Associate Business Development Manager

Summary of major duties:

SALES AND MARKET STRATEGIES

• Defines and grows the business through effective customer marketing and sales business plans, Channel, category, and key customer strategies at trade level for the business unit.
• Clearly establishes: “where to win” and “how to win” trade, customer, category, and shopper programs that deliver the outcomes required with clear marketing, sales and financial deliverables.
• The role leads customer marketing, field sales, and Supply Chain in delivering profitable growth for key customers.
• Leads the articulation of geographic, channel, customer, and category priorities and what it will take to deliver against the strategies – he or she is the key communicator of this at all forums.
• Communicates and consistently monitors progress of the execution of the strategy with internal and external stakeholders.
• Develops and executes joint business plans with distributor partners and identified key customers within markets.
• In all called out areas below, the role will comply with or develop the right measurables at all levels to ensure delivery and visibility of progress (or the lack of it) in achieving business goals.

SALES AND CUSTOMER/TRADE MARKETING EXECUTION

• Owns and manages the total trade spend budget for the Business Unit. Plans full year trade spend in line with yearly activity plan, monitors actuals vs budget on a monthly basis, and adjusts year to go plan as needed in order to meet business objectives within agreed budget.
• Delivers the agreed market strategies in-store or channels. The role articulates and delivers to his or her marketing partners ideas, positions and insights that will deliver the right positioning, price, product, promotion and place for markets under the business unit. The role is a key participant in the development of marketing plans and strategies and owns the delivery of marketing ambitions in channels, customers and categories.
• Oversees the delivery of the sales and customer/trade marketing goals through the distributor by creating well defined Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). The KPIs reflect and show sales and customer/trade strategies being executed as planned across the market.
• KPIs include but are not limited to: gross invoice sales, in-country sales, speed to shelf, distributor and trade inventory, meeting retail driver standards, proper execution of in-store activation strategies (perfect store blueprint execution, point of materials management, store dressing at category/segment level), channel strategy and plans (Effectively translating marketing plans into store format plans, identifying correct assortment, creating tailor made promotions), category strategy and plans (cross category promotion, cross merchandising initiatives). The role owns the delivery of the sales and trade/customer marketing KPIs.
• Delivers adequate and relevant sales training directly or through others for his or her direct distributor sales team.
• It is expected that the role manages sales operational support systems internally in the areas of customer/trade marketing, consumer promotions, merchandising, sales analysis and sales administration.
• Externally, the role is the main driver of the distributor relationship – the main driver of joint business performance.

FINANCE, SUPPLY CHAIN

• Co-owns and co-leads the execution of a healthy P&L for the market which includes but is not limited to: total business, brands, channel and customer P&Ls as well as sales to expense and controllable SG&A lines. He or she articulates the right and relevant financial deliverables with respect to channels, customers and/or shoppers for the market which reflect the investment in the marketing strategies. He or she also owns the execution of the appropriate levels of control and audit processes within the sales organization and with the distributor partners. It is his or her responsibility to coordinate both reporting and funding requirements with key internal and external partners with the region or sub-region. He or she has a full understanding of distributor financials and drives and influences the directions taken by distributors toward financial expectations of the Hershey Company.
• The role requires that he or she co-plans and executes an optimal supply chain (in-bound) for the markets in conjunction and partnership with internal stakeholders. He or she is responsible for ensuring the delivery of the right stock, at the right time at the right price (out bound within the market). He or she co-owns the product freshness at the market and trade level with internal supply chain partners. He is or she constantly seeks for ideas and arrangements that allow the company to improve on Supply Chain KPIs such as fill rates and product quality.

Education:

Degree graduates preferably in Marketing/ Business Management courses

Experience:

• Asia Travel Retail Business experience preferred, with high level of success achieved in prior positions.
• Deep knowledge and exposure to sales and customer/trade marketing.
• Proficient in MS Office based applications.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills; strong interpersonal and presentation skills.
• A high level of understanding of finance and Supply Chain (logistics) of the business.
• Mandarin, Chinese Speaking candidate a plus.