Associate Director - Customer Marketing

Job description

JOB DESCRIPTION: The Associate Director – Customer Marketing is responsible for leading the customer and channel growth agenda across Abbott Nutrition India. This role develops and executes customer marketing strategies that accelerate category growth, strengthen brand presence at the point of purchase, enhance shopper engagement, and deliver profitable sales growth across Traditional Trade, Modern Trade, Ecommerce, and emerging channels. The incumbent serves as the strategic link between Sales, Marketing, Category, Finance, and Supply Chain teams to translate brand strategies into winning route-to-market, channel, customer, and shopper activation plans. The role is accountable for maximizing trade investment effectiveness, driving innovation in customer engagement, and identifying new growth opportunities across channels. This is a leadership role, part of the India Nutrition Leadership Team, and reports into the General Manager for India. CORE JOB RESPONSIBILITIES Customer & Channel Strategy Leadership Develop and execute customer marketing and channel strategies aligned with business, category, and brand objectives. Define differentiated channel strategies for Traditional Trade, Modern Trade, E-commerce, and emerging channels. Identify and unlock new channel growth opportunities, partnerships, and route-to-market models. Lead development of annual customer marketing roadmaps that support sustainable sales, distribution, and market share growth. Partner with Commercial Leadership to drive long-term channel transformation and capability enhancement initiatives Shopper Marketing & Customer Activation Lead shopper understanding and insights generation to inform customer activation strategies. Develop impactful shopper engagement and in-store activation programs that enhance visibility, conversion, and category growth. Design and implement best-in-class point-of-purchase and retail excellence programs across channels. Partner with Brand Marketing teams to deliver integrated activation programs supporting key brands and portfolio priorities. Establish activation measurement frameworks to assess ROI, effectiveness, and execution quality. Trade Marketing Excellence Lead the development and execution of trade marketing strategies that drive sales, distribution, and customer engagement objectives. Build and manage an annual trade activation calendar aligned to business priorities. Drive continuous improvement in trade investment effectiveness through data-driven planning and rigorous performance evaluation. Establish governance and controls for trade spending, distributor claims, reimbursements, and SG&A management. Ensure optimal resource allocation and investment prioritization across channels and customer segments. Lead distributor incentive programs and sales force motivation initiatives to drive throughput and execution excellence Oversee ISR programs, Nutrition Advisor programs, and third-party field force management where applicable. Sales Strategy & Commercial Planning Partner with Sales Leadership to develop route-to-market and go-to-market strategies across channels. Define productivity and performance KPIs for field sales, distributors, and channel partners. Support annual business planning, customer planning, and commercial growth initiatives. Develop launch and commercialization plans for New Product Introductions (NPI), ensuring effective distribution build-up and activation. Monitor and evaluate launch effectiveness, recommending corrective actions where required. Key Account & Category Development Collaborate with Key Account Management teams to develop category-led growth propositions for strategic customers. Contribute to annual business planning discussions, customer negotiations, and joint business plans. Drive category development initiatives that create mutual value for customers and Abbott Nutrition. Leverage consumer, shopper, and market insights to strengthen Abbott's category leadership position. Stakeholder Leadership & Cross-Functional Collaboration Act as the primary interface between Sales, Marketing and Finance to ensure alignment of commercial and brand priorities. Partner closely with Business Unit Heads, National Sales Managers, Regional Leaders, Finance and Supply Chain teams. Build strong external partnerships with agencies, distributors, and channel stakeholders to drive excellence in execution. Influence senior stakeholders and lead cross-functional projects to deliver strategic business outcomes. Financial & Performance Management Manage trade marketing budgets and SG&A investments with strong financial discipline. Lead rolling forecasts, trade spend tracking, and performance reporting processes. Establish robust measurement systems to evaluate customer marketing ROI and execution effectiveness. Drive profitable growth through optimized investment allocation and disciplined commercial management. Leadership Expectations Strategic and commercial thinker with strong customer and shopper orientation. Demonstrated ability to lead without authority in a matrix environment. Strong analytical and business acumen with expertise in translating insights into action. Proven track record of driving innovation, channel growth, and execution excellence. Ability to influence senior stakeholders and lead large-scale transformational initiatives. Strong people leadership, coaching, and capability-building skills. Education Level MBA/PGDM Experience 12 + years Experience Details 12–15 years of progressive experience in FMCG, Consumer Healthcare, Nutrition, or related industries. Minimum 6–8 years of experience in Customer Marketing, Trade Marketing, Channel Development, Category Management, or Commercial Excellence roles. Proven experience managing national or large regional business portfolios and delivering significant commercial impact. Sales Leadership (Regional Manager and above) experience is preferred Strong expertise in: Customer Marketing Trade Marketing Channel Strategy Route-to-Market (RTM) Shopper Marketing Category Management Customer Activation Trade Investment Management Demonstrated success in leading cross-functional teams and managing complex stakeholder environments. Experience managing large-scale trade investments and business portfolios preferred. The base pay for this position is N/A In specific locations, the pay range may vary from the range posted. JOB FAMILY: Sales Force DIVISION: ANI International Nutrition LOCATION: India > Mumbai : BKC Building ADDITIONAL LOCATIONS: WORK SHIFT: Standard TRAVEL: Yes, 20 % of the Time MEDICAL SURVEILLANCE: Not Applicable SIGNIFICANT WORK ACTIVITIES: Continuous sitting for prolonged periods (more than 2 consecutive hours in an 8 hour day)