Trade Marketing Manager - Italy

Actual Talent is the talent acquisition consultancy that offers Executive Search, RPO and Talent Solutions.

About the client:

Our client is a global food company based in Barcelona, Spain, operates in over 50 countries across Europe and Africa, offering more than 30 local brands.

Job description:
Lead the Trade Marketing strategy and category development in Italy, of one of the company’s key growth priorities and most ambitious business challenges.

Act as a strategic partner to Sales and Marketing, transforming market, shopper and customer insights into actionable growth plans.

Lead and develop one direct report, ensuring the delivery of best-in-class category recommendations and commercial execution.

Key Responsibilities:
Category Strategy & Growth

• Define and execute the Trade Marketing strategy for key categories.

• Drive the growth agenda, identifying opportunities across distribution, assortment, pricing, promotion and innovation.

• Translate market, shopper and customer insights into actionable recommendations and business plans.

• Monitor category performance and identify corrective actions to deliver growth targets.

Sales Partnership & Commercial Excellence

• Partner closely with the Sales team to develop customer strategies and winning category-selling stories.

• Support key negotiations through insight-based recommendations and category expertise.

• Ensure excellence in the execution of category initiatives across channels and customers.

Innovation & Portfolio Management

• Lead the commercial deployment of innovation launches and key strategic projects.

• Drive portfolio optimization through assortment reviews, SKU prioritization and distribution development.

• Ensure innovations and commercial initiatives deliver sustainable growth and profitability.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Collaborate with Marketing, Finance, Demand Planning and Supply Chain to ensure alignment and successful execution of category plans.

• Influence stakeholders and drive decision-making through a fact-based and business-oriented approach.

Team Management

• Lead, coach and develop one Category Specialist.

• Foster a culture of ownership, analytical rigor and continuous improvement.
  

Requirements:

• Degree in Business, Economics, Marketing or related fields

• 7–10 years of experience in FMCG, with a strong background in Trade Marketing.

• Solid understanding of the Italian FMCG market.

• Previous exposure to Sales, Customer Development or Key Account Management is preferred.

• Proven experience in category development and cross-functional leadership.

• Previous people management experience is a plus.

• Fluent Italian and English.

Skills & Mindset

• Strong analytical and commercial acumen.

• Ability to translate insights into business actions.

• Strategic thinker with a hands-on approach.

• Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills.

• Results-oriented, resilient and comfortable operating in a challenging and fast-paced environment.

What We Look For

A commercially-minded Trade Marketing professional who combines strategic thinking with strong execution capabilities. Someone able to lead ambitious growth projects, build effective partnerships with Sales and Marketing, and successfully develop one of our most strategic categories.

Location: Milan, Italy