Senior Director, Media, Licensing & Partnerships

Work Location: ​Chicago​

Due to the highly interactive and team-based nature of this role, in-person attendance for most of the workweek (i.e., 3 days or more) is essential for: effective communication including during in-person meetings, strong supervision, real-time problem-solving, and participation in cross-functional initiatives.

Want to make an impact?

Ferrara Candy Company is seeking a Senior Director, Media to lead in managing media, licensing, and partnership efforts for our US & International brands. This is an integral member of the marketing team working across internal (brand, international, IT, sales, finance, marketing services, etc.) and external (global media & creative agency partners, marketplace, related companies, etc.) stakeholders to steward our global media investment across ~10 active brands and across 3 markets (and growing!). This is both a role for a visionary who can drive the future of Ferrara’s media practice but also for someone who is able to roll-up their sleeves and get the job done. Additionally, this role will drive the strategy and execution of our licensing & partnership programs for items such as Jelly Belly’s Harry Potter line or Funables partnership with Paw Patrol. Core responsibilities include leading a team of Sr. Media & Licensing Managers to manage strategic planning, implement data driven innovation, drive media effectiveness through a learning agenda, and scout for new technologies and opportunities to stay ahead of the curve. He/she will work closely with brands to influence, educate, guide, and consult on their brand media plans, measurement opportunities, and partnerships. They are responsible for managing and pushing the agency to break new ground in terms of marketplace partnerships, data driven innovation, channel optimization, measurement, etc. 

Ways you will make a difference

• Set the vision for the Media, Licensing and Partnership team. Define, operationalize, and optimize best practices, build new capabilities/partnerships, and instill into brand planning with goal of delivering strong ROI to build brand equity and drive business results.
• Identify, develop, and manage critical relationships with media agency and key strategic partners to provide brands with best-in-class programs and competitive advantage to deliver on our vision
• Demonstrates leadership by effectively influencing, leading, and building partnerships to communicate opportunities, learnings and recommendations with authority and credibility to key internal & external stakeholders. High degree of partnership & relationships management required.
• Define Ferrara’s annual learning agenda for campaign effectiveness, implement measurement plans across portfolio, and reapply the learnings across brands. While responsibilities do not include eComm or Shopper marketing, it’s critical for this role to take a holistic look at marketing effectiveness to optimize activation levers holistically.
• Provide thought-leadership on data-driven marketing best practices and partner with media agency to develop tools and planning process that uses data to inform strategy and activate campaigns
• Reveals a curiosity for consumer & industry trendspotting to continually evolve Ferrara’s approach to media to align with consumer needs/expectations along with media or technology advancements
• Effectively influences, leads, and builds partnerships to communicate opportunities, learnings, and recommendations with authority & credibility to key stakeholders including but not limited to US & International Brand teams, Ferrara Senior Leadership, Ferrero Global Media Leadership, Consumer Insights, Marketing IT, Sales/Shopper Marketing, PR/Social Content, and agency teams.

Skills that will make you successful

• Strong communication versatility to work across a broad spectrum of Ferrara cross-functional teams and varying levels
• Ability to operate on different planes – higher level strategic vision to very tactical, “roll up the sleeves” executional capabilities.
• High degree of productivity and the discipline required to manage habitual routines, competing priorities, etc.
• Future-forward orientation to prepare Ferrara for “what’s next” across ad tech, consumer trends, effectiveness methodologies, data & privacy trends, country/market regulation and societal impact, AI, media fragmentation, targeting technologies, etc.

Experiences that will support your success

• Bachelor’s Degree
• 12+ years of hands-on experience leading in-house media teams or in a senior media agency role
• Global media experience
• Proven ability to build relationships and establish influence with marketers, media agency and/or marketplace
• Expertise across all media channels – TV, Publishing, Search, Display, Online Video, Mobile, Social, CTV, Retail, etc.
• Strong knowledge of media effectiveness tools & methodologies and ability to transfer learnings into actions
• Portfolio management experience; ability to identify opportunities across brands for scaled efficiencies across multiple brands; results oriented

What We Offer

At Ferrara, we're proud to support our employees with comprehensive benefits that enhance health, financial wellness, and include paid time off (PTO).  Eligible employees may also receive an annual bonus based on company performance. Learn more about our benefits at https://flimp.live/Ferrara-Candy-2025-OE-QR

Compensation

The salary range for this position is $162,000 to $226,500 annually