Overview

Rarely does an opportunity come about to not only help build a dynamic and successful company, but also be an integral player in developing it into a global enterprise and change the world in the process. At ZAG we are challenging current paradigms and bringing the powerful healing properties of psychotherapeutic plants back to people.

ZAG Group is a high energy entrepreneurial company of big thinkers and big doers – we make the impossible possible! Our business units and brands are uniquely positioned in the nutraceuticals and botanical beverage space and are aimed at helping to improve the way modern consumers use ethnopharmacology to deal with conditions such as stress, anxiety, and pain. Our purpose is “innovating to enhance the way people experience and enjoy their lives” by harnessing the relationship between nature and science. We have experienced unprecedented growth over the last number of years (our revenue has exploded to the tune of 400% year over year since 2012) and we now have 150 full time employees across Canada and the US. Our aggressive growth strategy is focused on growing our market share in North America and expanding the reach to international markets.

ZAG Group is set to dominate the beverage industry and we need you to execute the plan! We are looking for an innovator who sees where markets are going and creates new product categories that become the next wave; an Entrepreneurial Marketer. Through our expanding international network of sales and distribution, we're building a team to take massive new products to the global market. The accelerating pace of change in Marketing as a whole is creating a wide range of potential new priorities for chief marketers—leading change efforts across the whole corporation, playing a more active role in shaping the company’s public profile, helping to manage complexity, and building new capabilities within (and even outside of) the marketing department.

Your Mission
In the key role of Chief Marketing Officer, you work closely with our executive group, staff, external resources and a whole world full of engaged supporters and detractors. In this role you will lead and manage a complex set of responsibilities that run the gamut of complex business. In today’s landscape, the CMO’s role is drastically changing. Not only will you be expected to build our brands, make advertising more effective and conduct market research but you must address several other areas as well: leading companywide change in response to evolving buying patterns, stepping up efforts to shape ZAG’s public profile and managing complexity and building new marketing capabilities throughout the company as a whole. The CMO will be someone with sound commercial sense who can see the big picture. He/She will be rigorously analytical; able to put together a robust business case; network, influence and communicate across the functions; possess a flair for devising portfolio strategy and investment choices and contribute effectively to overall business planning. As well as all of this comes the critical but often elusive quality of strong and influential leadership. We are reinventing the CMO’s role as a strategic activist. There is a need for tighter integration between corporate marketing and sales as web-based channels expand their role in advertising, sales and marketing.

Advancing our mission of continuing consumer access to noticeably effective botanicals, you will actively build resources and allies, leverage their support to define the way the world thinks about our category, while expanding and developing the breadth of reach our products have. Beyond just selling CPG brands, you will drive and take an active stand with consumers on the front line to ensure right to access. You will also be a key force in propagating the cutting edge scientific and philosophical paradigm developed through our leader’s building of a world-class team of thought leaders.

In our journey to success you will need to secure above average levels of commitment and engagement from all stakeholders internally and externally and you will be responsible for campaign creation and building the team to make it happen. This will include hiring internally, deep community activism, ally building with trade associations and direct action with government agencies and elected officials to gain key support that will maintain and develop a regulatory framework. You are a business leader, an innovator and an entrepreneur. You live our core values and you get out of bed to make a difference in the world every day.

Responsibilities

Reporting to the CEO of ZAG Group, the Chief Marketing Officer will lead all internal operations of innovation product lines and will have the following responsibilities:

• Work strategically with our Chief Regulatory Officer, Chief Scientific Officer and General Council to launch compliant brands in the North American and International markets.
• Create and execute detailed marketing and business development strategies and develop medium and long term strategic growth plans to enable us to deepen our current market share and move into new distribution channels.
• Build marketing plans to move products to mass market, grocery and C&G.
• Direct the development of multiple brands at various stages in the brand lifecycle, including new launches and rebranding.
• Work with regional and international sales in the creation and execution of key brand and sales execution programs.
• Creation of marketing strategies, creative execution and field implementation of all consumer programs in all media, including web-based communication.
• Provide operational support for ZAG management and operations, including sales forecasting, product strategy and pricing/promotion analysis.
• Conduct and manage an ongoing market and competitive analysis program, including tracking and evaluating competitive products. Develop business-building ideas through the analysis of marketplace trends and marketing information systems data.
• Create detailed Field Marketing programs in close collaboration with Regional Sales Management.
• Serve as the internal leader of the organization and thrive building an all start leadership team
• Lead and set the performance management process that measures and evaluates progress against goals for the organization and monitor KPIs
• Provide for all staff, a strong day-to-day leadership presence; bridge national and international operations and support an open-door policy among all staff
• Make sure all facets of our business--infrastructure, processes, systems, reporting--is operating at its highest capacity

Requirements

• As a prerequisite, the successful candidate must believe in the core values of ZAG Group and be driven by the mission. The candidate should demonstrate a passion for breaking new ground to lead social change in the field of nutraceuticals.
• At least 15 years of product marketing experience in progressive roles in CPG, or more specifically beverage, with at least five of those years leading large cross-functional marketing teams.
• Thorough understanding of messaging, positioning and go to market principles and tactics.
• Experience in managing multiple brands simultaneously, and the ability to execute strategy from the top down.
• A highly driven and enthusiastic innovator with a proven track record in identifying new tactics and strategies for driving growth and improving performance.
• Knowledge in creating and defining front end brand equity, including push and pull strategies for counter products.
• Strong leadership, strategic planning skills, negotiation skills and diplomacy.
• Exceptional skills in predicting and forecasting revenue streams and campaign results.
• Previous experience in supporting sales in B2B markets through the creation of leads and lead generation programs.
• Substantial CPG experience through direct and indirect channels to market.
• Bachelor’s degree or a Masters in marketing or business with a focus on International Marketing is a plus.
• Proactive and communicative leader, who has a passion for their work and can communicate vision.
• As noted, this is an organization driven by the values of its people, so experience in managing a “values-driven” organization will be highly prized.

Additional requirements are:

• MBA (or a similar business degree) Natural supplements experience is an added bonus
• Results orientated
• proven track record of exceeding goals and a bottom-line orientation; evidence of the ability to consistently make good decisions through a combination of analysis, wisdom, experience, and judgment; high level of business acumen including successful P&L management; the ability to balance the delivery of programs against the realities of a budget; and problem solving, project management, and creative resourcefulness
• Strategic Vision and Agility
• ability to think strategically, anticipate future consequences and trends, and incorporate them into the organizational plan
• Capacity Building—ability to effectively build organization and staff capacity, developing a top-notch workforce and the processes that ensure the organization runs smoothly
• exceptional capacity for managing and leading people; a team builder who has experience in scaling up organizations; ability to connect staff both on an individual level and in large groups; capacity to enforce accountability, develop and empower top-notch leaders from the bottom up, lead from the top down, cultivate entrepreneurship, and learn the strengths and weaknesses of the team so as to put people in a position to succeed
• enjoys working hard and looks for challenges; able to act and react as necessary, even if limited information is available; not afraid to take charge of a situation; can overcome resistance to leadership and take unpopular stands when necessary

Personality

Creative – You are highly creative in your approach. You understand how marketing, PR and regulatory affairs shape and define reality itself and are not afraid to aim for creating something different and really big. You are wicked smart; you can come up with a creative angle to make anything sizzle. The bigger the challenge the more fun you have.

Influential – Your business acumen is obvious to everyone who meets you. You are compelling, inspiring, and have a way of making people like you and enlisting them to your cause. Friends or enemies, you have a way of telling stories that compel people to connect which bring even your strongest opponents over to your side.

Organized – You are highly organized, detail oriented, accountable and can create and manage plans that come in on time and on budget. You are great at scenario planning, and are good with what if’ and plan b’s. You can communicate clearly and concisely to a wide variety of audiences, making complex, detailed, data driven, projects simple.

Relentless – You set your mind on a result and accomplish it no matter the resistance you encounter. In your language “No” is just the boundary where everyone less intelligent and resourceful gives up. The one thing you have a hard time with is walking away from a challenge. Your previous employers and co-workers describe you as a person who “when they say it gets done, it gets done.” You are also remarkable at assimilating complex information quickly and are brilliant at asking poignant questions.

Strategic – You have tattered copies of Propaganda, Sun Tzu and Rules for Radicals on your bookshelf and you understand what Porter’s 5 forces are and how to use them. You have a remarkable ability to jump between 100ft and 30,000ft and can play in a place of possibility but also see the brass tacks reality of the situation. You are particularly good at managing your emotions and can tell when surrendering or fighting offers the best value for upside. You know how to use the law to help support advantage and to keep people honest.

Perks

If you are looking for a homerun this is it! You want to capitalize on value with minimal to no risk and a massive upside. The opportunity to work with some of the top executives in the world and the ability to assume a pivotal role in the evolution of a fast-growing, game changing organization. You are motivated by innovation and are excited about working in a brand new space with massive exit potential on the brands that you build.

In return for your expertise, we offer an industry leading compensation package which includes an Executive Profit Share Plan, stock options, extended health benefits, 4 weeks’ vacation, and the potential for discretional sabbaticals and a multitude of additional perks (education and transit subsidies; paid personal days etc).

The best part about working for ZAG is the people. We are a bit crazy and like to have a lot of fun. We volunteer through our corporate giving program – Heartbeats which ZAG has pledged to donate at least 1% of annual revenues