[Hiring] Customer Business Manager @Unilever

Role Description

The Customer Business Manager is responsible for leading the Home Care business with our key retail partner, building a strong and sustainable customer partnership while delivering profitable growth and excellent execution. The role translates Home Care category and commercial strategies into customer-specific plans, bringing together the right portfolio, promotions, innovation, pricing and execution priorities to unlock growth for both Unilever and the customer.

As the key Home Care business partner for the customer, the role will work closely with Customer Strategy and Planning (CSP), Marketing, Customer Operations and other cross-functional teams to build and execute joint business plans, strengthen in-store and omnichannel execution, and deliver agreed business targets.

Main Accountabilities

• Lead Customer Strategy & Business Delivery
  • Develop and execute the customer's strategy and business plan, translating Home Care priorities into clear customer-specific growth actions.
  • Own delivery of agreed turnover, profitability, market share and execution objectives for the customer's business.
  • Build and drive the Customer Business Plan / Joint Business Plan (CBP/JBP) with the customer, ensuring strong alignment between customer priorities and Home Care growth ambitions.
  • Identify growth opportunities across categories, formats and channels and translate these into actionable customer plans.
  • Monitor business performance and proactively address risks and opportunities to deliver customer and Home Care targets.
• Drive Commercial & Execution Excellence
  • Lead the deployment of Home Care category and customer initiatives, including innovation/NPD, pricing, promotions and thematic campaigns.
  • Partner with CSP and Marketing to translate category strategies into strong customer propositions and activation plans.
  • Drive excellent in-store and omnichannel execution, with focus on availability, assortment, visibility, promotion and Perfect Store fundamentals.
  • Ensure customer investments and commercial plans are deployed effectively and deliver sustainable value.
  • Work closely with Customer Operations and relevant execution teams to resolve operational issues and ensure strong service and execution.
• Build Strategic Customer Partnership
  • Build strong, trusted relationships with the customer's key stakeholders and position Home Care as a strategic growth partner.
  • Lead key customer engagements and business reviews, bringing a clear point of view on business performance, opportunities and future growth.
  • Develop win-win commercial propositions that balance customer priorities, shopper needs and Unilever business objectives.
  • Lead customer negotiations within agreed commercial frameworks and ensure effective implementation of agreed plans.
• Lead Cross-Functional Delivery
  • Act as the single point of commercial coordination for Home Care and with the customer, bringing together CSP, Marketing, Customer Operations and other relevant teams behind the customer plan.
  • Ensure clear priorities, roles and actions across functions to enable fast and effective execution.
  • Bring customer and shopper insights back into the Home Care business to influence category, portfolio and commercial decisions.
  • Champion simpler and more effective ways of working across the customer ecosystem.
• Develop Talent & Customer Capability
  • Build strong customer-management capabilities, commercial acumen and execution discipline within the team.
  • Create a high-performance environment with clear accountability, ownership and collaboration.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Economics, Management, or a related field.
• Minimum of 8 years’ experience in customer development, key account management, sales, or commercial management, preferably in FMCG or consumer goods.
• At least 5 years managing a major modern trade or omnichannel retail account, with accountability for customer strategy, negotiations, profitability, and execution.
• Proven experience developing Customer Business Plans or Joint Business Plans and delivering turnover, market share, profitability, and execution targets.
• Strong knowledge of pricing, promotions, trade investment, assortment, innovation launches, customer P&L, and Perfect Store fundamentals.
• Strong analytical, commercial, negotiation, stakeholder-management, and presentation skills.
• Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional teams and build trusted relationships with senior customer stakeholders.
• Previous people-management or team-development experience is required.
• Direct experience with major modern trade or national based retail groups is highly preferred.

Benefits

• We highly encourage applicants to exclude information on age, gender, and school/s in view of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.
• Unilever assesses candidates based on skills, performance, experience and leadership.
• Unilever is an organisation committed to equity, inclusion and diversity to drive our business results and create a better future, every day, for our diverse employees, global consumers, partners, and communities.
• We believe a diverse workforce allows us to match our growth ambitions and drive inclusion across the business.
• At Unilever we are interested in every individual bringing their ‘Whole Self’ to work and this includes you!
• If you require any support or access requirements, we encourage you to advise us at the time of your application so that we can support you through your recruitment journey.