Customer Business Manager - Waitrose and Ocado (Maternity Cover)

Location: Sunlight House, Kingston

JOB PURPOSE

The Customer Business Manager (CBM) is an externally focused role, leading Unilever business with Key Customers. The CBM is responsible for developing strong working relationships with senior customer contacts, leading a team of Customer Account Managers (CAMs) to develop and deliver customer strategies, taking overall accountability for financial performance within their area, and helping to drive consistency of process between customer teams.

Key focus areas for this role are:

• Develop sustainable customer relationships at all levels and cross functionally, underpinned by a strong JBP.
• Leverage our brand assets and BU (Business Unit) structure to deliver new and exciting innovation and category building plans.
• Loving the customer and developing a strong customer strategy.
• The need for extensive commercial rigour in the assessment and implementation of our Growth Strategy across channels.
• Strength in Shopper and Consumer insight to apply to categories across Food, B&W, Homecare and Personal Care.
• Leadership within the team, across teams and externally.

This role is offered as a 12-month secondment to provide maternity cover.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Build and maintain strong senior level relationships: Develop strong relationships with both internal (e.g. BU Leads) & external customers (e.g. Senior Buyers, Head of Departments and broader customer contacts).
• Work with the CAMs and Customer Service Team to ensure significant commercial, customer service and finance issues/opportunities are resolved/exploited efficiently.
• Own the Unilever & Customer relationship on all categories – Be the face of Unilever UK with the customer.
• Lead customer strategy development and major customer and category initiatives.
• Lead the development and delivery of the customer strategic business plan and the joint customer business plan, working closely with Category Managers, Shopper Marketing and BU’s.
• Lead the development and deployment of category strategy and insight alongside the respective BU and Category teams.
• Resolve Customer / Category trade off’s within their area.
• With Customer Marketing Managers, lead key in-store activation events.
• Lead range and merchandising reviews (where appropriate).
• Deliver key Category Team initiatives at Customer e.g. Price Increases, Brand Activation, NPD etc.
• Be accountable for financial performance of categories within area of responsibility.
• Deliver Turnover, Customer Profitability and Trade Management Investment budgets.
• Own the short term volume and spend forecast aligned to S&OP process for their allocated super categories.
• Discuss and agree Gap Filling initiatives with Category Team Lead and develop our Growth Strategy with customers to win share whilst delivering profitability objectives for both Unilever and Customer.
• Line manage and develop Customer Account Managers.
• Manage the performance of CAMs, Execs and cross functional team within their responsibility.
• Provide on-the-job coaching and guidance.
• Facilitate training and development opportunities – support the team in achieving their career goals.
• Promote the adoption of best practice and consistent processes/standards by CAM’s under their responsibility.
• Lead for Customer knowledge and capability within the company as a whole.

ALL ABOUT YOU

• Customer management & selling essentials - ideally previous experience of performing a CAM role.
• Experience of leveraging big customer relationships.
• Consistent delivery of high quality results in difficult trading/customer environments.
• Category Management and Customer Marketing experience.
• Experience of managing and developing others.
• Experience of creating and delivering JBP’s.
• Self Starting, Independent and Strong Conviction.

WHAT WE OFFER

Whilst the role is advertised on a full-time basis, we would be happy to discuss possible flexible working options and what this may look like for you. We strive to achieve a family-friendly and inclusive workplace and to, above all, create possibilities for all. Diversity at Unilever is about inclusion, embracing differences, creating possibilities and growing together for better business performance. We embrace diversity in our workforce. This means giving full and fair consideration to all applicants and continuing development of all employees regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership, and pregnancy and maternity. We are also more than happy to provide reasonable adjustments during our application and interview process to enable you to be present your best self.

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