Brand Manager - Private Label, Grease, and Speciality

Brand Manager – Private Label, Grease, and Specialty

Location:

Lexington, KY (in‑office 3 days per week). Relocation package available for non‑local candidates.

Join to apply for the Brand Manager – Private Label, Grease, and Specialty role at Valvoline Global Operations
.

At Valvoline Global Operations
, we’re proud to be The Original Motor Oil
. Founded in 1866, we introduced the world’s first branded motor oil and remain a pioneer in automotive and industrial solutions. Today, as an affiliate of Aramco
, we drive innovation and sustainable solutions for a better future. With a global presence, we develop future‑ready products and provide best‑in‑class services for partners worldwide.

• Care – treating everyone with care.
• Integrity – acting with unwavering integrity.
• Excellence – striving for excellence in all endeavors.
• Passion – delivering on commitments with passion.
• Unity – collaborating as one team.

The Brand Manager, for Private Label, Grease, and Specialty leads Valvoline North America’s private label strategy and implementation across NAPA and additional distributor accounts. The role owns development, commercialization, pricing, and lifecycle management of private label product portfolios, ensuring competitiveness, profitability, and strong customer partnerships. It collaborates closely with Product Strategy, Category Management, Analytics, Sales, and Trade Marketing to shape pricing, promotional, and strategic initiatives.

Experience managing or supporting private label products—ideally in the automotive aftermarket—is highly valuable. Additionally, the Brand Manager directly leads the growing branded grease business and manages an Associate Brand Manager responsible for branded transmission fluids, gear oils, and antifreeze.

• Private Label Strategy & Portfolio Leadership
  • Serve as marketing lead for NAPA private label and distributor customers, delivering business reviews, line reviews, and strategic recommendations in conjunction with Sales.
  • Translate customer requirements, category trends, and competitive insights into product recommendations and category storytelling.
  • Lead the private label strategy for NAPA and other distributor customers, ensuring competitive and profitable product offerings.
  • Contribute to innovation, product and portfolio development, SKU architecture, with the Product Strategy team, leading new items through the stage‑gate process into commercialization.
  • Analyze and assess the feasibility, attractiveness, and strategic fit of bidding on new private label business opportunities, including competitive benchmarking, capability assessment, and financial implications.
  • Partner with Sales on joint business planning, customer negotiations, and program execution to hit annual financial targets.
  • Partner with Category Management, Analytics, Pricing, and Trade Marketing to develop pricing strategies, promotional frameworks, and competitive assessments.
• Grease Leadership
  • Develop the annual category strategy for grease, including portfolio positioning, pricing direction, and promotional strategy.
  • Analyze category, customer, and marketplace performance trends to identify opportunities for assortment optimization, innovation, and demand creation.
  • Partner with Sales to support customer‑specific category presentations, line reviews, and recommendations that drive distribution gains and incremental growth.
  • Collaborate with Supply Chain, Product Strategy, and Finance to ensure forecasting accuracy, margin performance, and operational readiness for new or updated grease SKUs.
• Team Leadership
  • Manage and develop one Associate Brand Manager leading transmission fluids, gear oil, and antifreeze.
  • Provide coaching and strategic direction to hit annual financial targets.
  • Own additional customer meetings and content development as needed by the business.

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• 4+ years of experience in brand management, private label marketing, or product marketing.
• Experience managing private label products—preferably in the automotive aftermarket—or private label experience in any consumer category is highly preferred.
• P…