This position works with Field Sales, Marketing, Customer Marketing and Finance teams to facilitate the development and implementation of the trade strategy for the food division. These strategies capitalize on opportunities to grow volume and profit of core products and customers.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES
Trade Strategy Development/Implementation: Develop in conjunction with Customer Marketing, Field Sales, and Brand Directors, the trade strategy for selected brands. Work with field sales to ensure proper implementation and execution. Focus against top customers to ensure proper strategy in place to meet customer and brand expectations. Additionally, this position will help ensure that strategy is executed properly and delivering expected results.

Sales Planning: Work with customer marketing, field sales, and brand to ensure that all materials are delivered at optimum time to field sales. This work will include:

• Trade Plans
• New Items
• Product/Packaging changes

Sales Communication: Lead communication of materials to field sales group by working with field management and internal resources. Primary communication responsibilities include:

• Sales strategy and implementation plans
• Consumer marketing Events
• Specific selling tools for key customers
• Plan
• Streamline requests from marketing to field
• Track competitive activity/category issues/retail environment and provide feedback to internal resources

New Item Planning and Forecasting: Responsibilities include:

• Drive strategic priorities around new item introductions
• Develop new item presentations and sell sheets.
• Facilitate new item forecasts.
• Establish strategies and tactics to help drive assortment decisions
• Provide recommendations for new items and dropped items
• Provide input into new product launch timing

Trade Funding Process/Management: Establish guidelines for trade spending by working with Sales Management, this includes slotting, trade promotions and non-volume building activities. Tracking the implementation of these guidelines and ensuring delivery of expectations will be very important.

In-Store Shopper Marketing: Create process/strategy for ISSM for selected brands at key customers. Facilitate strategy development by working with the field sales group and brand personnel.

SKILLS & ABILITIES

• 5-7 years of Consumer Products Sales, Marketing, and/or Customer Marketing experience.
• Must have experience managing key retail customers  Wal*Mart, Kroger, Safeway, etc
• Strong leadership, financial, and strategic skills
• Ability to work across functional areas including operations, R&D, and marketing
• Excellent communication skills (written and verbal)
• Ability to influence people who are not direct reports