.
• Proven experience developing and executing marketing strategies that support commercial growth.
• Strong understanding of portfolio management, innovation pipeline development, category marketing, and sales enablement.
• Experience supporting customer-facing initiatives, strategic account presentations, trade marketing programs, and integrated marketing campaigns.
• Ability to synthesize market trends, customer insights, and business priorities into clear strategies and compelling commercial stories.
• Strong project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities, stakeholders, timelines, and budgets.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the confidence to engage cross-functional teams and customer-facing audiences.
• Collaborative leadership style with the ability to influence across functions and regions.
• Highly proactive, organized, and comfortable operating in a fast-paced, evolving business environment.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, especially PowerPoint and Excel; experience with marketing platforms, CRM tools, or project management systems is a plus.

The successful candidate will bring a strong mix of strategic thinking, commercial acumen, creativity, and executional discipline. They will be comfortable working directly with Sales and senior stakeholders, influencing without authority, and turning business priorities into practical marketing programs that support growth.

This individual should have a strong understanding of B2B marketing, customer segmentation, sales enablement, innovation commercialization, and category-led growth. Experience in food ingredients, food manufacturing, bakery, pastry, chocolate, confectionery, gelato, foodservice, or a related B2B food environment is strongly preferred.

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