Brand Manager, Individual Meals

The 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. The role owns this Consumer Understanding Opportunity (CUO) from validated concept to market, taking the concepts CI & Menu validate and turning them into transactions.

This role is critical to the Bird Comeback Plan because it owns concept-to-market for the individual-meal growth platform that enables KFC to become more Relevant, Visible, and Consistent with customers. It anchors Modern Menu and Modern Value – giving solo and lunch customers a craveable, affordable reason to choose KFC over a crowded QSR field.

Reporting to the Sr Director, Retail Marketing, this leader develops and owns the annual individual-meals plan – strategy, commercialization pipeline, promotional calendar, financial targets, and metrics – pricing within the guardrails Value & eComm sets, and leads cross-functional teams, agencies, and franchisees to bring it to life across the system.

Responsibilities

CUO Ownership (Concept-to-Market) & Growth Strategy 20%

Owns the Individual Meals CUO concept-to-market; Recommends the annual plan to Retail Marketing

• Take validated individual-meal concepts from CI & Menu and own them concept-to-market across sandwiches, boxes, combos, and tenders.
• Develop and own the annual plan – strategy, commercialization pipeline, promo calendar, targets, and metrics.
• Feed the calendar Sr Director sequences with franchisee-ready, ops-ready individual-meal news.

Business Performance & Commercial Impact  - 20%

Owns platform P&L and performance; Prices within Value & eComm guardrails

• Drive individual-meals sales, transactions, and check against clear targets.
• Optimize assortment and promotion, pricing within the guardrails Value & eComm sets.
• Read window results fast and reallocate to what drives traffic.

Innovation & Commercialization (Concept to Market) - 20%

Owns commercialization; Partners with FIT and Culinary

• Own individual-meal commercialization from validated concept through national launch.
• Contribute individual-meal tests into the single test-and-learn agenda owned by CI & Menu.
• Deliver clean concept-to-brief-to-retail-to-commercials execution.

Brand, Customer & Cultural Relevance  - 15%

Recommends creative direction; Partners with IMC

• Keep individual meals culturally relevant, especially with 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%

Partners with Ops, Supply Chain, Finance; feeds one franchisee voice

• Feed the single franchisee voice per topic – calendar via Sr Director, value via Value & eComm, menu via CI & Menu – rather than running a separate NCAC track.
• Align Ops, Supply Chain, Finance, and Value & eComm around shared priorities.
• Build franchisee trust by balancing ambition with operational excellence.

Data, AI & Modern Ways of Working  - 10%

Owns adoption of AI and analytics tools for the platform

• Use AI and analytics for forecasting, planning, and portfolio decisions.
• Automate reporting to create capacity for innovation and strategy.

Qualifications

Education / Certifications

Undergraduate degree required (Marketing or Business preferred); MBA a plus.

Experience

• 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.

Functional Capabilities

• Strong commercial acumen and financial literacy – P&L, pricing within guardrails, and category economics.
• Skilled at business case development, forecasting, and turning insight into growth.
• Excellent project management across multiple complex initiatives at speed.

Leadership Capabilities

• Leads through influence across cross-functional teams, agencies, and franchisees.
• Presents and defends recommendations to senior leaders and franchise governance.

Mindset

• Thinks and acts like an owner; balances creativity with commercial discipline.
• Consumer-first, data-informed, accountable, and thrives in ambiguity and speed.

Salary Range: $132,480 to $139,840 annually + bonus eligibility. This is the expected salary range for this position. Ultimately, in determining pay, we'll consider the successful candidate’s location, experience, and other job-related factors.