Senior Manager, Business Unit & Strategy Sales

The Senior Manager, Business Unit Sales provides leadership for the business and trade management. Main functions include process improvement, forecast accuracy, trade efficiency, distribution recommendations, and merchandising strategy changes that will help to drive profitable revenue/OI growth. This position has responsibility for steering the Business Unit’s strategi agenda with cross-functional partners such as marketing, finance, field sales, and supply chain to ensure target delivery and collaboration with customer teams. 

Essential Functions & Responsibilities   

• Develop robust business proposals that combine brand story with customer’s strategic interests. 

• Conduct account specific market research with category marketing to set key windows, pricing strategy and TDP (total distribution points) expectations. 

• Supervise distribution build, pricing, and promotional compliance to guardrails across existing and new categories to maintain balance across channels and enhance revenue potential. 

• Lead trade marketing and shopper marketing budget to ensure spend discipline across categories and work with field teams to implement approved infusions to deliver financial goals. 

• Collaborate closely with revenue management and customer sales teams to proactively deliver more efficient promotional spend without risk to buyer relationships and competitive edge. 

• Deliver sales forecasting efficiency with demand, supply, and sales by leading monthly demand forecasting routines to identify key volume drivers and communicating material needs. 

• Contribute thought leadership by identifying whitespace across different channels through closure of core product gaps, innovation, and profitable promotion plans incremental to plan. 

• Manage product supply shortage through efficient communication with supply chain and customer sales teams to minimize revenue loss and maintain customer prioritization. 

• Analyze competitive landscape periodically to help the team maintain an efficient go to market strategy and react dynamically to competitive threats. 

• Develop comprehensive understanding of commercialization process and track progress of new item commercialization against pre-specified launch dates to hit customer resets. 

• Own communication routines with sales teams (often involving 50+ participants) to gather market intelligence and highlight BU priorities and changes to brand strategies and tactics. 

• Develop sound relationships with all cross-functional partners to guarantee efficient execution and revenue realization. 

Expected Experience & Required Skills 

• Seasoned experience with an understanding of FMCG industry; Prior experience in category management or sales required  

• Excellent analytical and problem-solving capability with experience using data; Syndicate/panel data familiarity a plus 

• Ability to lead cross functional teams, handle simultaneous projects, and deliver within agreed upon time frames  

• Outstanding verbal, written and interpersonal communications skills 

• Advanced Excel knowledge and experience working with databases 

• Experience presenting to and working with customers