Wine Brand Manager

Wine Brand Manager | Idaho Wine Merchant | Boise, ID

Join the Northwest’s Best Executing Distributor

Are you looking for a career with a company that invests in your future and is committed to your growth? Start your career in the fast-growing beverage sales distribution with one of the fastest emerging brands at Hayden Beverage.

We are currently hiring a Wine Brand Manager for our Idaho Wine Merchant team.

• Compensation: $70,000 - $85,000 yearly
• Schedule: Monday through Friday (Starting at 9:00 AM)

Position Summary

• The Brand Manager is responsible for setting strategic directions for the company’s brands, suppliers, sales priorities, and retail execution. This role manages supplier relationships and negotiates resources that enable the execution team to achieve performance objectives and supplier goals. The Brand Manager is also accountable for managing pricing and profit expectations to deliver targeted company margins and overall business performance.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Compliance and Business Accountability

• Marketplace Legalities. Maintain a comprehensive understanding of all applicable legal and regulatory requirements related to product sales, retailer support, promotions, and pricing within assigned markets.
• Contracts. Maintain a working knowledge of supplier agreements, contractual terms, and applicable state franchise laws, and escalate exceptions or risks when appropriate.
• Budget Accountability. Establish and achieve gross sales and gross profit budget targets through strong supplier partnership management and market expertise.

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• New Item and Supplier Setup. Understand all information and documentation required to support the setup of new suppliers and items, and partner effectively with sales support to ensure accurate onboarding.
• Predictive Inventory Management. Provide timely forward-looking insights on distribution changes, consumer demand, and market shifts to support inventory planning and reduce the risk of out-of-stocks or excess inventory.
• Communication. Communicate effectively with suppliers and internal teams by translating business priorities into clear, actionable direction that supports alignment and execution.
• Responsiveness. Respond to inquiries in a timely and professional manner, including acknowledgment of requests and communication of expected follow-up timelines.
• Relationship Management. Build and maintain professional, respectful, and responsive relationships with suppliers and internal stakeholders, including the ability to navigate challenging conversations constructively.
• Trends and Innovation. Use available resources, data, and market insight to identify emerging trends and develop opportunities that capitalize on favorable shifts or reduce exposure to negative ones.
• Presentations and Leadership. Assist and potentially lead companywide sales teams' meetings and/or presentations for the leadership team.
• Tools and Reporting. Demonstrate strong working knowledge of internal and external tools, reports, and data sources used to monitor performance, analyze opportunities, and support decision-making.
• Portfolio Knowledge. Maintain a deep understanding of the portfolio, including brand placement, strengths, gaps, supplier alignment, and opportunities to improve portfolio efficiency.
• Market Knowledge. Maintain a strong understanding of market dynamics, retailer conditions, and resource requirements to establish realistic goals and support supplier success.
• Execution Insight. Understand distributor execution capabilities and priorities to align supplier expectations with achievable market plans and measurable results.
• SKU Exit Planning. Assess risk associated with new and existing SKUs and develop practical exit strategies that support supplier alignment while minimizing financial exposure.
• Incentives and Programs. Recommend and structure incentive plans and programming support necessary to achieve supplier objectives while ensuring alignment with company priorities and financial expectations.
• Dead Inventory Management. Identify underperforming or non-viable SKUs and coordinate with purchasing, suppliers, and execution teams to minimize financial impact.

Financial Management Responsibilities

• Margin Management. Maintain a strong understanding of margin calculations, including percentage and dollar-per-case analysis, for initial setup, pricing support, and market pricing adjustments.
• Margin Negotiation. Communicate margin expectations clearly and use sound negotiation skills to establish profitable, sustainable agreements that support both distributor and supplier objectives.
• Bank Management. Ensure supplier banks are established accurately, managed responsibly, and billed in accordance with approved spending and programming activity.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field preferred; equivalent industry experience is considered.
• Progressive experience in sales, brand management, supplier management, beverage distribution, category management, or a related commercial role.
• Demonstrated ability to manage supplier relationships, interpret market data, support financial objectives, and influence execution across cross-functional teams.
• Strong written and verbal communication, analytical reasoning, negotiation, and organizational skills.

Additional Responsibilities

• Succession Planning. Identify and help develop internal talent capable of supporting future brand leadership needs within the organization.
• Partner Management. Manage relationships with external partners, agencies, boards, and other stakeholders whose collaboration supports business objectives.
• Market Visibility. Maintain a visible and credible presence in the market and with internal teams to strengthen relationships, execution alignment, and retailer trust.

Travel Requirements

Occasional travel within assigned markets is required to support supplier engagement, market visibility, retailer relationships, and field execution. The role is expected to complete approximately four market visits annually outside the home market, or as business needs require.

Performance Measures

Success in this role is measured by financial performance, achievement of supplier objectives, effective inventory management, and sustained market engagement.

• Margin Performance – Measured monthly against gross profit percentage and gross profit dollar goals established by budget and cost expectations.
• Supplier Goal Achievement – Measured by progress against agreed-upon supplier priorities and market objectives.
• Inventory Effectiveness – Evaluated through management of new item performance, minimization of dead inventory, and alignment with purchasing and execution teams.
• Market Engagement – Measured through visible field presence, market visits, and support of retailer and supplier relationships.

Benefits:

• Free product every month: beer, wine, Red Bull, Non-alcoholic beverages
• Discount on Hayden’s products
• Affordable medical, dental, and vision plans
• Company paid life insurance and STD
• Paid holidays and PTO packages
• Referral bonuses
• 401(k) with Match
• 529 Education Savings Plan with match (up to $4k)
• Gym membership reimbursement
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Perks at Work Discount Program
• Safe Ride Home Program

About Hayden:

At Hayden Beverage Co. we strive to be more than a team. We are a family. HBC is a rapidly growing beverage distribution company headquartered in Boise, ID, with 700+ employees in Idaho, Eastern Washington and Montana. Hayden is a hands-on work environment. Regardless of position, no job is beneath any team member and all team members are expected "to get their hands dirty" from time to time. We have two core goals; 1. Best executing distributor in the Northwest of any product and 2. Make our customers more profitable.