Market, Strategy & Planning Controller

Nichols; Newton-le-Willows; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days holiday

Annual Bonus

Private medical cover

Job summary

Nichols, the home of Vimto, is seeking a Market, Strategy & Planning Controller to shape and deliver a 3-year route-to-market strategy across UK Packaged. You will partner with Commercial, Marketing and Finance leaders to translate brand ambition into a compelling commercial plan.

You will lead Category, RGM and Shopper Marketing, manage a three-person team, and ensure customer-centric, data-driven decisions across multi-channel activation.

Qualifications

• Strategic thinker with the ability to translate insights into commercial action.
• Proven track record shaping and delivering commercial strategies.
• Experience with S&OP/IBP and multi-channel activation.

Responsibilities

• Shaping the 3-year route-to-market and channel strategies.
• Drive revenue, volume and value growth across multi-channel customers.
• Lead the budgeting, forecasting and 24-month planning processes.
• Oversee Category, RGM and Shopper Marketing with measurable ROI.
• Build a high-performing agile MS&P team and develop talent.
• Influence senior leadership and partner with cross-functional teams.

Skills

Strategic planning

Commercial acumen

Leadership

Stakeholder management

Analytical skills

RGM experience

Shopper marketing

Category strategy

Financial acumen

Microsoft Office

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

We're Nichols - the home of Vimto, and there is no other business quite like ours!

We have been making life taste better since 1908. Every day here is bursting with flavour – from the loved brands we’re proud to share with the world, to the energy, ambition and innovative ideas that fizz through our teams.

As well as our refreshingly different Vimto taste, our varied brand portfolio spans the still, carbonated, post-mix and frozen drinks categories – so you will find us in your local supermarket, pub and leisure outlet. We also work with the UK’s leading food manufacturers to provide a truly unique range of products that everyone loves.

At the heart of everything is our rich family heritage, an unrelenting ambition to keep innovating, and a true pride in who we are. This is a place where you can be yourself, speak up, and get stuck in. We celebrate the wins, cheer each other on and keep things fizzing with positivity. From leaders who listen to teammates who’ve always got your back, its work that feels as good as it tastes!

We take a refreshingly agile approach to how we work, combining the energy of being together in the office with the flexibility of working from home. You’ll be office-based three days a week, with core hours designed to help you balance work and home life.

Nichols is where serious fun meets real opportunities – and where work tastes better.

ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY:

As a key member of the UK Packaged leadership team, the Market, Strategy & Planning Controller will shape and deliver the 3-year rolling route-to-market strategy, driving sustainable revenue, volume and value growth across a multi-channel customer base.

Partnering closely with the UKP Commercial Director, Marketing leadership and Business Unit Controllers, you’ll connect customer, channel, brand and operational strategies to deliver a compelling, insight-led customer proposition.

With leadership responsibility for Category, Revenue Growth Management (RGM) and Shopper Marketing, and a team of three direct reports, you’ll play a pivotal role in translating brand ambition into commercial success, developing your team and keeping the customer at the heart of everything we do.

YOUR ROLE WILL INCLUDE:

• Shaping commercial strategy: Lead the annual and 3-year rolling route-to-market and channel strategies, setting a clear vision for MS&P, unlocking new customer opportunities and ensuring the function is embedded across UK Packaged.
• Driving profitable growth: Translate consumer, shopper, category and customer insights into compelling commercial propositions that accelerate revenue, volume, value and distribution growth, delivering the right P&L outcomes.
• Leading business planning and performance: Own the 3-year strategic planning process, coordinate 24-month budgeting and forecasting, and lead business reviews to track performance against ambition, identify opportunities and drive corrective action.
• Delivering commercial excellence: Lead Category, RGM and Shopper Marketing, ensuring effective PPPA strategies, proactive channel portfolio management, robust pricing and integrated, customer-specific omnichannel activation plans that deliver measurable ROI.
• Building high-performing teams: Develop and inspire an agile, high-performing MS&P team, fostering talent, collaboration and continuous development while setting clear expectations and a culture of exceeding goals.
• Connecting and influencing: Build strong strategic relationships with Brand Controllers, Commercial, Marketing, Supply Chain and Procurement, aligning priorities, challenging thinking and leading cross-functional initiatives to unlock customer and business value.
• Championing the customer and wider business: Keep customer needs at the heart of decision-making, represent UKP Route to Market at senior leadership and governance forums, and lead strategic projects that support long-term, sustainable growth.

To make a splash in this role you will…

• Be a commercially astute, strategic thinker who combines big-picture thinking with a hands-on approach to delivering results.
• Have strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to turn data and insight into actionable strategies and profitable growth.
• Have expertise in Revenue Growth Management, PPPA strategies, omni-channel shopper marketing and category strategy.
• Be able to show a proven track record of shaping and delivering commercial strategies, driving revenue growth and achieving business objectives.
• Have strong financial acumen, with experience managing budgets, optimising performance and delivering against commercial targets.
• Be an inspiring, visible leader with experience building, developing and leading high-performing teams.
• Be a collaborative and influential communicator, able to bring stakeholders together, challenge thinking and drive change across functions.
• Have a solid understanding of S&OP and IBP, with the ability to connect commercial priorities with wider business planning and operational delivery.
• Have strong knowledge of category data, strategy development and application, with an understanding of ESG within an FMCG environment.
• Ideally, have knowledge of the UK soft drinks market, including categories, product ingredients, packaging and portfolio propositions.
• Be digitally confident, with strong IT skills across Microsoft Office, and an adaptable, resilient and flexible approach.
• Have previous Head of or Controller-level experience, with the strategic leadership and commercial credibility to influence at senior level.
• Hold a full, clean driving licence.

BENEFITS OF WORKING WITH US:

No matter where you work in our business you will be entitled to a range of amazing benefits, here is a snapshot of what we can offer you:

• 25 days holiday (with opportunity to buy extra every year)
• Annual Bonus
• Save as you Earn Share Scheme
• Option to join our private medical cover scheme
• Enhanced Primary Carers leave and sick pay

We are also proud to offer:

• Holiday home stay
• Your birthday off work
• Free on site parking
• 1 day a year off work to volunteer in the community (you choose when and where)
• Help yourself to our drinks when at one of our sites
• Staff shop with discounts on our products

We are committed to building an inclusive workplace where everyone feels valued and supported. We believe diverse teams perform at their best, and we welcome people with different backgrounds, life experiences, perspectives and ways of thinking.

Our standard recruitment process for short-listed candidates typically includes an initial call with our Talent Advisor, followed by a first stage interview via Microsoft Teams and second stage interviews face to face. If you require any reasonable adjustments to be made during the recruitment process please feel free to contact us.

We understand that many candidates use AI tools to help prepare applications. You're welcome to use these tools to improve spelling, grammar or structure, but your application must accurately reflect your own skills, experience and achievements.

Any job offer is subject to an individual’s Right to Work in the UK.

Unfortunately, we are unable to sponsor visas.