Customer Strategy & Planning Support Manager

Job Title: Customer Strategy & Planning Support Manager

Location: Bangkok, Thailand

Scope: Full-time, Permanent

If you are in the Unilever Ice Cream business or consider choosing to work for the Unilever Ice Cream business, you will work for the Asia, leading Ice Cream player with €1.2 bn Turn Over in 2023. The Ice Cream business is operating in a highly attractive category, as we are part of the 1 trillion snacking and refreshment industry, growing consistently at high pace. We have strong brands equities: 5 of top 10 selling brands including Wall’s, Magnum, Ben &Jerry’s. We are investing to unlock the full growth potential of Ice Cream as a standalone entity, once we separate from Unilever, which is planned to happen by November 2025.

Ice Cream has distinct characteristics from Unilever’s other operating businesses and the growth potential of Ice Cream will be better delivered under a different ownership structure. As Ice Cream company we are committed to developing and nurturing talent within our Ice Cream company. You will have options for career growth and exploration, allowing you for you to explore roles and opportunities across the new organisation. Your career development will be a priority for us, and we are dedicated to supporting your growth journey within the new company. We hope that you will want to build the new chapter of our Ice Cream history together with us.

Unilever Ice Cream is the world’s leading ice cream company, home to a portfolio of iconic brands like Magnum, Calippo, Solero, Festini, Talenti, and Yasso. We're committed to creating innovative products that bring unforgettable moments to our consumers—because, after all, “Life tastes better with ice cream.”

The Ice Cream division at Unilever is preparing to stand on its own, becoming an independent, EUR 8 billion single-category focused company by the end of 2025. This move reflects our belief in the power of our unique frozen footprint, which we see as having huge potential for growth as a pure-play business. Our focus is all about unlocking that potential, driving value for our consumers, customers, employees, and shareholders.

JOB PURPOSE

To lead and drive category growth by developing and executing strategic plans that deliver annual business results. This role serves as the key interface between marketing, sales, and cross-functional teams to co-create innovation launches, optimize category investments, and tailor channel-specific strategies. By leveraging data-driven insights and cross-functional collaboration, the role ensures effective campaign execution, competitive analysis, and retailer engagement to maximize performance and profitability across all channels.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Drive and deliver yearly business results.
• Lead category strategy development & guideline and Co-developed innovation launch with marketing team since campaign development, financial P&L, channels & activation plan, pack, price, promotion suggestions
• Provide a detailed analysis of actual sales vs forecast result and propose the rolling channel or action plans to the management.
• Work jointly with marketing team to assess category opportunities and analyze competitor and channel behavior for the annual plan, forecast and identify areas of opportunity. 
• Plan, execute and evaluate options jointly with CBD (Key Account Managers and BD) for tailor made activities to enhance retailers' commitment and integrating support plans
• Communicate to the CBD and retail partner team on any marketing/trade marketing initiatives to ensure smooth operation during implementation. 
• Development category specific to each channel and customer, lead the development and execution of category plan, category JBP, D4R and D4C
• Managing and optimizing category investment, BMI, CCP to achieve turnover with optimal investment.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in a relevant field.
• Minimum 3 years of experience in trade marketing, category analysis, or within the FMCG industry is preferred.
• Solid understanding of customer marketing, with the ability to provide strategic input to marketing, CBD (including field force), finance, and planning teams.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to synthesize multiple data sources into actionable strategies.
• Proficient in data analysis and visualization tools such as Tableau, Power BI, Nielsen Retail Index, and Microsoft Office (Excel, PowerPoint).
• Fluent in both English and Thai, with excellent communication skills.
• Skilled in presentation, stakeholder alignment, and negotiation.
• Strong project management and problem-solving capabilities.
• Creative mindset with a passion for driving new initiatives.
• Proven experience in leading cross-functional teams and collaborating with external agencies.

ARE YOU EXCITED TO CRAFT THE ICE CREAM FUTURE?

Please apply online. Your application will be reviewed against our requirements, and we will be in touch shortly after the closing date to provide you with an update on the status of your application.

Disclaimer

Equal Opportunity Employer: Unilever is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, or any other basis protected by applicable law, and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability. 

Unilever is an organisation committed to equity, inclusion and diversity to drive our business results and create a better future, every day, for our diverse employees, global consumers, partners, and communities. We believe a diverse workforce allows us to match our growth ambitions and drive inclusion across the business. At Unilever we are interested in every individual bringing their ‘Whole Self’ to work and this includes you! Thus if you require any support or access requirements, we encourage you to advise us at the time of your application so that we can support you through your recruitment journey.