Key Accountabilities and Responsibilities:

• Lead the development and execution of the customers short and long term strategies which optimises profitability and sales revenue and achieves company, category and customer objectives.
• Develops accurate and timely forecasts using a variety of inputs from both consumption and shipment perspective, adopting a continuous improvement mind-set.
• Lead the development and execution of customer specific solutions e.g. assortment, merchandising, pricing and promotion which achieve customer, category and business objectives.  
• Drive the customer agenda and develops strong and influential relationships with key customers focused on delivering shopper, channel and category centric solutions which accelerate customer engagement.
• Leverage insights to influence customers to implement solutions and identify new opportunities that will deliver results that are beneficial for both customer, category and business. Evaluates and monitors customer initiatives to drive continuous improvement, efficiency and effectiveness for both customer and company.
• Execute new product launches with timely and effective execution to maximise customer impact in the marketplace.
• Oversee all significant customer daily activities to ensure consistent operational execution within trade funds including detailed follow through.

Requirements:

• Preferably educated to degree level or equivalent
• Sales experience that includes selling, negotiating and leveraging insights to deliver customer plans which achieve company and customer.
• Customer experience within field sales delivering solutions that cover product, placement, promotion and/ or pricing; with a track record of meeting/ exceeding sales objectives.
• Good interpersonal skills and proven ability to develop long term, effective and influential business relationships with key decision makers which drive mutual growth.
• Ability to assess needs, propose mutually beneficial solutions, overcome objections, with a positive mind-set and close sale to maximise mutual value.
• Experience using and deploying the fundamentals of Category Leadership, drive category growth.
• Experience in areas such as (but not exclusive to): field sales and category management.

Mars is a family-owned business with more than a century of history making diverse products and offering services for people and the pets people love. With more than $35 billion in sales, the company is a global business that produces some of the world’s best-loved brands: M&M’s®, SNICKERS®, TWIX®, MILKY WAY®, DOVE®, PEDIGREE®, ROYAL CANIN®, WHISKAS®, EXTRA®, ORBIT®, 5™, SKITTLES®, UNCLE BEN’S®, and COCOAVIA®. Mars Associates proudly take care of half of the world’s pets through our nutrition, health and services businesses such as Banfield Pet Hospitals™, BluePearl®, Linnaeus, AniCura, VCA™ and Pet Partners™.  Headquartered in McLean, VA, Mars operates in more than 80 countries. The Mars Five Principles – Quality, Responsibility, Mutuality, Efficiency and Freedom – inspire our more than 115,000 Associates to take action every day to help create a world tomorrow in which the planet, its people and pets can thrive. We believe the world we want tomorrow starts with how we do business today. For more information about Mars, please visit www.mars.com.