Nomad Foods’ European Central Marketing is a multifunctional Team (Creative Development, Media, Marketing Operations, Category Innovation, Renovation & Portfolio, PMO) working in close collaboration with marketing Colleagues based in 13 European Marketing Unit (MU) locations servicing all markets in which Nomad Foods plays under the Birds Eye, Iglo and Findus brands. 

The overall accountability of the European Central Marketing Team is to define the Category OGSM that sets out the Category Strategy for Global Must Win Battle priority categories of Fish, Vegetables, Ready Meals & Plant Protein. In conjunction with the extended Category cross-functional Teams, to develop commercially viable activity pipelines in line with the defined Category OGSM that will drive top line growth and profitability through:

Leadership, Direction and Alignment

• Defining and aligning the category and portfolio strategy and 3 year business plan
• Understanding European Consumers in order to anticipate, solve and stay relevant to their common macro needs and desires
• Relentlessly focussing on innovation, renovation, activation, and sustainability initiatives, learning and testing great ideas to make them even bigger and better 
• Ensuring alignment and compatibility between the category business plan to create demand and our supply strategy

Delivery of Globally Agreed Initiatives

• Developing a three-year initiative pipeline in line with the category OGSM
• Delivering market-ready templates (concept, product, packaging, pack design, global activation initiatives and market support recommendations) to support brilliant execution
• Identifying, developing and sharing best practices for superior implementation

Performance Management

• Accountability for in-year results with MUs (promo, sales focus, pricing, A&P)
• Input on plan/best practice in year via European Marketing Leadership Team

• Lead and direct the Central Category cross functional Teams to champion the development of the growth and portfolio strategy in partnership with the key identified partner markets wherever they are defined as a Must Win Battle
• Lead the development of a three-year Category OGSM through the annual Flywheel process with the category cross functional Teams to define all initiatives within the Flywheel framework, identifying the most promising initiatives and mobilising adequate resources behind them
• Play a key role in setting strategic targets for share, volume, revenue and gross margin for the short and long-term as part of the annual Strat Plan process
• Define, develop and lead key initiatives to market to include

                o   Concept, product, pack & pricing definition

                o   Consumer research & validation

                o   Pack design & toolkit support/activation excl. advertising

                o   Clear briefing for digital and shopper marketing requirements

                o   Commercial deliverables

• Provide clear guidance, governance and input to relevant key MU/s on innovation/renovation projects as required, ensuring alignment with overall category strategies/objectives within a contact strategy approach that forms an effective ‘close’ working relationship
• Provide the business and key internal Stakeholders with a periodic view of the category performance with consequent indicated and recommended actions.
• Target KPIs including volume, Net Sales, Gross Profit, Gross Margin
• Launch of key initiatives on time and to target commitments
• Management of assigned category marketing budget in line with plan
• Involvement in key brand issues (architecture, design, equity)

Accountabilities

 
Strategy Development and Implementation

• Lead the development of strategic plans for the Category portfolio to align & deliver growth ambition and secure with help of Group Chief Marketing Officer the approval and agreement of the Exec and the key Marketing Units
• Bring strategy to life and make it executable, to ensure a high level of conviction across the Exec and the MU’s on your initiatives

Building  To Win

• Lead the development of Consumer led strategy, across the full customer journey including digital and shopper, with clear business and Consumer objectives for the Category, putting Consumers at the heart of activities and shaping research to gain deeper insights
• Effectively lead cross functional Teams to identify drivers of growth within the market to shape the brand strategy and improve business results
• Challenge the status quo, seeking and implementing new learnings in order to continuously improve business performance.
• Set key performance measures for the Category and establish a process for monitoring and evaluating plans and controlled tests within the marketing mix against targets and objectives

Ensure Fit for Purpose On-going Portfolio Management

• On-going review of our portfolio of brands and products to ensure we reach more users and more occasions
• Challenge and empower the Team to drive and shape the development of a full and well-balanced pipeline to ensure an optimum flow of validated innovation and renovation opportunities to deliver the brand objectives and healthy future innovation pipeline
• Lead team through development of innovation concepts that are co-created with Consumers to uncover true insights and identify clear benefits and reasons to believe, taking advantage also of disruptive techniques and stimulus to trigger unexpected ideas using influence from outside the traditional references
• Can make strategic growth choices across categories and portfolios, creating a long term innovation pipeline which maximizes incremental growth by taking bold decisions to prioritise
• Promote and reward cross-market initiatives, sharing successes with the broader organisation to highlight best practice and motivate Teams

Creating in-store Excellence

• Inspire and lead the cross-functional team to monitor on-going range business performance – assessing opportunities and make recommendations for range optimisation for short and long term range strategy
• Lead Team to design a clear and logical range architecture appropriate for the target Consumer, shopper and Customer, aligned to the brand and market strategy
• Clearly sets and communicates expectations for packaging and creates the environment where the Team can take calculated risks to achieve great packaging
• Clearly sets and communicates expectations for the digital and ecommerce journey for the target Consumer, aligned to brand and market strategy
• Have looked beyond the immediate frozen category to draw inspiration from the broader food market and led the Team to apply these learnings within strategies and plans

Leading Teams to Success

• Bringing strategy to life and making it executable, to ensure a high level of conviction across the MU’s on your initiatives. Clear input into local MU innovation/renovation projects and sharing knowledge of best practice models across markets
• Develop a great Team through robust succession planning, development and rewarding talent and regular development discussions with Team
• Generate a culture within the Team that is inspiring, energising and that excites the team to generate new ideas for growth
• Creates a collaborative culture where individuals and Teams recognise, reward and learn from each other

Strong Commercial Acumen

• Ensures all strategies and plans are financially viable and meeting or exceeding all direct and indirect measures, including top and bottom line growth and in line with expectations

Multifunctional Working

• Working collaboratively with Creative Development, Digital Marketing, Insights, R&D, PMO, Supply Chain and Finance colleagues to deliver great quality marketing executions and improve productivity in order to deliver category objectives on time in full and to ultimately grow the brand

Monitor and Act on Competitor Activities

• Develop defence / welcome plans where competitor activity has pan-European or strategic implications.  Share competitive activity across European Category Marketing Team and MUs where relevant

Essential

• Marketing Functional Skills
• Consumer understanding
• Marketing strategy development
• New product development          
• Marketing activity development, including:
• Digital and ecommerce
• Packaging design and production
• Promotional activity

General Skills

• Project Management
• Commercial Acumen – previous experience of owning a P&L
• Cross functional Team management

Competencies

• Bold Delivery
• Inspiration & Involvement
• Impact and Influence
• Change Agent

Qualifications and Previous Experience

• 9+ years Marketing / Commercial in FMCG companies, ideally food
• Proven track record of strong leadership and achievement in an FMCG environment
• Worked in a complex matrixed organisation
• Essential to have European (or Global experience) and ideally would be worked in a EU local market
• Successfully led brand strategy and innovation development, having ideally worked in a category led organisation
• Able to demonstrate strong leadership with proven people management skills and be a motivating leader for their own Team as well as cross functions (internal and external) Teams
• Proven track record in successfully bringing innovation to market i.e. innovation that meets and ideally exceeds pre-defined KPIs
• Excellent project management skills
• Ideally work across different countries and with diverse nationalities
• Evidence of personal resilience in respect of demonstrable experience of being resourceful and highly tenacious
• Mandatory language requirements: English