Commercial Planning & Activation Lead: Reserve

Job Title: Commercial Planning & Activation Lead: Reserve

Diageo is a global leader in premium drinks, home to one of the world's most celebrated collections of spirits and beers, with over 200 brands sold in 180 countries. Our talented workforce is united by a passion for creating exceptional products and experiences that shape celebrations across the globe. Our teams push boundaries, blend creativity with deep consumer insight, and continuously reinvent what's possible - building iconic brands that stand the test of time.

In South Africa, Diageo's Reserve business is well-established and highly profitable with a leading position within super premium & above spirits, holding the number one share position globally. Our portfolio includes industry icons The Singleton, Johnnie Walker Blue Label, Tanqueray No. Ten, Zacapa, Don Julio, Ciroc, Ketel One and others.

As the luxury market continues to gain momentum around the world, within beverage alcohol, luxury spirits is one of the fastest growing segments. With premiumization expected to remain a long-term trend, this growth is forecasted to continue, and our award-winning portfolio is well positioned to captivate consumers across the global and income levels.

To win in luxury spirits, our manifesto guides what we aim to cause for consumers - to make their everyday more special, to make the many dream with experiences available and aspirational. Our consumers want to socialize in style, and this desire for specialness fuels the opportunity for premiumization.

Our success is owed to the strength of our people. It's why we trust them with our legacy and reward them with career-defining opportunities. We are looking for people with creativity, a bold and entrepreneurial spirit and a sense of purpose to take Diageo and our timeless, pioneering brands to the next level.

Context/Scope

In the world of luxury spirits, consumers don't simply buy products - they buy experiences, rituals, and moments that feel exceptional and meaningful. Reserve plays at the forefront of culture, where brand worlds must be brought to life with distinction across channels: trend-leading on-trade venues, formal on-trade venues, premium off-trade environments, main-market channels, and e-commerce.

Commercial Planning & Activations is therefore a critical shaping force: it connects brand strategy to the places and occasions where consumers encounter our spirits, translating ambition into immersive, elevated, and commercially impactful experiences. This requires a blend of strategic understanding, commercial sharpness, creativity, luxury sensibility, and seamless cross-functional orchestration to ensure every brand shows up with clarity, relevance, and Reserve-level brilliance.

Purpose of Role

To design, develop, and deliver luxury brand experiences across key customer channels by translating brand strategy and the consumer journey into tangible, repeatable, and commercially effective activations. This role owns both the creative curation and the in-market execution of experiences: crafting rituals, visuals, assets, theatre, and touchpoints; building execution standards; and ensuring flawless deployment across on-trade, off-trade, retail, and digital environments.

The role is the connector between Brand and Sales - taking brand ambition and turning it into channel-ready experiences that drive recruitment, premium perception, and performance at the moment of choice. Ultimately, it ensures every Reserve brand shows up with the quality, distinction, and consistency expected of luxury.

Key Responsibilities

1. Experience Design (Based on the Consumer Journey)

• Translate the consumer journey into channel-specific experience concepts for Trend-Leading venues, premium on-trade, off-trade/retail, main-market, and e-commerce.
• Define the desired consumer experience: storytelling cues, sensory elements, rituals, presentation standards, staff interaction, and key moments that shape choice.
• Develop experience guidelines that outline the look, feel, behaviour, and hosting standards for each brand in each channel.

• Create or lead the development of activation assets: POS, visibility elements, display kits, menu assets, training tools, bar theatre items, and retail theatre materials.
• Work with creative, experiential, and production partners to ensure assets are premium, functional, cost-effective, and consistent with Reserve luxury standards.
• Collaborate with ecommerce teams to develop digital activation assets (imagery, PDP content, digital storytelling, banners, shoppable experiences).

• Build execution plans for each channel - outlining how the designed experience should be deployed with customers.
• Partner with Sales and Customer teams to ensure the experience is implemented correctly, from feature space to service theatre.
• Oversee agency partners (experiential, training, design, production) to ensure high-quality execution on the ground.
• Support flawless launch execution for innovations and core brands through experience-first activation plans.

• Define and maintain luxury experience execution standards for each channel.
• Own the Reserve channel-specific Picture of Success across physical and digital touchpoints.
• Train and support field teams and commercial teams to land high-quality, consistent execution.

• Partner with Sales to co-create experience concepts with key customers and premium accounts.
• Create compelling sell-in materials that show how the experience drives value, differentiation, and premiumisation for the customer.
• Support customer engagement meetings with concepts, sample assets, experience walkthroughs, or mock-ups.

• Monitor execution quality across channels through visits, photos, feedback, and operational reviews.
• Evaluate activation impact through experience-led KPIs (visibility, engagement, trial, advocacy) alongside commercial metrics (ROS, premium mix uplift).
• Apply learnings to refine experience design and future activations.

• Work closely with Brand, Sales, Category, Supply, RGM, Finance, and agencies to ensure experiences are feasible, scalable, and aligned with ambition.
• Act as the activation integrator: ensuring timelines, assets, creative approvals, and customer plans stay aligned.

• Experience within luxury or premium consumer categories, with a strong grasp of how brands show up in high-end on-trade, off-trade, and retail environments.
• Proven ability to design and execute elevated brand experiences, turning strategy and insight into tangible moments across customer channels.
• Hands-on activation experience, comfortable working with agencies, sales teams, and customers to deliver flawless, high-quality execution.
• A unique blend of creative instinct and operational discipline, ensuring experiences are both inspiring and commercially effective.