Channel Development Leader – Modern Trade

Role Overview

The Modern Trade channel is where Mars Snacking brands meet shoppers in supermarkets, hypermarkets and large-format retail across East Africa — and this role owns how that channel performs. Day to day, the Channel Development Leader sets the commercial agenda with distributors and retail partners, converts it into joint business plans, and manages the trade investment that keeps those plans profitable. The position also carries a people leadership mandate: three Key Account Managers look to this leader for direction, coaching and room to grow, which makes the role central to how Mars shows up as a partner in modern retail.

Key Responsibilities

• Own the Modern Trade channel plan end to end — set annual and quarterly volume and value targets, feed them through the demand planning cycle, and adjust course as market conditions shift.
• Lead Joint Business Planning with the Modern Trade distributor and priority retail accounts, aligning growth priorities, promotional calendars and investment levels, then holding all parties to what was agreed.
• Map and manage customer relationships, running structured engagement throughout the year: periodic business reviews, category conversations and top-to-top meetings with senior retail executives.
• Apply discipline to channel revenue and trade spend — track the return on promotions and listings, move investment toward what performs, and protect profitability as volume grows.
• Keep the distributor's operations aligned with Mars strategy: share targets, clear cross-functional blockers, and bring in supply, marketing and finance colleagues when the plan needs support.
• Line manage three Key Account Managers — set objectives, measure performance against them, coach in the field, and build individual development plans that keep strong talent progressing.
• Negotiate trading terms, agreements and promotional support with retail partners, weighing short-term gains against the long-term health of the relationship.
• Turn market, shopper and competitor insight into action — new formats, pack sizes, seasonal windows — and translate those opportunities into workable account plans.

Requirements & Qualifications

• A minimum of 8 years in Key Account Management or commercial business development within FMCG, including a proven record of driving growth in a modern trade or comparable retail channel.
• Demonstrated people leadership: experience managing, coaching, mentoring and developing a sales team, with evidence of building high performers.
• A Bachelor's degree or university equivalent; an MBA or relevant advanced degree is an added advantage.
• Strong commercial acumen and financial rigor, with working expertise in joint business planning (JBP), revenue management, trade spend efficiency and demand forecasting.
• Exceptional negotiation and stakeholder management skills, with the credibility to engage key retail partners at Top-to-Top level and align cross-functional teams behind a shared plan.
• A collaborative working style and the resilience to operate across distributors, customers and internal functions.

What We Offer / Why Join

• Work alongside more than 130,000 diverse and talented Associates, all guided by the Five Principles.
• Join a purpose-driven company striving to build the world we want tomorrow, today.
• Best-in-class learning and development support from day one, including access to our in-house Mars University.
• An industry competitive salary and benefits package, including a company bonus.