Director, Category Commercial, Sparkling Flavors

Manager: Senior Director, Category Lead, Sparkling Flavors

Location: Shanghai, China

Role Type: Individual contributor

Language: Fluent English & Mandarin

Please note: This role is not a fully remote position. The selected candidate will need to be based in Shanghai and follow our hybrid work setup

Role Summary

The Director, Category Commercial is responsible for connecting Category Marketing strategy with Commercial execution across markets and channels. This role ensures that category growth strategies are translated into clear commercial priorities, executable plans, and winning customer outcomes, driving topline growth, share expansion, and effective execution.

Operating at the intersection of marketing, channel, and franchise operations, this role brings the commercial agenda into the category thinking-aligning brand ambition, portfolio strategy, and channel/customer execution in a complex, bottler system.

What You'll Do for Us

Commercial Strategy for the Brands (LRP/ABP)

• Translate long-term brand growth strategies into clear, actionable commercial priorities by channel and customer-guiding portfolio choices, activation focus, and investment decisions that drive sustainable topline and share growth.
• Drive horizontal and vertical expansion strategies for brands, ensuring competitive advantage is achieved across consumption occasions and channels.
• Ensure brand strategies are deeply grounded in shopper, customer, and execution insights and realities, balancing ambition with practicality to enable scalable, repeatable, and profitable execution across bottlers and markets.
• Co-create (with CoE) and align commercial execution guidelines for frontline teams.
• Drive ongoing feedback loops from customer, channel, and execution results back into brand strategy refinement, ensuring continuous learning and relevance in a rapidly evolving marketplace.

• Design guidelines and guardrails on RGM levers like pricing architecture, promotional strategies, pack-price mix, and investment priorities, inclusive of mechanisms for promos (products, mechanics, guidelines, and business case evaluation) in alignment with brand positioning and growth objectives.
• Craft sampling and experiential activities to support overarching brand and commercial priorities.
• Develop high-impact activations recommendations in Key Accounts (KA) and channels, focusing on both major players and growth-driving hotspots.
• Ensure brand-driven differentiation between channels (Home, Immediate Consumption, E&D, Digital Commerce) while maintaining strategic coherence.
• Land roadmaps for commercial plans in sync with overall brand calendars.
• Ensure consistent execution across the bottling system, aligning brand initiatives with local market realities while protecting strategic coherence and scale.

• Shape brand execution approaches across bottlers, Franchise Operations and Channel teams.
• Develop and manage bottler incentive programs and contests to drive alignment and successful execution within the bottling system.

• Work closely with IMX (especially Shopper & Customer Marketing), Insights, Commercial CoE, Channel and Franchise teams.
• Support key customer conversations with category insights and commercial narratives
• Influence senior stakeholders across global, OU and bottlers.
• Drive alignment and decision-making in a highly matrixed operating environment.

• Follow clear ways of working between Brand Marketing, Channels and Franchise Commercial teams
• Use roles, decision rights, and escalation paths to reduce friction and speed execution
• Promote best practices and continuous improvement across markets

• 12+ years of experience in category management, commercial strategy, marketing, or sales-related roles
• Strong experience working in food & beverage, CPG, or similarly complex categories
• Demonstrated ability to operate in global, matrixed organizations with franchise or bottling systems
• Proven track record partnering closely with sales and commercial organizations

• Deep understanding of category management, channel strategy, and customer economics
• Strong grasp of how brand strategy translates into in-market execution
• Experience working with RGM, pricing, promotion, and assortment strategies
• Ability to connect consumer, shopper, and customer insights into commercial action

• Director-level presence with strong influencing skills
• Comfortable operating without direct authority while driving outcomes
• Strategic thinker with strong execution bias
• Clear, concise communicator who can align diverse stakeholders

• Bachelor's degree required; MBA or equivalent advanced degree preferred

• Opportunity to play a pivotal role connecting Category Marketing and Commercial execution
• High-visibility role working across global brands, franchise leaders, and bottlers
• Ability to influence how category strategies show up where it matters most-in market and at the point of sale
• Competitive compensation, benefits, and long-term career growth opportunities
• Exposure to enterprise-scale decision-making in a world-class food & beverage system