Islay Brand Experience Ambassador

What makes this a great opportunity?

Working across our Brand Homes on Islay: Bowmore, Laphroaig, and the Bowmore Cottages and The Harbour Inn, this role is based at our Islay office within our Internal Hotel; The Harbour Inn in Bowmore. The post holder will have responsibility for development, coordination, and delivery of day-to-day Trade Visits within the Scotch & Irish Brand Experience (BX) team delivering the annual Brand Experience Programme (BEP). Hosting Tours, Tastings, Filming & Experiences for Suntory Global Spirits Key Accounts, Media and VIPs. This role means supporting the Brand Experience team & the Islay Brand Home teams to produce a year-round calendar of opportunities, to increase visitors, and host Tastings, Tours and events which tell our stories, showcase our liquids, and form our gateway to the world from Islay.

The candidate will be responsible for delivering world class premium and original brand experiences that will enhance brand image and deliver value to the business, working closely with the Brands, Islay partners, Production, and properties to build brand advocacy, and help us create Brand Ambassadors of our communities.

The Islay Brand Experience Ambassador will primarily represent Laphroaig and Bowmore brands, plus supporting the Bowmore Cottages, where their role will also involve working with key stakeholders, influence and develop relationships with bartenders and journalists, and tourists and the local community for events. The role requires someone who will be an expert in our industry, a passion for our Brands, and possess extensive knowledge of Ambassador roles, and our products as they will be responsible for hosting and delivering all trade experiences from our distilleries and across our international markets. Providing educational, inspiring experiences and by bringing our brands to life is essential to this role.

Role Responsibilities

· Running & hosting a calendar of Trade, Media & Filming Tours & Tastings across multiple sites for premium Brand Experiences

· Creating activities which drive sales during Silent or quiet seasons

· Manage the planning and logistics of Trade, Media & VIP Visits to our Islay Brand Homes.

· Lead relationships with local/national suppliers to negotiate and agree rates and contracts (hotels, taxis, restaurants etc.)

· Driving our luxury vehicles and people carriers as part of Experiences (Driving License required, min. Legal age requirement 25yo)

· Achieving the Scotch and Irish Brand House ambitions by delivering best-in-class brand education and building a community of brand advocates via cultural connections and experiences delivered directly at our brand homes.

· Be the face of the Islay whisky portfolio, educating our Guests on our Brands, Behaviours and Liquids, and win the hearts and minds of trade and consumers by sharing the compelling stories.

· Exhibit expertise and detailed knowledge of our Whisky & Tourism categories by becoming an extension of our Islay Brand Homes

· Support the Brand Home & Brand Experience teams in delivering annual targets & results.

· Develop and execute an innovative and inspiring advocacy programme that communicates key brand messages in a unique and compelling way and provide recapping metrics to communicate successes in market.

KEY SKILLS & COMPETENCIES:

· Ensure drive and passion amongst all stakeholders for delivering excellent events, customer service and overall experience – from the initial enquiry to delivery of experience.

· Strong digital ability and familiarity across a range of software, from Instagram to Excel, Powerpoint & others

· A self-starter with a creative mind-set, a passion for Scotch Whisky & Travel / Tourism, and the ability to grow and influence their network.

· Strong storyteller – with gravitas and passion to engage & inspire colleagues, customers and consumers to develop strong relationships, including those within the virtual team.

· The ability to create and execute impactful, influential and compelling brand experiences.

· Up to date on drinks trends and able to innovate cocktail strategies for key segments

· An excellent knowledge of cocktails, spirits, bar standards, bar operations, the business of bars, global media, the global spirits market and global distributors.

· Ability to mentor & coach trade and internal stakeholders, attention to serve details and excellence in drinks execution.

· Strong network of industry leaders/influencers/journalists

· A solid understanding, level of expertise and passion for the On & Off Trade.

· Previous ambassadorial experience in whisky industry

· Strong drive and desire to succeed, with high levels of energy, focus and ambition.

· Ability to multi-task in a demanding environment with great attention to event planning and delivery

· Able to host trips when required and communicate with a wide spectrum of visitors.

· Ability to make decisions independently, lead creative and commercial challenges.

· Self-starter, flexible comfortable working in unstructured environment, and able to manage multiple priorities effortlessly.

· Organized and structured, capable of dealing with several tasks and deadlines simultaneously

· Experience in planning and coordination of events.

Qualifications

KEY BEHAVIOURS:

· Attention to detail

· Ability to multi-task and be able to deal with demanding situations in a calm, professional and controlled manner to ensure positive solutions.

· Works with integrity and fairness at all times and has the respect of all colleagues.

· Works well as part of a team but can flex to work independently.

· Friendly, charismatic and pragmatic personality.

· Encourages open and honest discussion and feedback.

· Thrives in high-pressure dynamic environments meeting key goals

KEY RELATIONSHIPS:

· Brand Experience leadership & team

· Islay Brand Home Managers and teams

· Scotch & Irish Brand House Marketing teams

· Scotch & Irish Private Client, Global Comms & Partnership teams

· Internal and External Stakeholders including, Distillery Managers, brand marketing, PR, Public Affairs, tour operators, Suntory Global Spirits HR, Legal, Finance and Global Business partners

· Agencies – PR and Creative

· Press, trade and bartenders

EXPERIENCE & QUALIFICATIONS:

· Educated to degree level (additional Marketing/Events/Hospitality Qualifications would be beneficial)

· A knowledge of Suntory Global Spirits brands and the company values.

· Competitor Awareness

· Commercial acumen - knowledge and understanding of budgets, forecasting and P&L accounts.

· Demonstrated personal characteristics to be brand evangelist to local teams.

· Experience with multicultural trade-focused marketing strategy, communications and activation/experiential programming.

· Travel 10-20%, mainly domestic, but some international travel may be required for specific event