Retail Growth Manager — Strategic Customer Partnerships

Kao USA, Inc.; Minneapolis (MN); On-site; USD 100,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare on day one

401(k) with company match

36 total days off

Job summary

Kao USA, Inc. in Minneapolis seeks a Customer Business Manager to drive profitable, sustainable growth across assigned retail customers by turning company strategies into actionable plans.

You will manage forecasts, budgets, promotions, and profitability while serving as the day-to-day link between the customer and Kao's teams. The role requires 7+ years in CPG, strong analytical and negotiation skills, and the ability to influence stakeholders.

Qualifications

• Bachelors Degree in Business Administration or related field
• 7+ years of relevant CPG related experience; knowledge of sales fundamentals, including assortment, pricing, merchandising, promotion, distribution, and category management principles
• Strong Microsoft Office Usage (PowerPoint, Excel, Word, Outlook), Canva a plus
• Intermediate negotiation and selling skills, including the ability to address objections, communicate value propositions, and support customer business reviews
• Self-motivated with a growth mindset, strong attention to detail, and the ability to operate independently while exercising sound business judgment
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to translate complex data into actionable business recommendations and customer selling stories
• Strong communication and executive presentation skills, with the ability to influence stakeholders internally and externally

Responsibilities

• Build customer forecasts
• Evaluate promo ROI, mix impact, and margin implications
• Own day-to-day budget tracking for assigned accounts
• Decide how trade funds are allocated within guardrails
• Prepare promo ROI assessments and margin impact views
• Recommend mix, or promo changes
• Recommend financially sound actions aligned to sales targets
• Present financial implications to internal partners
• Active management of customer financial performance
• Identify and execute profitability improvement opportunities
• Make recommendations regarding pricing architecture, promotional cadence, and assortment profitability
• Identify root causes and implications
• Translate insights into recommendations
• Prioritize business issues and opportunities for deep dive
• Prioritize requests by brand/trade/customer
• Answer the question of what should be done differently?
• Diagnose root causes behind performance gaps or wins
• Lead or support preparation of business assessment deliverables
• Apply best practices across multiple business planning scenarios
• Analyze and document risks and benefits
• Identify business opportunities for growth and profitability
• Create business cases and ROI analyses to support recommendations
• Assess opportunity size, resource requirements, and expected outcomes.

Skills

CPG experience

Sales fundamentals

MS Office

Negotiation

Analytical skills

Communication

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration

Tools

Excel

PowerPoint

Word

Outlook

Canva

Job description

Kao USA, Inc. in Minneapolis seeks a Customer Business Manager to drive profitable, sustainable growth across assigned retail customers by turning company strategies into actionable plans.

You will manage forecasts, budgets, promotions, and profitability while serving as the day-to-day link between the customer and Kao's teams. The role requires 7+ years in CPG, strong analytical and negotiation skills, and the ability to influence stakeholders.