Director, Brand Communications

Chicago, IL

Here at Kraft Heinz, we grow our people to grow our business, because we believe that great people make great companies. When you join our table, you can expect access to an array of holistic wellness benefits* and perks, including medical, dental and vision coverage, 7% 401(k) matching, Business Resource Groups (BRGs) to help foster diversity, inclusion, and belonging for all employees, an industry-leading total rewards package that emphasizes a high discretionary bonus.


Benefits begin 30 days after hire for hourly employees, and immediately upon hire for salaried employees.


Get a peek into life here at Kraft Heinz through our Instagram and TikTok channels!


Director, Brand Communications – Kraft Mac and Cheese & Velveeta at a glance...


Marketing is at the core of our world and at the heart of where we make our decisions. Marketers understand the consumer… really understand the consumer. They ask questions. Find answers. They take the extra step to work towards a vision for future success, while driving revenue, profit and consumer love. As the North American Brand Communications Director for Kraft Mac and Cheese & Velveeta, you will be at the center for the biggest decisions we make that drive brand love and loyalty.


Reporting into the Head of Mac and Cheese this role is responsible for inspiring and elevating the creative strategy and work developed by their teams & agency partners in the U.S. Brand Communications Directors lead by example to help inspire bold creativity in the team around them. As a leader and steward of the Brand Comms team, this person will foster trust, create influence and strengthen platform team relationships with the aligned business unit to connect innovative, consumer-led approaches to the business strategy and brand priorities. You and your team will proactively drive agile creativity at the speed of culture that fulfills our Brands’ business needs, while mentoring and growing your team and acting as a cultural ambassador for the Creative Factory within KHC.


What's on the menu?

Team oversight:

  • Pushes and empowers the team to think bigger, faster and more creatively, to step change the team’s ability and confidence to develop and implement breakthrough ideas with speed every day.
  • You will mentor all levels of team strategists, from analysts to Senior Brand Managers, taking a vested interest in their professional development.


Strategy oversight:

  • The Brand Communications team will lead and own all aspects of the creative journey for owned categories from creative strategy, development through to execution in market; Everything from initiation of creative briefs based on business problems to solve, through to multi-year campaign strategies, in-year executions and ongoing culture activations.
  • You will inspire consumer-centric thinking, guide the team to recommend the strategic direction for how the brand idea, voice and messages get amplified in the right places, with the right people (end to end) to ultimately meet business and brand objectives.


Creative guidance & development:

  • Under your leadership, you will inspire your team to move from a mentality of being advertisers and marketers to one of being CREATORS. You will fuel this approach through the adoption of agile ways of working that drives the right connectivity and collaboration with the business while also accelerating speed and breakthrough thinking in a way that ignites momentum and trust with creative partners.
  • The brand communication team will have autonomy and decision-making rights of the consumer journey for in-year campaign executions, speed of culture activations in addition to own the relationship and management of our internal and external agency partners.


Stakeholder influence:

  • You will have significant visibility with North American leadership teams, owning the strategic approach, rationale, discussion and recommendations to steer the creative process forward in presentations with your BU President, Platform lead, CGO and various other key cross functional collaborators.
  • Promote and facilitate a dynamic relationship of collaboration between the Creative Factory, Platform teams and external agencies.
  • With your team, you will manage the creative journey cross-functionally with the internal ‘Kitchen agency’ (Strategy, Creative, Production, Social Listening and Analytics); Insights Factory (consumer insights & social listening); Media Factory (Media); base teams, and partner agencies to craft insights-based strategies and innovative executions that increase the cultural relevancy of our Brands


Agency relations:

  • Support agency relationship by inspiring trust, trying new things, driving clarity and enabling speed of decision making.
  • Manage the team on Agency Briefings & coach on Agency Management and delivering inspiring, clear feedback. Recommend changes to agency mix, scope of work, senior-level account, strategy and relationships with key agency partners.


Recipe for Success - apply now if this sounds like you!

  • Creative innovator, simplifier, courageous and strategic brand leader passionate about the power of brand, design & consumer experience to drive business results
  • 10+ years of proven experience in marketing for a CPG company or experience supporting on the agency side (advertising, consulting, media)
  • Track record of driving award-winning creativity demonstrated through past brand work on local or global level
  • Bachelor’s degree required, MBA preferred
  • Models resiliency in a dynamic, fast paced work environment where ideas and opportunities happen fast and require flexibility through simultaneous project management
  • Strong critical thinking skills with a drive for results inclusive of campaign plan development (concept through execution) across varied consumer segment needs
  • Strong communication, influence and relationship building skills and creativity
  • Experience in cross-functional team management both internally and externally to inspire change


About Us

Kraft Heinz is a global food company with a delicious heritage. With iconic and emerging food and beverage brands around the world, we deliver the best taste, fun and quality to every meal table we touch. We’re on a mission to disrupt not only our own business, but the global food industry. A consumer obsession and unexpected partnerships fuel our progress as we drive innovation across every part of our company.


Around the world, our people are connected by a culture of ownership, agility and endless curiosity. We also believe in being good humans, who are working to improve our company, communities, and planet. We’re proud of where we’ve been – and even more thrilled about where we’re headed – as we nourish the world and lead the future of food.


Why Us

We grow our people to grow our business. We champion great people who bring ambition, curiosity, and high performance to the table as the guardians of our beloved and nostalgic brands. Good isn't good enough. We choose greatness every day by challenging the ordinary and making bold decisions. All while celebrating our wins - and our failures – as we work together to lead the future of food.


Challenging the status quo takes talent. We invest in your purpose and potential by developing skills and nurturing strengths that leave a legacy on our business and a lasting impact on your career. Because great people make great companies, and we’re growing something great here at Kraft Heinz.


Office Collaboration & Hybrid Work Environment

We believe our office environment fuels our collaboration, connection & community as an organization and allows our employees to grow toward greatness. We also believe providing a more flexible and agile model is essential in today’s workplace. A majority of our office-based employees will be able to work remotely for up to two days each week. Additionally, employees who are subject to this hybrid model will be eligible to work from anywhere for up to six weeks in a rolling 12-month period (in maximum two-week increments and according to benefits and tax guidelines). Some jobs may be required to be performed fully in office depending on the role’s responsibilities and requirements.


Kraft Heinz is an Equal Opportunity Employer that prohibits discrimination or harassment of any type. All qualified applicants are considered for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Applicants who require an accommodation to participate in the job application or hiring process should contact NATAI@kraftheinz.com.


About Us

Kraft Heinz is a global food company with a delicious heritage. With iconic and emerging food and beverage brands around the world, we deliver the best taste, fun and quality to every meal table we touch. We’re on a mission to disrupt not only our own business, but the global food industry. A consumer obsession and unexpected partnerships fuel our progress as we drive innovation across every part of our company.


Around the world, our people are connected by a culture of ownership, agility and endless curiosity. We also believe in being good humans, who are working to improve our company, communities, and planet. We’re proud of where we’ve been – and even more thrilled about where we’re headed – as we nourish the world and lead the future of food.


Why Us

We grow our people to grow our business. We champion great people who bring ambition, curiosity, and high performance to the table as the guardians of our beloved and nostalgic brands. Good isn't good enough. We choose greatness every day by challenging the ordinary and making bold decisions. All while celebrating our wins - and our failures – as we work together to lead the future of food.


Challenging the status quo takes talent. We invest in your purpose and potential by developing skills and nurturing strengths that leave a legacy on our business and a lasting impact on your career. Because great people make great companies, and we’re growing something great here at Kraft Heinz.


Office Collaboration & Hybrid Work Environment

We believe our office environment fuels our collaboration, connection & community as an organization and allows our employees to grow toward greatness. We also believe providing a more flexible and agile model is essential in today’s workplace. A majority of our office-based employees will be able to work remotely for up to two days each week. Additionally, employees who are subject to this hybrid model will be eligible to work from anywhere for up to six weeks in a rolling 12-month period (in maximum two-week increments and according to benefits and tax guidelines). Some jobs may be required to be performed fully in office depending on the role’s responsibilities and requirements.


Kraft Heinz is an Equal Opportunity Employer that prohibits discrimination or harassment of any type. All qualified applicants are considered for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Applicants who require an accommodation to participate in the job application or hiring process should contact NATAI@kraftheinz.com. 

Subscribe to Job Alerts