Head of Trade Marketing and Category Development

Job Purpose/Overview:

The Strategic Demand Lead role is critical in leading, motivating and setting clear strategic inspiring direction for the West Asia Demand team, in order to win with our customers and consumers in the markets within we operate (Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and DBU). A critical role in translating the Mars Snacking purpose and Mars Wrigley Asia strategy into a clear strategic roadmap for our West Asia markets, whilst leading a team of associates across the 4 pillars of Category Leadership, Customer Activation, Sales Operations & Demand Planning team. This role is an important role that partners with the GM for West Asia to define the strategy to unlock the full potential of our cluster. As leader of a large team of associates, this role is responsible for recruiting, retaining and developing a high performing, capable and engaged direct report, establishing a strong talent pipeline and culture that highlights the benefits of personal career development and a pool of best-in-class functional expertise.

Key Responsibilities:

• Starting with the Global Mars Snacking vision, support the West Asia GM to create a clear strategy for West Asia, ensuring a strong and consistent understanding of the category growth drivers is well embedded as the foundation for our customer and consumer centric category and portfolio plans.
• To lead and develop a high performing team of engaged associates across the Category leadership, Activation, Sales ops and Demand planning areas.
• To partner closely with the SDD Team for Asia to align on Brand priorities, relevant activations, portfolio opportunities and investment requirements to drive growth in West Asia markets.
• Collaborate with Asia Category Leadership team in the cluster, shape shopper and customer insights to identify customer growth opportunities and leverages/ executes these with high standards in all Category Leadership initiatives, tactics, practices and engages cross-functional resources to deliver the growth opportunities.
• Own and manage the annual CDP budget for West Asia, identifying opportunities for further investment or efficiencies of investments in order to deliver ROI of this budget. Ensure alignment of this budget allocation with the SDD team and supporting the Advertising investment priorities for our markets.
• Delivery of a GLM experience for a large team of associates.
• Contribute to the One Asia business performance as a member of the West Asia Leadership Team (WALT) for Mars Wrigley.
• Develop and execute customer and shopper centric activities incorporating account specific plans as part of KA JPB.
• Definition of the Perfect Store strategy for West Asia.
• Defines Category-Channel strategy, execute Customer Activations to drive brand visibility, ensuring excellence in retail to bring our brands to life instore, drives optimal physical availability and engage the shopper and drive conversion.
• Leads the SDL team of West Asia as a Great Line Manager to support the team members to deliver int their roles by being a visible leader driving the key pillars of Great Line Management for the SDL team through: 1) Ensuring excellent team delivery of results and performance through the Performance and Development Process; 2) Sustainable team engagement through leading the Gallup Engagement Impact Planning and Follow Through processes; 3) Associate development in the functional competencies and Mars Leadership Capabilities relevant for their roles as well as a longer career development for the team in building talent pipeline and potential successor for this role; 4) Fostering the Mars culture and the Five Principles at all times.
• Partners closely with Mars Wrigley Asia Cluster Strategic Demand team and West Asia market Sales Customer Development team through strong cross functional collaboration in identifying category specific opportunities based on understanding of channel’s objective, SWOT, consumer, shopper & customer insights, and translate these opportunities and strategies into detailed activation plans by category, using the Mars Growth Philosophy.
• Builds and maintains strong and influential relationships with key customers and representing the voice of the customer and shopper internally to ensure future business strategies help support the strategic ambitions of an integrated Category-Customer strategies and execution plans to maximize conversion opportunities for Mars.
• Collaborates with the global and regional Perfect Store team to develop an integrated picture of success for channel(s)/key customers grounded in our global in store leadership strategies. Ensures Mars Wrigley’s portfolio visibility and presence at point of purchase exceeds market share, perfect store ambitions are realised and strong and sustainable category partnerships/ captaincies are built for mutual, profitable and sustainable category growth.
• Represent West Asia in the PMR (Step 1) forum and DMR (Step 2) in the S&OP+ process. Be the central point for One Demand thinking driving a total portfolio approach across Sales and Marketing and be able to provide strong proposals on portfolio trade-offs as required.
• Partners with CMI to deliver growth insights and foresights across the business unit via local understanding of category, channel, shopper and consumer dynamics.
• Work cross-functionally to motivate, engage and inspire the team to deliver the units’ strategic demand priorities, working towards a common vision and achievement of the units’ strategy.
• Meets with senior stakeholders in priority customers to share compelling category growth plans that are grounded in MW category vision.

Job Specifications/Qualifications:

• University Degree Holder or above.
• Proven track record of being a Great Line Manager of a diverse team of multi-level associates.
• Customer and/or marketing experience that includes selling, negotiating and leveraging insights and proven ability to understand and translate brand strategies into engaging customer strategies that are mutually beneficial for company and customer.
• Ability to assess needs, propose mutually beneficial solutions, overcome objections, demonstrate resilience and manage conflict with a positive & confident mind-set and close to maximize mutual value.
• Experience of building strategies and developing action plans to implement these strategies.
• Good numeracy and analytical skills and experience of applying a wide range of analytics that drive insights and actions for complex customers and a variety of business situations.
• Good business acumen with an understanding and application of the sales cycle, trends and broader business implications to making judgments and recommendations for action.
• Ability to understand shopper needs and behaviors and the fundamentals of category management and how you might apply these to drive differentiated customer solutions.
• Good interpersonal skills and proven ability to develop long term, effective and influential business relationships with multiple stakeholders.
• Able to respond and adapt to a fast moving, changing environment with a can do / solution-based attitude.
• Experience in areas such as (but not exclusive to): Sales, Customer Management, Marketing,
• Customer/Shopper Marketing, and Category Leadership.