We are a fast-growing, mid-sized CPG food manufacturing company (Top 125 in North America) that was founded by a father-son team (Louis and Fred Ruiz) 60 years ago with the idea of sharing Grandma Rosie’s authentic Mexican family recipes with the world.

Ruiz has the #1 brands in both retail frozen Mexican Food (El Monterey) and in C-Store roller grills (Tornados) and is committed to investing to grow the business through brand-building, industry-leading innovation, and high quality ingredients with bold, authentic Mexican spices.

This position will be based in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, with a low cost of living and family-friendly communities.

Our Marketing Team leverages strengths in strategy, brand marketing, consumer insights, innovation, and new business development to lead our categories and deliver profitable growth.

We are seeking new leadership for our team in the role of Vice President of Marketing for the Retail Business Unit. The current VP is leaving the position in Jan ’25, after 12 years with the company.

As VP of Marketing, you will report to the EVP/GM of our Commercial Business Units and will be a key member of the Commercial Management Team. You will also be a part of Ruiz Foods’ Leadership Team as a critical cross-functional leader across the organization.

You will directly lead a team of ten on the Retail Marketing team, along with several external partners and agencies.

Brand Management Team: Sr. Brand Manager, four Associate Brand Managers
Marketing Communication Team: Sr. Marketing Manager, Marketing Associate, Graphic Designer
Associate Director of Insights
Marketing Coordinator

COMPENSATION: $200-260k/year

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Team and Company Leadership
- Lead Retail Business Unit in partnership with General Manager and VP Retail Sales.
- Lead Retail Marketing Team, including development of team members’ skills and processes to realize the team’s vision for the organization.
- Build pipeline of well-rounded Ruiz Foods’ strategic business leaders.
- Build team capabilities through both internal & external training.
- Lead stage gate process for product development initiatives, in partnership with other leaders from across the organization.

Brand Management
- Lead development of business strategies to drive revenue and share, especially multi-year growth plan and equity building.
- Lead brand team’s business segment stewardship with a General Manager mindset – strong product segment P&L understanding and responsibility.
- Manage/Optimize portfolio and business segments to maximize profit dollars and margin.
- Lead team to develop increasingly effective monthly and quarterly business analyses and reporting as foundation for strategic plans.
- Lead development and execution of category/portfolio roadmaps, including margin targets, innovation, and product improvements.

Marketing Communication
- Drive household penetration and brand equity via strong marketing communication strategies and execution.
- Lead team to effectively partner with external experts, including advertising and design agencies.
- Lead in-market learning plans with strong focus on testing and measurement.
- Lead optimization of Ruiz-specific processes for marketing communication development and evaluation.

Consumer Insights
- Foster a culture of curiosity, rigor, and continuous improvement.
- Collaborate with internal stakeholders to identify key business questions and objectives for insights initiatives.
- Leverage consumer insights data (e.g., Circana panel, annual A&U studies) to create effective consumer profiles and targeted growth plans.
- Lead management of relationships with external research vendors and partners to ensure high-quality and timely delivery of insights.
- Lead the design and execution of qualitative and quantitative research studies, including focus groups, surveys, and ethnographic research, to uncover actionable insights.
- Leverage research findings and synthesize complex data into clear, concise insights and recommendations.
- Lead optimization of consumer profiles and segmentation strategies based on deep understanding of consumer behaviors and preferences.

REQUIREMENTS:

Strategic Leadership & Team Development: 15+ years in marketing leadership roles (VP preferred). Proven ability to develop and execute long-term growth strategies that drive revenue and market share. Extensive experience in building and leading high-performing marketing teams, with a focus on enhancing capabilities through training and development.
CPG Brand Management: Demonstrated success in developing and implementing multi-year brand strategies in CPG industries throu brand equity and market presence. Significant experience in traditional CPG brand management roles with companies of various sizes, including “training ground” company giants, preferred.
Business Acumen: Strong understanding of P&L management, portfolio optimization, and business segment stewardship to maximize profitability and margins.
Marketing Communication Expertise: Deep expertise in developing and executing marketing communication strategies that strengthen brand equity, penetration, and consumer engagement.
Consumer Insights Utilization: Proven ability to lead consumer insights and marketing teams to drive targeted growth plans and consumer-centric strategies.
Collaboration and Partnership: Track record of successfully collaborating cross-functionally, particularly with sales, product development, and external agencies, to achieve marketing objectives.
Communication and Presentation Skills: Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex ideas and strategies clearly to various stakeholders, senior leadership and members of the company Board of Directors.
Adaptability and Innovation: Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment, driving innovation (including new/improved processes) and adapting strategies to evolving market conditions.
Leadership style: collaborative team-first style focused on results over internal politics and appearances. Servant leadership style preferred.
Educational Background: Bachelor’s degree required; Advanced degree (e.g., MBA) preferred.

Experience

Required

CPG Brand Management
15 year(s): Marketing Leadership

Education

Required

Bachelors or better in Marketing Management or related field

Preferred

Masters or better in Marketing Management or related field

Behaviors

Required

Functional Expert: Considered a thought leader on a subject
Leader: Inspires teammates to follow them

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities

The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c)