British American Tobacco is looking for a Category Manager to join our dedicated AREA New Categories marketing team in Tokyo, Japan. As part of our mission to build A Better Tomorrow™ by creating a smokeless world, you will be responsible for planning, developing, and executing strategies that drive category growth through our global brands across the APMEA-N region.
What You'll Do
- Contribute to the development of global brand strategy and expression, including brand vision, positioning, target audience, and marketing mix, focused on a 1 to 4 year horizon.
- Support the localization of global brand strategies and guidelines for Consumer Experience and Deployment teams, ensuring they reflect end market needs while staying true to global strategic intent.
- Lead external agencies—including innovation, creative, media, and design—to develop effective packaging design and total communications that meet brand objectives and commercial targets.
- Ensure timely approval of all relevant trademarks, mix elements, and product claims through internal approval processes.
- Work with Marketing Insights to gain fact-based, consumer-led evaluations of markets, brand mix, new ideas, and programs.
- If relevant, monitor AREA marketing mixes and execution of brand strategies to maintain brand equity.
- Manage full-year deliverables within a set budget, monitoring activities against plan and requesting additional funding as required.
- Develop effective working relationships with AREA CX and Marketing Deployment Managers to facilitate communication, share best practices, and support strategy implementation.
- Develop effective relationships with advertising agencies and marketing suppliers to ensure world-class communication materials support brand strategies.
- Develop a rich understanding of key markets, consumer wants, segmentation, and competitive activity globally to enhance brand strategies and exploit potential.
What We're Looking For
- A marketing professional with 5 years+ of extensive, relevant experience in all aspects of brand marketing and mix development.
- Experience gained within an international environment, international FMCG companies, and/or entrepreneurial consumer-facing companies.
- Strong foundations in Foresights, Brand, Commercial, and Sustainability.
- Expertise in Macros: Leading Edge Consumer & Business Intelligence, Evocative Brand Experiences, Sustainable at the Core.
- Capabilities in Evocative Brand Experiences: Persona & Consumer Journeys, Brand positioning and ideal (DNA), Brand experience strategy, Marketing and campaign planning, Channel Strategy, Agency Management.
- Capabilities in Data-powered Content Creation: Category Foresights & Macro trends, Creative, Content & Concept Planning.
Nice to Have
- Experience in communications and digital marketing.
Team & Environment
You will be part of the dedicated AREA New Categories marketing team.
Work Mode
This is a local-city role based in Tokyo, Japan.
