Job description
Asahi UK (AUK), part of Asahi Europe & International Ltd, aims to enrich consumer experiences through innovation, high-quality service and an exceptional portfolio of premium beer, ale and cider brands including, Peroni Nastro Azzurro, Asahi Super Dry, Meantime, Fuller’s London Pride and Cornish Orchards. Our aim is to be the leading super premium beer business in the UK, through a brand mix that creates a compelling proposition. At AUK we operate as an end to end business unit responsible for sales, marketing, customer operations, production, supply chain and wholesale operations in the UK & Ireland.
Asahi Europe & International is a subsidiary of Asahi Group Holdings Ltd, a global beverage and food company listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Japan. Employing > 12,000 people, Asahi Europe & International is the custodian for leading super premium lager brands Peroni Nastro Azzurro, Grolsch, Asahi Super Dry, plus international Czech lager brands, Pilsner Urquell and Kozel. The business has world-class brewing and production facilities in 8 markets – UK, NL, ITL, PL, CZ, SK, HU, RO. In most of these markets, we are the leading brewer with full portfolio of famous brands. Commercial operations in other parts of Europe, USA, Canada, LatAm, Africa and Asia are served through our global distribution network. With state-of-the-art facilities, some of the best brewers in the world, quality ingredients, and a culture based on innovation and collaboration, Asahi offers the best quality of beer to beer lovers worldwide.
We're recruiting for an exciting E-Commerce & Digital Shopper Marketing Controller opportunity within our Trade Marketing team.
As E-Commerce & Digital Shopper Marketing Controller you will be a strategic thinker, understanding the market, current and future, able to take a commercially astute, long term, big picture and ambitious view of the business and create a compelling business strategy and ensure its execution. You will be accountable for defining the long-term agenda for e-commerce and for building the strategy for our e-commerce business. Lead and influence the sales and marketing function to form transformational change in our digital approach to become the No1 beer business within e-commerce within 3 years.
You will manage and deliver all digital marketing activity for all AUK brands across grocery.com, Amazon, key Food Aggregators, pure play and D2C. Secondly, you will be the digital lead and a key stakeholder within the brand planning process for the channel during the annual planning process.
Working closely with the Director of Trade Marketing, the brand teams and other key stakeholders, this role will ensure differentiated, effective shopper led activation through our digital channels. It will lead the delivery of online point of purchase solutions which delight our customers and build our brands in a tough commercial arena, whilst driving insight and mission driven activity that excites our shoppers. Dealing with a range of relationships both internally and externally and at multiple levels of seniority, it will ensure our brand building integrity is protected whilst delivering plans that convince customers to support the long term AUK strategic agenda.
Key accountabilities
Own, lead and develop world class shopper marketing strategies and activations to take to the customers and ultimately our shoppers
- Lead, own and develop the e-commerce strategy, road map and operational plans.
- Embed and focus e-commerce as part of the strategic planning process
- Support customer account teams with clear e-commerce playbook, insight, training and tools to deliver the e-commerce opportunity
- Lead and enable the conversion of consumer, customer and shopper insights into activation ecommerce.
- Responsible for developing in depth Shopper Marketing “tailored” packages for key strategic customers and evaluating performance
- Be the direct contact for delivering all below the line marketing activity within the e-commerce channel
- Be the ambassador for digital within the Marketing team and lead the shopper marketing planning for that channel during the brand planning process.
- Develop an industry leading ecommerce strategy to enable delivery against key kbi’s.
- Set up tracking dashboards for e-commerce revenue across key customers.
- Own channel specific project plans which detail all brand activation plans 18 months ahead.
- Understand convenience field team enablement needs and develop new strategies and tools to drive efficiencies and added value in order for AUK to win at the point of purchase.
- Management of budget for all digital marketing.
- Work closely with AUK category team to translate category and portfolio strategy into insight led shopper activations to disproportionately grow the AUK portfolio.
Adding value to business partners
- Set and manage e-comm joint business planning with our key customers ensuring we deliver a plan for our fair share across the portfolio.
- Set up KPI audit reporting across key brands and big retailers.
- Maintain the basics for each product line listed.
- Work cross functionally within AUK (i.e. marketing, insights, sales) to create a “virtual” team that supports delivery with key customers.
- Help build multi-dimensional relationships.
- Work closely with the brand team, ensuring brand communication is delivered with consistency through the line.
- Fully understand every brand strategy and how they are translated into customer activation.
- Provide added value solutions to arm the sales teams with in their interaction with customers.
- Trouble shoot when plans are not on track – be the owner of these plans within digital.
Project management
- Manage complexity through efficient planning, resource allocation, project management.
Efficiency and Effectiveness
- Promote connectedness and able to act a conduit between marketing, digital, shopper, category and sales facilitating clear plans and alignment.
- Share best practice across AUK.
- Seek best practice from across other AEL markets and industry.
- Communication of Shopper Marketing activity and strategy to all key internal customers.
Experience required
- Leadership of cross functional teams
- Proven accountability for delivery of through the line activations
- Established experience within e-commerce leadership
- Established Trade / Shopper Marketing experience
- FMCG experience
- Commercial understanding and experience
- Trade / Sales experience an advantage
- Strong evidence of planning and project management
- Strong understanding around premium brand building and resulting brand portfolio management
- Evidence of having delivered successful brand building initiatives
- Budget management experience
- Strong grasp of how to continuously drive efficiency
- Proven ability to allocate resource to improve efficiency and effectiveness
- Ability to translate insight into action essential
- Experience in managing conflicting requirements
- Understanding different channels of trade and how activation works within them, with a clear understanding of the “art of the possible” within specific customers
Key attributes of the successful person
- Change champion
- Accountable
- Can deal with ambiguity
- Resourceful
- Ability to act quickly and “trouble shoot” when things are not going according to plan
- Energy, drive and passion to succeed
- Resilient
- Will work with pace and will not tolerate non delivery
- Effective networker
- Authority, gravitas, influence and credibility with key internal and external customers
On offer is a competitive basic salary plus generous benefits package inclusive of,
- Car allowance
- Beer allowance per annum
- Annual bonus
- Pension
- Private Medical
- Life assurance
- 25 days’ holiday
Asahi Inclusion
We are committed to nurturing a workplace where we celebrate and respect difference, and support everyone to be true to who they are! At Asahi Europe and International we believe you can SHINE AS YOU ARE - no matter your age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disabilities, religion, or beliefs. We want to support you to be courageous in your individuality and to know that whoever you are and whatever your circumstances, you can belong with us without having to conform.