Business Development Manager

Job description

A mutually rewarding experience.

Work. Realize your ambitions. And realize there's more to being in business than just making a profit. That's the Mars philosophy. And the opportunity we offer every one of our Associates. An opportunity to take what you do and make it mean more for you, for those around you and for the planet. What you get here is challenging, interesting work. You get the tools you need to do a great job and you get to have the best possible people on your side to help you do it. And at the same time as getting to find ways to do business better today than we did it yesterday and driving a great career, you also get to build a more enlightened business and drive sustainability.

Because it's never just about a single person, a single project or a single brand. It's about how you can grab everything that's within your reach here and use it to pursue mutual, long-term gain. It's about having ideas. And ideals. Being prepared to risk failure because the promise of success means we'll all be a little better off. It's that mix of integrity and ambition that makes Mars such a special place to work. And why working here is always about more than just a job.

Mars has net sales of more than $33 billion, operates six business segments including Petcare, Chocolate, Wrigley, Food, Drinks, Symbioscience, and more than 75,000 Associates worldwide that are putting its Principles into action to make a difference for people and the planet through its performance.

Mars brands include: Petcare – PEDIGREE®, ROYAL CANIN®, WHISKAS®, BANFIELD® Pet Hospital, CESAR®, SHEBA®, DREAMIES® and NUTRO®; Chocolate – M&M'S®, SNICKERS®, DOVE®, GALAXY®, MARS®, MILKY WAY® and TWIX®; Wrigley – DOUBLEMINT®, EXTRA®, ORBIT® and 5™ chewing gums, SKITTLES® and STARBURST® candies, and ALTOIDS® AND LIFESAVERS® mints. Food – UNCLE BEN'S®, DOLMIO®, EBLY®, MASTERFOODS®, SEEDS OF CHANGE® and ROYCO®; Drinks – ALTERRA COFFEE ROASTERS™, THE BRIGHT TEA COMPANY™, KLIX® and FLAVIA®; Symbioscience – COCOAVIA® and WISDOM PANEL®.

Job Purpose/Overview

The Business Development Manager is accountable for driving the development and growth of the BE-KIND business through non-traditional channels. The incumbent is responsible for establishing relationships with key customers, and the achievement of account-specific goals, including volume objectives, forecast accuracy, promotional execution, distribution targets, new item speed to shelf, SRP management, and retail execution. This position is accountable for delivering innovative, fact-based solutions and thought leadership for existing customers, while continually identifying new growth opportunities through an expanded customer base. If leveraged in market, this role will also be responsible for the ongoing performance and management of BE-KIND distribution

Key Responsibilities

Achievement of sales objectives and specific volume goals through execution of account plans and brand strategies.
Focus on achievement of optimal AMPPS (assortment, merchandising, price, promotion and shelving) by account.
Manage trade funds to support marketing and promotional plans, determining pricing and distribution and negotiating with key accounts.
The ability to forecast accurately for a dynamic category and innovation.

Develop and deliver customer plans to achieve objectives within budget, and short & long-term solutions through best practice thought leadership.
Present annual marketing plans to customers and execute plans.
Influence customer(s) to implement solutions through fact based presentations that deliver results that are beneficial for both customer and company.
Share customer feedback and bring forward potential solutions.

Collaborate with BE-KIND internal teams to align with brand and category objectives and develop go-to-market retail strategy to deliver execution excellence.
Work with Field Sales and Field Marketing teams to produce best-in-class sales store, market events, and increased KIND presence and brand awareness where teams are in place.
Develop retail priorities to provide clear direction for sales field team to drive action at retail.

Manage distributor partners through regular meetings (in person and virtual), scorecard creation and execution and clear communication and follow-up to ensure execution excellence.
Provide strategic direction and guidance to distributor team to support AAMPS planning and customer meetings.
Pre-plan with distributor partner by reviewing data and developing customer strategies prior to customer meetings.
Work with distributor to provide post-promotional analysis to understand ROI and competitive activity.
Manage the marketing messaging via all consumer touch-points.
Partner with Global Digital and CMI resources to turn insights into meaningful action and investigate opportunities in new channels (digital/social).
Act as Sales contact for all questions/feedback on product support plans.
Responsible for the successful development and execution of all field marketing efforts within market, ultimately resulting in increased brand awareness and conversion from trial to purchase: accountable for the delivery of all key field marketing metrics (total samples, ROI, POS placement, quality of the program, recruitment, engagement, etc).
Develop local programming and partnerships, resulting in increased brand trial and visibility in market eg local market sampling initiatives, reaching our target consumers where they live, work, play and shop.
Manage BE-KIND Brand Ambassadors (KBAs) within market, ensuring they successfully execute KIND Field Marketing strategy and effectively oversee the field team.
Work in collaboration with high quality agency that will be responsible for recruiting/ training and evaluating the KBAs.
Track market expenditures to ensure budget compliance.
Collaborate with sales counterparts to determine market level support and account goals; utilizing strategic marketing initiatives to achieve said goals.
Understand brand position in market with the ability to develop marketing plans and tactics to gain incremental sales.

Partner with Global and be market level point of contact for cross-functional projects, including items such as:
Packaging updates due to any reformulations, die-line changes, etc.
New SKU launches (flavors, pack sizes, etc.).
Create new display vehicles to drive sales.

Be an expert in the Snack Bar category.
Understand performance of the brand as well as category and key competitors, conducting monthly assessments as well as ad-hoc analysis based on syndicated consumption, panel, and shipment data.
Proactively communicate key learnings and actions with internal stakeholders.

Job Specifications/Qualifications

Bachelor’s Degree required, or equivalent work experience.
Must have proficiency in Microsoft Office, specifically PowerPoint and Excel Proven track record of consistently delivering business objectives
Fluent written and spoken English & Hebrew.
Minimum of 3-5 years experience in Sales, Account Management, Marketing, Category Management or related field preferred.
Minimum of two years of experience making customer headquarter calls or equivalent work experience.
Broker/Distributor management experience.
Expert understanding of CPG industry sector and competitive landscape preferred.
Ability to portray a confident and winning attitude in challenging business interactions.
Excellent verbal and written skills. Strong presentation skills required.
Ability to apply financial data to make decisions and influence outcomes. This includes margins, retail math, forecast/projections, velocities, and other analytical skills not mentioned.

Based in Ra'anana, Reporting to the Market Cluster Head (abroad).

Mars is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. If you need assistance or an accommodation during the application process because of a disability, it is available upon request. The company is pleased to provide such assistance, and no applicant will be penalized as a result of such a request.

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