Director, Channel & Customer Strategy

The Director, Channel & Customer Strategy is a key leadership role responsible for developing and executing channel strategies and multi-year plans for strategic retailers. This role translates The Coca-Cola Company's brand and commercial priorities into growth strategies for both the business and retail partners, balancing strategic vision with precise in-market execution aligned with the brand's look of success, AMPS (Availability, Merchandising, Pricing, Space), and long-term value creation.

The Director will collaborate with top-tier customers, Coca-Cola North America, and cross-functional teams to create world-class partnerships and joint business plans. The ideal candidate excels at turning analytics into actionable insights, fostering customer relationships, and delivering executional excellence.

What You'll Do for Us

Strategic Leadership:

• Lead channel strategy development, aligning brand priorities with customer opportunities to drive growth.
• Co-create and execute multi-year business plans incorporating shopper insights, channel dynamics, and market trends.
• Develop distinctive value propositions delivering profitable growth for Coca-Cola and retail partners.
• Use advanced analytics to craft selling stories and actionable strategies aligned with company and customer goals.

Customer Partnership & Value Creation:

• Build strong partnerships with NAOU Retail teams and key customers; develop Joint Business Plans balancing short- and long-term growth.
• Champion a consumer-centric approach, providing category solutions rooted in insights and portfolio strengths.
• Serve as primary liaison between the North America Juice business, retailers, and partners, aligning priorities.
• Embed category/brand strategies into plans, integrating pricing, promotion, and merchandising to meet agreed KPIs.

Executional Excellence:

• Ensure flawless execution of brand, commercial, and sales priorities in line with look-of-success standards.
• Collaborate with internal teams and retailers to optimize product performance, merchandising, pricing, and assortment.
• Monitor execution scorecards and KPIs (e.g., SOVI, TDPs, share) to identify opportunities and address gaps.

Cross-Functional Collaboration:

• Partner with RGM, Commercial Strategy, Pricing Execution, and others to align execution with business strategy.
• Lead business reviews to maintain alignment with customers and internal stakeholders.
• Act as subject matter expert on channel and customer strategy, guiding Brand, Commercial, and Sales Operations teams.

Innovation & Business Process Leadership:

• Lead innovation launches within the channel, ensuring successful commercialization of new products and packaging.
• Drive process improvements in tools, systems, and RTM operations for greater efficiency.
• Promote best-in-class routines, communications, and reporting to enable seamless collaboration.

Qualifications & Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, or related field required; MBA preferred.
• 7-10 years in Channel & Customer Strategy, Sales, Category Management, or related CPG roles.
• Proven customer management and planning experience across multiple segments.
• Ability to balance strategic growth with operational priorities and translate strategies into execution.
• Strong relationship builder with experience collaborating with senior retail leaders.
• Analytical expertise leveraging tools such as Nielsen, Numerator, TPM, Power BI, and syndicated data.
• Deep knowledge of category management, pricing/promotion, and AMPS principles.
• Skilled in managing ambiguity, problem-solving, and using industry-standard sales/financial systems (e.g., SAP, Oracle).

What We Can Do For You

• Iconic Brand: Work on the world's most recognized brand and shape its next chapter.
• Exposure to Leaders: Access global marketing leaders and emerging digital platforms.
• Creative Culture: Join a team that embraces bold ideas, risk-taking, and innovation.

Skills:
Leadership; Communication; Promotional Strategies; Price Management; Marketing Campaigns; Key Performance Indicators (KPI); Category Management; Digital Marketing; Sales Analysis; Competitor Analysis; Teamwork; Brand Management; Product Roadmapping

The Coca-Cola Company will not offer sponsorship for employment status (including, but not limited to, H1-B visa status and other employment-based nonimmigrant visas) for this position. Accordingly, all applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis and must not require The Coca-Cola Company's sponsorship to continue to work legally in the United States.

Client-provided location(s): Chicago, IL

Job ID: cocacola-148916996

Employment Type: OTHER

Posted: 2025-09-05T23:33:38