Growth Channels Assistant Manager

About the Role

Arla Foods is seeking a proactive and analytically minded Growth Channels Assistant Manager to drive category expansion across pivotal Growth Channels, including eCommerce, Discounters, and Convenience. This role is pivotal in transforming brand, shopper, category, and customer ambitions into tangible growth strategies that deliver measurable results. Reporting to the Customer Growth Lead Manager, you will collaborate closely with Sales, Category Development, Marketing, and Supply Chain teams to execute channel-specific initiatives, optimize customer recommendations, and unlock sustainable growth opportunities.

Key Responsibilities

In this dynamic position, your responsibilities will encompass a broad spectrum of strategic and operational tasks, including:

• Channel Growth Strategy: Assist in the development and implementation of Growth Channel plans tailored for eCommerce, Discounters, and Convenience, ensuring alignment with overarching business objectives.
• Data-Driven Insights: Analyze category performance, shopper behavior, customer trends, and market dynamics to identify high-potential growth opportunities and translate these insights into actionable recommendations.
• Category Growth Narratives: Develop compelling category growth stories, customer presentations, and performance reviews to enhance stakeholder engagement and inform business planning processes.
• Performance Monitoring: Track and evaluate key channel KPIs to assess progress against growth targets, providing timely insights and corrective actions as needed.
• Collaborative Execution: Partner with Sales, Category Development, NRM, and Supply Chain teams to ensure seamless execution of growth priorities, including promotional planning, seasonal activations, and innovation launches.
• Digital and Physical Shelf Optimization: Contribute to Digital Shelf Excellence initiatives and channel execution standards, focusing on assortment optimization, content enhancement, product availability, and visibility improvements.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Cultivate and maintain strong relationships with internal stakeholders and customer teams to foster collaboration and drive category and channel growth.
• Commercial Initiatives: Support category reviews, customer business planning, and commercial growth projects to ensure alignment with strategic objectives and market demands.

Success Metrics

To excel in this role, your contributions will be measured against the following key performance indicators:

• Successful delivery of category and channel growth initiatives across eCommerce, Discounters, and Convenience.
• Quality and impact of customer recommendations and category growth narratives presented to stakeholders.
• Effective utilization of insights and analytics to uncover and capitalize on growth opportunities.
• Strong collaboration and alignment with internal and external teams to drive execution excellence.
• Consistent delivery of channel performance reviews, actionable plans, and growth recommendations that inform strategic decision-making.
• Timely and successful execution of Growth Channel priorities and activation plans, ensuring measurable business impact.

Qualifications & Competencies

To thrive in this role, candidates should meet the following requirements:

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Economics, or a related discipline.
• Experience: 2–4 years of professional experience in Category Development, Trade Marketing, Sales, Customer Development, eCommerce, or other relevant FMCG commercial roles.
• Retail Expertise: Prior experience collaborating with retail customers, leveraging category insights, shopper marketing, or channel development—particularly within the KSA retail landscape—is highly advantageous.
• Analytical Proficiency: Strong analytical skills with a proven ability to interpret market data, shopper insights, and sales performance metrics to derive actionable commercial recommendations.
• Communication & Presentation: Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to craft clear, persuasive presentations and narratives for diverse audiences.
• Stakeholder Management: Demonstrated ability to build and nurture relationships with internal and external stakeholders, fostering collaboration and alignment across teams.
• Adaptability & Organization: A proactive mindset with strong project management and organizational abilities, capable of thriving in a fast-paced, evolving environment.
• Technical Skills: Proficiency in Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint; familiarity with category and market data tools is a plus.