Guinness Nigeria Plc Recruitment for Head of Commercial Strategy & Innovation

Guinness Nigeria Plc is a major market for Diageo: Guinness Nigeria operates in the unique and fast growing alcohol industry of over 15mhl beer potential. It is the only company that does Total Beverage Alcohol (TBA) in Nigeria. It’s an on trade dominated market but with a fast growing off trade channel.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Position: Head of Commercial Strategy & Innovation

AutoReqId: 58009BR
Job Location: Lagos
Level: Senior Management
Reports To: Head of Customer Marketing

Context/Scope

• In Innovation we are on a mission to create a Commercial Innovation Machine, this role will be the key driver to achieving this mission, ensuring that we have a consistency of approach and tools to launch & sustain world class Innovation.
• The role requires great commercial leadership skills, strong influencing skills, resilience, and ability to move skilfully between strategy and execution and above all, motivated, resourceful individuals with ability to lead disruption through the business in a structured and constructive manner.

Purpose of the Role 
Drive sales through winning customer propositions, strategic planning and brilliant execution to deliver Sustainable Competitive advantage for Guinness Nigeria by:

• Flawless Execution: Manage and execute the commercial calendar and orchestrate all activity ensuring we have effective promotions and a winning mix of brand & category activity to drive business performance
• Lead the business in the annual planning process and support Head of CP&A in defining the cascade metrics
• Interpret data and lead insight generation as basis for decision making across the business
• Drive understanding of lift factors associated with activities across the business
• Take responsibility for the management of trade investment across the Channel
• Winning via Brilliant execution

Complexity

• The Nigerian market has shown inherent volatility over many years with this trend expected to continue into the medium term. Managing market volatility and the ambiguity that this drives in activity planning, budget setting and activity management is an inherent part of the complexity in this role.

Top Accountabilities
Innovation Pipeline Management:

• Lead the execution of the pipeline to deliver it on time, ensuring launches fit within the overall priorities and the wider commercial calendar of the business

In Market Commercial Leadership:

• Identify Innovations that need new (Route to Consumer) RTC or significant changes to the current RTC and lead the business to set-up the required RTC for launch.
• Reshape the existing Sales force incentive plan to include reward based on delivering Innovation KPI’s.

Project Commercial Leadership:

• Be the key commercial lead, driving alignment between the innovation/marketing team and commercial teams.

Innovation Performance Management and Intervention:

• Influence the sales organisation to ensure the interventions are prioritised and executed
• Drive regular commercial M&E across all launches ensuring clear communication and learnings’ sharing across the business.

Lead Commercial Strategy and Standards:

• Own the development/cascade and embedding of the Trade and Category strategies
• Own the development and management (cycle planning) of the full year activity calendar (One plan)
• Lead the use and analytics for all commercial systems.
• Own Trade Asset management (POS,Fridges and other trade assets)
• Use customer strategies/category insights/shopper insight to develop brilliant customer/consumer/Category Mechanizing standards.
• Develop fit for purpose Execution standards and Targets
• Develop relevant commercial/execution policies and standards

Required Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor’s Degree (business related discipline an advantage).
• A successful track record of business delivery.
• Excellent relationship management, senior stakeholder influence and interpersonal skills
• Strong analytical capabilities
• Self-starter with high levels of energy & commitment
• Minimum 8 years work experience in commercial with at least 3 in a leadership role. (Field Sales experience is a must).
• Commercially astute; Strong understanding of key customers, category, shoppers & channels.