Senior Manager - Commercial Strategy and Implementation

Description Overview

As the leader of CS&I Belgium (Commercial Strategy and Implementation), you will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of our organisation, embodying the voice of the shopper and customer. 
Reporting to the Cluster CS&I Director, you will lead a dynamic team of over 6 professionals, driving innovative strategies across all channels and customer touchpoints.

Location: Ghent, Belgium. Hybrid working model.

Scope of the Role

1.Deliver Business Goals & CS&I Strategy for Belgium

• Delivers the annual, quarterly & monthly business cycle requirements
• Translate aligned budget goals into country & channel targets 
• Critical member of the Market Leadership team partnering with the Market Lead & Marketing Director to deliver the aligned objectives 
• Across fragmented customer & channel environments, drive sustainable & profitable growth through strategic resource allocation & integration

2.Develop Leading CS&I Principles

• In partnership with Cluster & Marketing Leads – own commercial deployment plan to the sales teams
• Key partner to Cluster, Central CS&I and broader Sales teams, driving the voice of external reality & what’s needed to win for the country/hub, utilising processes like 5 year strategy & LRP 
• Lead Go To Market, CVA input & target ownership for all country innovation needs, along with clarity of what is needed to win 
• Lead commercial input into country/hub level challenges & opportunities with Cluster or Central teams
• Ensure centrally deployed innovation tools are tailored to be fit for purpose for local sales teams to sell & deliver initiative target objectives 
• Key partner to Cluster & Central CS&I teams to influence Commercial innovation needs for the country/hub
• Lead country deployment of annual brand plans 

3.Win in Executional Excellence

• Leads innovation execution & collates KPI progress tracking for the total country
• Lead monthly IMEX contributions to Central Leadership team plans to win for the country & identify support needed 
• Leads delivery & reporting of commercial components of the Local Success Model (built from Category Success Model) 
• Lead country execution of the Perfect Store strategy, by channel & key customer (eg. distribution targets, price & promotional guidance, visibility targets)
• Own Perfect Store & DVRP measurement across the country & action plan to drive continuous year on year improvements

4.Build Capability & Enable Success

• Optimise processes & tools for maximum efficiency & impact
• Proactive contributor to share & re apply sessions across markets & categories 
• Key partner to the CS&I community, working to build community capability
• Elevate customer development excellence: drive winning executions that are tailored for channels & customers
• Deliver a winning organisational design including team TRSP & individual performance management

Experience Required

• Visionary Leadership: Establish & actualise a compelling vision, aligning shopper & customer experts across the organisation with broader commercial goals through transformative trade management & customer-centric plans
• Channel Growth Leadership: Innovatively drive growth in existing & emerging channels, achieving long range sales & margin expansion goals
• Influential Presence: Exert significant positive influence across the organisation, contributing unique perspectives to drive intelligent decision making & team development, focused on profit & ROI.  Demonstrate a positive track record of leading external customer relationships at a senior level.
• Analytical Excellence: Utilise data driven analytics to review performance, driving real time improvements
• Streamlined Sales & Marketing: Lead cycle planning & commercial forums with a focus on simplicity, speed, and effective implementation
• Growth Mindset: Embrace and excel in new challenges, fostering a culture of continuous learning and adaptation
• Typically 10 years+ experience in a large FMCG/Consumer Health or retail environment
• Preference for extensive commercial experience (e.g. Shopper & Trade Marketing and Sales)
• Proven experience in managing analytically demanding corporate initiatives
• Demonstrated success in leading senior external relationships and integrating omni-channel strategies and managing retailer relationships.
• Proven ability to develop and implement effective strategies, processes, and controls, including trade funds management and comprehensive planning processes like S&OP and Stage Gate
• Expertise in enhancing forecast models, segmentation frameworks, sales incentives, pricing strategies, and reporting tools to drive channel strategy execution
• Mastering 1 of both country languages (Flemish or French); Fluent in written and spoken english