Customer Business Development Lead at Unilever

CATEGORY/FUNCTION INTRODUCTION

• Customer Development (CD) is what we call our Sales organization at Unilever. Customer Development is responsible for translating the strategy into execution with customers and in-store to achieve our business goals. We work closely with our customers to pioneer new products, build categories, and best deploy best-in-class retail and shopper capabilities.

JOB PURPOSE

• Find your purpose at Unilever. You will lead innovations, big and small, that will make our business win and grow. You will learn from brilliant business leaders and colleagues in a truly global and diverse culture to ultimately become a better you.  The Customer Business Development Director is responsible for development and execution of the customers and channels strategy and customer business plan, to achieve short and long-term business results. He/she owns contacts with the customer and is the custodian of Customer and Channel understanding within the Go-to-Market unit. He/she is responsible for development of CD excellence and market competitiveness within his team of account management.

WHAT WILL YOUR MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES BE

• To develop and manage the long and short-term plan for the relevant account(s)/channels in line with the agreed targets set in the strategic plan.
• To develop and deliver the Annual Plan, both in terms of topline growth and gross margin. 
• To manage the strategic interface between Unilever and the relevant Customer and set the strategic priorities for the Customer Business Plan. This involves developing excellent relationships with contacts in Supply Chain, Marketing and Finance.
• Achieve substantial business results on the Customer P&L
• To work closely with the Category Strategy and Planning Teams to deliver category growth opportunities and champion the Category strategies within the account.
• To provide strong leadership of the account team. In particular, to provide ongoing coaching and development to ensure that the team members have the opportunity to realise their full potential.
• To establish and continuously develop the customer team framework for delivery of the long- and short-term plan. 
• To work closely with relevant stakeholders to develop and execute the overall Customer Development strategy and to contribute to the overall company strategy.
• Responsible for delivering the total annual sales plan.
• Responsible for the development of Customer Development capabilities for the future.
• As a member of the Leadership Team, jointly responsible for operations, communication and the leadership of organisational and behavioural change
• To lead the development of the account managers in his team
• To build CD excellence and market competitiveness within his team
• To lead for the equity, diversity and inclusion ambition of the Customer Development function
• Provide strong people leadership and coaching to his account management team.
• To work closely with the Unilever Field Sales execution team, and CBD team to drive. key metrics in-store to drive growth

Experiences & Qualifications

• 12+ years of Sales experience, preferably cross-functional
• Strong customer facing experience and proven track record is a must  
• Strong Category management experience
• Proven people management capabilities

Desirable:

• Cross functional experience in Customer Marketing, Trade Category Management, Shopper Marketing and Field Sales operations.

Skills

• Developing the Customer / Channel Business Plan
• Customer Management and Selling Essentials
• Optimising Promotion Sell-out
• Implementing the Customer / Channel Business Plan
• Leveraging Strategic Customers
• Developing Customer Relationships
• Business Planning (S&OP)
• Developing the Customer Service Strategy & Segmentation
• PoP Execution and Monitoring
• Business Strategy and Formulation
• Business Planning and Implementation