Trade Architecture & Growth Strategy Lead

Mars Incorporated; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 108,000 - 149,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k) plan

Medical, dental, vision insurance

Paid parental leave

120 hours vacation per year

12 paid holidays

Job summary

Mars Incorporated is seeking a Manager, Trade Architecture & Mix Management in the United States to lead trade investment strategy and mix optimization across Mars Snacking brands. You will translate growth priorities into customer investments, pricing frameworks, and assortment recommendations, partnering with Sales, Finance, Marketing, and Demand Planning.

The role requires a Bachelor's degree and 5+ years in RGM, trade strategy, or related fields, with advanced Excel and Power BI skills, plus

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in Revenue Growth Management, Trade Strategy, Commercial Finance, Sales Strategy, Category Management, or related disciplines.
• Strong analytical and financial modeling skills.
• Advanced Excel and Power BI capabilities.
• Experience working with syndicated and customer sales data.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain trade investment architecture across channels, customers, and categories.
• Recommend pay-for-performance frameworks and trade funding strategies.
• Establish trade guardrails, governance processes, and investment guidelines.
• Support annual planning and commercial budget development.
• Identify opportunities to improve trade efficiency and reduce non-working spend.
• Lead mix optimization initiatives that improve revenue, margin, and category performance.
• Analyze customer, channel, and product-level profitability.
• Develop recommendations for assortment, pack architecture, distribution, and trade-up opportunities.
• Identify whitespace opportunities and incremental growth levers across the portfolio.
• Partner with category and brand teams on innovation and assortment strategies.
• Develop insights using sales, trade, and financial data.
• Measure trade effectiveness and ROI across customers and channels.
• Conduct post-event evaluations and business reviews.
• Build forecasting and scenario-planning models to evaluate investment alternatives.
• Deliver recommendations to commercial leadership and RGM governance forums.
• Partner with Sales and Customer Development teams to support Joint Business Planning (JBP) processes.
• Provide trade strategy recommendations during customer negotiations.
• Support execution of customer investment plans and commercial programs.
• Ensure alignment between customer strategies and overall business objectives.
• Collaborate closely with Finance, Marketing, Supply Chain, and Commercial teams.
• Influence senior stakeholders through data-driven recommendations.
• Lead project teams and strategic initiatives across functions.
• Support capability building within Revenue Growth Management.

Skills

Advanced Excel

Power BI

Revenue Growth Management

Financial modeling

Data analysis

Stakeholder management

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree

Job description

Mars Incorporated is seeking a Manager, Trade Architecture & Mix Management in the United States to lead trade investment strategy and mix optimization across Mars Snacking brands. You will translate growth priorities into customer investments, pricing frameworks, and assortment recommendations, partnering with Sales, Finance, Marketing, and Demand Planning.

The role requires a Bachelor's degree and 5+ years in RGM, trade strategy, or related fields, with advanced Excel and Power BI skills, plus