Lubricants Trade Marketing Manager

Job Purpose:

• The Lubricants Trade Marketing Manager will be responsible for implementation of agreed brand and channel marketing initiatives, campaigns and other programmes to support the achievement of market penetration, brand health, business targets and loyalty both in B2B and B2C sectors.

Main Accountabilities:

• Work with Country Lubricants Marketing Manager to build the annual Lubricants Marketing Plan and monitor marketing budget expenditure and implementation
• Implement the Direct and Indirect marketing programmes for the target sector/channel, covering pricing (cross and multi-channel), product portfolio, training (including product & sector knowledge and sales skills), integrated marketing communications plans embedded in the country marketing plans.
• Drive local adaptation of global brand and sector materials and programmes (i.e. merchandising and promotions) where relevant to drive growth.
• Work closely with the Marketing Operations Manager to monitor and analyse data to understand brand, product and channel performance and trends across each sector.
• Work closely with other Trade Marketing Manager and Retail Lubricants Category Manager to pro-actively implement marketing communication and marketing support across all lines of business.
• Provide the relevant insights regarding market trends (customer and competitor) as inputs in the development and review of business/marketing programs and identification of growth opportunities.
• Continuously monitor business performance across channels and work with the Lubricants Marketing Manager and Sales & Marketing Manager to develop corrective action plans to stay on plan.
• Work closely with the sales teams (FBAMs) and Front Line Technical Services (FLTS) team to support value selling and implementation of B2B Customer Value Propositions (CVP) and Pipeline (SPANCOP) management initiatives.
• Ensure all marketing activities are evaluated in terms of return on investment, and that a Post Investment Review is carried out post activities.
• Coordinate and support on-ground implementation of agreed marketing initiatives by the distributors.
• Manage third party marketing agency relationships and interfaces to ensure delivery of relevant brand and channel initiatives.

Marketing Planning & implementation

• Participate in the development of the country marketing plan covering key brands and channels in liaison with the Lubricants Marketing Manager as per the VE Lubricants marketing planning calendar
• Manage implementation of agreed lubricants brand and channel (B2B & B2C) sales & marketing initiatives - including concept development, actual implementation directly and through third party agencies where appropriate, within agreed budgets.
• Manage implementation of B2B customer value propositions (CVP) and pipeline (SPANCOP) management by the sales teams and Frontline Technical Services (FLTS) Team.
• Monitor impact of marketing initiatives to ensure delivery of target return on marketing investments (pre and post implementation)
• Manage agency relationships to implement agreed marketing communication for assigned brands and channel initiatives.
• Support and participate in the on-ground implementation of distributor marketing initiatives, agency supervision and performance evaluation on need basis.

Key Challenges:

• To be able to implement simultaneous activities and programs on time and on budget, producing the agreed top line growth.
• Success in this role will require a close relationship with sales, technical team, country marketing and key distributors. In addition, a thorough understanding of the external market and competitor activities is essential

Requirements

• A university degree preferably in business, marketing or related field.
• At least 4 years of experience in a marketing or marketing support role or environment with strong analytical skills.
• Ability to think strategically and to translate new concepts into operational plans.
• Ability to draw insights from data and communicate them to different audiences with ease. Good understanding of Retail and B2C markets.
• Strong value chain; Pricing; Channel management & Route-to-Market (RTM) competencies.
• Strong proven commercial skills and judgment.
• Strong customer orientation.
• Ability to manage complex projects and handle numerous relationships.
• Strong interpersonal and excellent organisational skills.
• Experience in Fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) setting and digital marketing is an advantage.
• High proficiency in Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint and other common computer programs.