Associate Manager Stationery, Trade Marketing

JOB DESCRIPTION 

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES / TASKS

Trade Marketing Strategy & Planning

• Build and implement annual Trade Marketing plans by category, channel and customer, aligned with cluster growth objectives and the stationeries acceleration priority in Nigeria
• Translate global and regional brand strategies into locally relevant trade initiatives that drive penetration, distribution, visibility and demand growth
• Adapt plans to Nigerian market specificities: traditional trade dominance, wholesalers, sub-distributors and emerging channels
• Identify growth opportunities to recruit new consumers and increase category penetration: assortment recommendations, visibility programs and channel activation…

Distributor Management & Capability building

• Act as the distributor's primary counterpart for all Marketing matters (activation plans, POSM, merchandising, trade programs), in coordination with the Business Development Manager, who owns the commercial relationship
• Build strong relationships and ensure alignment on priorities, execution standards and business objectives
• Build distributor marketing and merchandising capabilities through training and best-practice

In-store Execution Excellence

• Define and deploy merchandising and visibility guidelines across channels; ensure best-in-class execution of trade initiatives (POSM, activations, promotions)
• Monitor execution quality, improve shopper conversion at POS, take corrective actions where needed

Budget & Performance Management

• Manage Trade Marketing budgets with optimal allocation of resources, tracking ROI and continuously improving trade spend efficiency and execution effectiveness
• Track performance of trade initiatives through relevant KPIs and recommend corrective actions

Cross-functional Collaboration

• Monitor and analyze market, customer, competitor and shopper data (incl. Nielsen where available) to generate actionable insights
• Work closely with Marketing, Sales and Supply teams to ensure alignment of plans and priorities
• Share market insights, consumer and customer understanding, execution feedback and best practices with regional teams

Price Monitoring and Market Intelligence Gathering

• Conduct regular store visits, market walks, distributor check to capture competitor shelf price, promo price and trade offers.

• Share ad-hoc, monthly value chain analysis by channel and competitive activities reports with local management team
• Translate data into what we should do in trade.

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATOR / KEY FIGURES 

• Sales Growth in line with company’s Rolling Forecast for the region
• Volume & Value Market Share as per targets (when tracked)
• Numeric and Weighted Distribution across priority channels
• On time In Full Marketing plans executions, with results and ROI as per plan, and in compliance with brand standards
• Spend within approved budget with phasing respected quarterly
• In-store execution quality and activation effectiveness with measurable uplift from plans

CANDIDATE PROFILE: QUALIFICATIONS/ TECHNICAL SKILLS 

Qualifications and Experience

• Education: University degree in Marketing, Business, Engineering or equivalent
• Experience: Min 5 years of trade marketing experience in an FMCG company.
• Experience in multi-market or distributor-led environment including Egypt is a strong asset
• Languages: Fluent in English, written and spoken.
• Tools: Proficient in MS Office, intermediate/advanced Excel and PowerPoint
• Finance/RGM: Exposure to merchandising, animation and POSM agencies / suppliers. Familiarity with Revenue Growth Management principles, and prior experience in sales or account management with agencies is also valuable.

PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCIES

Customer & shopper understanding:

• Understands retail landscape: traditional trade, sub-distributors, modern trade
• Analyzes shopper trends and market insights, translating them into actionable trade initiatives
• Interprets research (Nielsen, consumer studies) and translates into clear actions
• Understands retail landscape: traditional trade, sub-distributors, modern trade
• Analyzes shopper trends and market insights, translating them into actionable trade initiatives
• Interprets research (Nielsen, consumer studies) and translates into clear actions
• Interacts with various levels in a customer organization to discuss opportunities and resolve issues

Category knowledge

• Deep knowledge of BIC portfolio and competitive landscape
• Capable of recommending assortment, pricing, and promotional strategies to drive growth

Trade Execution & Campaign Management

• Plans and executes trade campaigns end-to-end based on the annual Initiative Master Plan
• Monitors ROI and adjusts plans based on performance

Communication & Collaboration

• Articulates ideas clearly in a written and verbal format
• Shares best practices and escalates risks and opportunities early with proposed solutions
• Presents plans confidently to distributors, customers and sales teams

Project & budget management

• Manages multiple projects simultaneously with attention to detail
• Meets deadlines and tracks spend vs plan rigorously

Distributor & stakeholder management

• Builds productive relationships with distributor partners
• Influences without direct authority

BIC World is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We strongly commit to hiring people with different backgrounds and experiences to help us build better products, make better decisions, and better serve our customers. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, veteran status, disability status, or similar characteristics. All employment is decided based on qualifications, merit, and business need.

BIC World is not seeking assistance or accepting unsolicited resumes from search firms for this employment opportunity. Regardless of past practice, all resumes submitted by search firms to any team member at BIC via email, or directly to a BIC team member in any form without a valid written search agreement in place for that position will be deemed the sole property of BIC, and no fee will be paid in the event the candidate is hired by BIC as a result of the referral or through other means.