Trade Marketing Manager

The role is responsible for leading consumer-facing activation strategies that drive brand visibility, trial, and sales performance across key channels. The role partners closely with Sales, Marketing, Innovation, and external vendors to ensure effective execution of promotions, events, and trade activations, while maintaining strong budget and people management discipline.

Key Responsibilities:

Consumer & Channel Activations

• Develops channel-specific activation plans for priority SKUs and new product launches.

• Builds and manages a comprehensive activation calendar aligned with commercial and brand objectives.

• Oversees execution by third-party agencies and vendors, ensuring quality, timeliness, and compliance.

• Tracks and analyzes activation results, generating insights to optimize future initiatives.

Promotion Management

• Designs and executes promotional programs in collaboration with Channel and Innovation teams.

• Ensures promotions effectively build brand awareness, stimulate trial, increase purchase frequency, and drive incremental sales in priority accounts and territories.

• Aligns promotional mechanics with overall commercial strategy and channel dynamics.

Events & Experiential Marketing

• Leads the planning and execution of large-scale consumer events and campaign-specific activations.

• Supports Sales Operations in negotiating with external organizers and partners to secure favorable commercial and brand outcomes.

• Ensures trade activation plans are integrated with events to maximize sales uplift and visibility.

• Spearheads internal commercial events such as product launches, campaign kick-offs, account-specific events, leadership meetings, sales rallies, and business plan cascades.

• Ensures strong internal stakeholder engagement and alignment across functions.

Budget & Financial Management

• Owns activation and events budgets, ensuring initiatives are delivered within approved financial parameters.

• Forecasts future budget requirements by channel and brand objective.

• Identifies opportunities for cost efficiencies and productivity improvements without compromising execution quality.

Design & Materials Planning

• Manages the in-house design team, prioritizing and coordinating requests from multiple internal stakeholders.

• Ensures adherence to agreed service level agreements (SLAs) and timelines.

• Oversees execution of materials planning and marketing materials intake processes in alignment with integrated annual planning cycles.

• Coordinates cross-functional stakeholders to ensure seamless implementation of marketing support initiatives.

People Management

• Leads, develops, and mentors direct reports to build high-performing teams.

• Ensures clear performance management, capability development, and succession planning.

Qualifications & Experience:

• Proven experience in sales activation, trade marketing, or commercial marketing within FMCG or consumer goods industries.

• Strong background in promotions, events management, and agency/vendor coordination.

• Demonstrated capability in budget management and cross-functional stakeholder leadership.

• People management experience with a focus on coaching and talent development.