Senior Brand Manager - Italy

We are proud to be the largest family-owned and family-run wine importer in the UK. Since 1964, we have built an award-winning portfolio of premium wines, representing progressive and fiercely independent wineries from around the world. Our wines are proudly supplied to some of the UK’s leading restaurants and retailers. We are seeking an experienced and commercially astute Senior Brand Manager to lead the UK brand strategy for one of our iconic Italian brands and drive future growth. This is a fabulous opportunity to work closely with the winery’s leadership team, including visits to their headquarters in Italy, and to play a pivotal role in shaping the long‑term positioning and commercial success of the brand in the UK.

The Role

• You will be a key custodian of the brand in the UK market — balancing long‑term brand equity with short‑ and medium‑term commercial performance.
• You will bring a proven track record of driving brand distribution growth, delivering sales targets, and increasing profit contribution within the UK wine trade.

Key Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Work with necessary colleagues to develop and deliver annual brand plans aligned with the winery’s global strategy and UK commercial objectives.
• Act as the primary marketing contact for the winery, managing regular communication, reporting, presentations and strategic updates.
• Translate brand strategy into clear, commercially focused activation plans across on‑trade and off‑trade (independent and national) channels.
• Manage the UK A&P budget, ensuring effective allocation, strong ROI, and alignment with commercial priorities.
• Work closely with the events team to deliver impactful trade events and trips, including logistics, guest management, and content support.
• Collaborate with the commercial team to align trade activity with brand and sales goals.
• Analyse market and internal performance data to identify growth opportunities.
• Deliver monthly internal and external reporting on key brand metrics (sales volume, A&P spend, stock holding), implementing corrective action where necessary.
• Work cross‑functionally with the wider marketing team to deliver agreed objectives.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with internal stakeholders and external partners.
• Represent the brand at tastings and events as a key UK ambassador.

About You

• Proven experience as a Brand Manager or Senior Brand Manager within the UK wine trade.
• Strong understanding of the UK wine market, competitor landscape and consumer behaviour.
• Experience managing multi‑channel strategies across on‑trade and independent retail.
• Excellent wine knowledge with a passion for premium Italian wines.
• Degree educated (Marketing, Business or related discipline preferred).
• WSET Level 2 minimum (higher qualifications advantageous).
• Exceptional organisational and project management skills with strong attention to detail.
• Strategic thinker with hands‑on execution capability.
• Confident, persuasive communicator with experience presenting brand plans and proposals.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills; content creation experience beneficial.
• Highly computer literate (Teams, Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
• Good Italian language skills, both written and verbal (desirable).

Working Pattern

This is a full‑time role, working 37.5 hours per week, typically Monday to Friday between 9:00am and 5:30pm. However, given the nature of our clients in the hospitality sector, flexibility is essential — evening and occasional weekend work will be required to support customer needs, events, and tastings. Some activities may also involve international travel, so a valid passport is necessary.

Work Location

This is a hybrid role where you will be required to work in head office at least 3 days a week.

Offer

• Salary within the range £50,000 - £55,000 dependent on experience, plus bonus based on the achievement of KPIs.
• 25 days annual leave rising to 26 days after 5 years’ service and 27 days after 10 years’ service, plus bank holidays.
• Company pension.
• Access to our Employee Assistance Programme.
• Enhanced Maternity and Paternity Pay.
• Contribution to Dental Costs.
• Generous staff discount on our wine.
• A bottle of wine on your birthday and Berkmann anniversary.

We cannot consider your application if you do not have the legal right to work in the UK. You must also satisfy the required knowledge and experience criteria detailed above. Equal consideration will be given to all candidates, irrespective of their gender, race, disability, marital status, religion, age or sexuality.