Brand Manager, Individual Meals

Owns KFC's single-serve business—sandwiches, boxes, combos, tenders, and snack-plus-meal occasions that win the one-person, on-the-go customer. Takes validated concepts from Consumer Insights & Menu and turns them into transactions, anchoring Modern Menu and Modern Value to give solo and lunch customers a craveable, affordable reason to choose KFC over competitors. Reports to the Sr Director, Retail Marketing.

Responsibilities

• CUO Ownership & Growth Strategy (20%)
  • Own the Individual Meals Consumer Understanding Opportunity (CUO) concept-to-market.
  • Recommend and execute the annual plan—strategy, commercialization pipeline, promotional calendar, financial targets, and metrics.
  • Develop franchisee-ready, operations-ready individual-meal news for the promotional calendar.
• Business Performance & Commercial Impact (20%)
  • Own the platform P&L and performance; price within Value & eComm guardrails.
  • Drive individual-meals sales, transactions, and check against clear targets.
  • Optimize assortment and promotion, adjusting based on performance data.
• Innovation & Commercialization (20%)
  • Own individual-meal commercialization from validated concept through national launch.
  • Contribute to the single test-and-learn agenda with Consumer Insights & Menu.
  • Ensure clean execution from concept to brief to retail to commercials.
• Brand, Customer & Cultural Relevance (15%)
  • Keep individual meals culturally relevant, especially for younger, solo customers.
  • Brief IMC and agencies for breakthrough, on-strategy storytelling.
  • Protect KFC’s distinctive equities while modernizing the offer.
• Cross-Functional & Franchisee Partnership (15%)
  • Partner with Operations, Supply Chain, Finance, and Value & eComm to align on shared priorities.
  • Feed a single franchisee voice per topic (calendar, value, menu).
  • Build franchisee trust by balancing ambition with operational excellence.
• Data, AI & Modern Ways of Working (10%)
  • Use AI and analytics for forecasting, planning, and portfolio decisions.
  • Automate reporting to create capacity for innovation and strategy.

Requirements

• Undergraduate degree required (Marketing or Business preferred); MBA a plus.
• 6-9 years of progressive experience in brand, category, or product marketing.
• Proven record owning a category, business, or platform with demonstrated commercial results.
• Experience leading commercialization from validated concept through national launch.
• Experience presenting business recommendations to senior leadership and franchise governance groups.
• QSR, restaurant, beverage, or CPG experience preferred.

Skills

• Strong commercial acumen and financial literacy (P&L, pricing, category economics).
• Skilled at business case development, forecasting, and turning insight into growth.
• Excellent project management across multiple complex initiatives at speed.
• Leads through influence across cross-functional teams, agencies, and franchisees.
• Presents and defends recommendations to senior leaders and franchise governance.
• Consumer-first, data-informed, accountable, and thrives in ambiguity and speed.

Pay

Salary range: $132,480 to $139,840 annually + bonus eligibility. Pay is based on location, experience, and other job-related factors.