Customer Manager, Foods

JobSpace; Auckland; On-site; NZD 80,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Employee discounts

Attractive employee referral rewards

Benefits package

Job summary

Unilever New Zealand is seeking a Customer Manager - Foods to lead the customer agenda, deliver the P&L for their category, and negotiate joint business plans with major customers. The role focuses on turnover, profitability, and trade spend, while building and maintaining strong relationships across internal teams and external partners.

The role requires delivering category initiatives, managing the product portfolio, and driving key customer strategy in collaboration with CSP, Marketing, and

Qualifications

• Experience in FMCG Account Management.
• Great Networking abilities.
• Business Development experience.
• Excellent commercial acumen with proven ability to solve problems and create sustainable value.

Responsibilities

• Delivery of turnover, customer profitability, and total trade spend budgets for their category.
• Developing strong relationships with internal and external customers.
• Developing and delivering joint business and promotional plans with the customer.
• Day-to-day administration and evaluation of the product portfolio (e.g., promotional evaluation).
• Leading range and merchandising reviews with CSP and Digital Lead.
• Developing and delivering the local customer strategy plan.

Skills

Relationship building

Market data analysis

Leadership

Networking abilities

Customer relationship management

Tools

Nielsen

Homescan

Job description

Jora New Zealand will close on 9th September 2026. Thank you for being with us, we are cheering you on as you continue your career journey.

On any given day, 2.5 billion people globally use Unilever products to feel good, look good and get more out of life. Many of our brands are well-known, household staples and old-time favourites including Dove, Rexona, Lynx, Vaseline, OMO/Persil, Surf, TRESemmé and Continental.

We have a long tradition of being a progressive, responsible business. It goes back to the days of our founder William Lever, who launched the world's first purposeful brand, Sunlight Soap more than 100 years ago, and it's at the heart of how we run our company today. A job at Unilever is a career made by you, with development opportunities, benefits and a working culture that embraces diversity and is pioneering flexibility. There's no better time to join our team!

Job Summary

Externally facing, the role needs to manage the customer by developing strong working relationships with key contacts, as well as leading the customer agenda internally within Unilever. The Customer Manager - Foods is responsible for delivering the P&L for their category, including turnover, profitability, trade spend, and market share delivery, while building, negotiating, and executing the commercial joint business plan with the customer.

Role Responsibilities

The Customer Manager - Foods will be responsible for driving key business outcomes and fostering strong relationships both internally and externally through:

• Delivery of turnover, customer profitability, and total trade spend budgets for their category.
• Developing strong relationships with both internal (e.g., CSP Manager, Shopper Insights Managers, Marketing) and external customers (e.g., Category Managers, Trading Managers, Category Directors, Buyers, Supply contacts, Marketing contacts).
• Developing and delivering joint business and promotional plans with the customer.
• Day-to-day administration and evaluation of the product portfolio (e.g., promotional evaluation).
• Leading range and merchandising reviews (where appropriate), working in collaboration with CSP and Digital Lead.
• Working with the lead to develop and deliver the local customer strategy plan.
• Delivering key category team initiatives at the customer level (e.g., price increases, brand activation, NPD).
• Working with the Customer Service Team to ensure customer service issues are resolved efficiently.

Experiences & Qualifications

• Experience in FMCG Account Management.
• Great Networking abilities.
• Business Development experience.
• Excellent commercial acumen with proven ability to solve problems and create sustainable value.

Skills

• Relationship building
• Ability to "mine" market data including Nielsen, Homescan
• Leadership:
• You are energized by delivering fantastic results. You are an example to others – both your results and your resilience. You are constantly on the lookout for better ways to do things, engaging and collaborating with others along the way.
• As an individual you are the one responsible for your own wellbeing and delivering high standards of work. You must also focus on the Consumer and what they need. You are humble and have your head up, looking around to interpret evidence and data smartly, spot issues and opportunities to make things better.

The core of Unilever's culture is captured as Human, Purposeful, Accountable. You will be joining a dynamic, flexible, and inspiring work environment that truly cares about your wellbeing, values what you do and celebrates your success. This is your opportunity to be part of a purpose-led business and a global community where you can progress your career both locally and internationally. You will also benefit from amazing discounts on external company products, attractive employee referral reward program amongst other benefits. This is a great opportunity to work within an iconic and global organization. We have gained our reputation as one of the world's most admired employers by providing an environment where individuals can achieve their goals, both professionally and personally.

Unilever embraces diversity and encourages applicants from all walks of life! 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 committed to making reasonable adjustments to provide a positive, barrier-free recruitment journey. Should you require additional information or reasonable adjustments to allow you to present your best self during this process, please contact **********@unilever.com.

Earlier this year (March 2026), Unilever announced an agreement to separate our Foods business. Our Foods business, including brands such as Hellmann's and Knorr, will join forces with McCormick to become a global flavour leader, with leading positions across spices, seasonings, condiments and complementary food categories, supported by a strong retail and foods service platform. McCormick has 135+ years of heritage, a presence in 150+ countries and territories, and a portfolio of trusted brands. The transaction remains subject to consultation, regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions with a targeted deal close of mid-2027.

Unilever is an organization 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. This means we encourage people with all backgrounds to apply, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, Māori and Pacific Peoples, and people with disabilities.

At Unilever we are interested in every individual bringing their 'Whole Self' to work and this includes you! We encourage you to advise us at the time of your application if you require any reasonable adjustment so that we can support you through your recruitment journey.