Director, Trade Marketing

About the Job:

Beautynova is the Italy-based parent company and manufacturer of a portfolio of innovative and coveted Professional Hair Care brands, including milk_shake®, DEPOT®, and Medavita, and operates in North America under our subsidiary, z.one concept USA, inc.

At Beautynova, we are dedicated to delivering better days in people’s lives through high-performing hair products with care, respect and creativity. We serve professionals and consumers thanks to an open-minded, entrepreneurial, and committed team.

As part of our accelerated growth strategy in North America, we are seeking like-minded, experienced, and passionate people to join and elevate our team.

Job Title: Director, Trade Marketing
Department: Marketing
Reports to: VP Marketing
Job Type: Full Time / Exempt         
Location: Hybrid (New Jersey-Based)
           
Job Summary:
The Director, Trade Marketing will be responsible for leading the development & execution of all customer centric marketing plans within the portfolio of Beautynova Americas brands: milk_shake®, DEPOT®, and Medavita. This role will work cross functionally to drive trade marketing strategies & execution fueling professional & retail engagement, customer sell-in, and in-market excellence. This role is a critical connector between marketing and sales, responsible for translating brand strategy into compelling customer programs that accelerate growth, enhance shopper experience, and strengthen our presence across professional and retail channels in North America.

Responsibilities:
Commercial Planning

• Lead the annual Integrated Commercial Planning cycle, ensuring alignment between brand, sales, trade marketing, and finance
• Translate brand plans and category strategies into customer-level plans that form part of the Joint Business Planning Cycle with key national and regional accounts
• Set up the key process to link planning and execution between the brand, media, trade and regional marketing and the distributor sell in cycle via DBP (Distributor Business Planning)
• Ensure innovation pipeline is integrated into the Distributor and Customer sell-in cycles

Trade Strategy

• Develop robust & comprehensive Trade Marketing strategy for professional & retail accounts in partnership with Brand Marketing, Sales, and Education including sampling, visual merchandising, in-store  digital activation strategies
• Develop strategies and initiatives based on Marketing priorities, ensuring balance and appropriate focus among core vs. newness SKUs
• Identify key seasonal opportunities at channel/customer level
• Create and implement marketing planning tools, including 360 marketing calendars, retailer-facing marketing planning materials, and at-a-glance tools to ensure all teams have a thorough knowledge of marketing activations and account-specific activity by product or campaign
• Partner with the brand teams and sales to create go-to-market strategies that support brand initiatives and commercial goals
• Maintain key account marketing calendars, in partnership with sales
• Manage all market meeting meetings – from prep to presentation

Merchandising/VM

• Lead visual merchandising process for all VM updates (i.e., front of salon, backbar, in-line, front of store, secondary placement updates) with strategic briefs kicking off the process cross functionally
• Partner with Brand Marketing and Sales to ensure optimal productivity of POS/VM of all respective channels and evaluate retail sales impact
• Proactively identify areas of opportunity from a productivity standpoint and provide ideas to Brand Marketing on how to further optimize visual merchandising space in stores (e.g., messaging, claims, creative, imagery, etc.)
• Responsible for project management for all merchandising updates in store, working closely with brand & graphic designers team to meet all respective deadlines

Online / Digital

• Conduct audits of .com pages with findings on (included but not limited to) pricing, assets, copy, video, reviews
• Complete extensive research on best-in-class assets and provide recaps on ideas on how to optimize assets
• Track assets being delivered by Global and serve as dedicated project manager resulting in timeliness upload of all NPD and/or dedicated campaign deliverables

Customer & Channel Development

• Design and execute customer-specific programs and sell-in materials to support product launches, seasonal campaigns, and category growth initiatives in collaboration with the Marketing and Sales teams
• Work with our customer teams to identify whitespace opportunities within key retailers and drive custom programs that build share and loyalty

Sampling & Sponsorship Execution

• Ensure National & Local sponsorships have a coordinated sampling and activation plan
• Coordinate the Sampling program at a local and customer level ensuring that Brand led initiatives are fully executed
• Measure and evaluate the ROI of sampling activation across the channels of execution

Trade Investment Management

• Oversee trade spend effectiveness and ROI; support annual planning, budget allocation, and promotional performance reviews
• Lead post-promotion analysis and partner with analytics, sales and finance to optimize trade investment strategies
• Analyze trade marketing spend with a critical eye to ensure budgets are spent on meaningful programs to drive brand awareness and product sell out

Team Leadership & Operational Excellence

• Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing trade marketing team
• Foster a culture of strategic thinking, creativity, accountability, and continuous improvement
• Manage seasonal and monthly budgets, contracts, negotiations, and payments with rigor and transparency
• Ensure timelines, deliverables, and cross-functional communication are tightly managed across all trade marketing initiatives to internal & global counterparts
• Any other assignments, projects, duties or tasks as assigned by management

Required Skills/Abilities:

• 12 years of progressive experience in Trade Marketing, Sales Strategy, or Brand/Customer Marketing within the CPG industry, with a focus on beauty or hair care brands sold in the prestige market
• Strong understanding of U.S. & CAN professional & retail landscape, including omnichannel and digital commerce
• Experience managing direct reports and cross-functional teams
• Proven track record of successful relationship, campaign & launches within the professional & retail space
• Leadership experience with national and customer-specific channels & programs
• Highly creative with the ability to develop new ideas that resonate with audience
• Strong communication skills and ability to influence key stakeholders
• Self-starter with a hands-on approach and ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment
• Experience working with agencies and managing external partners
• Excellent communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills
• Excellent analytical and strategic thinking skills, with deep experience in promotional ROI and investment optimization
• Exceptional communication and collaboration skills with the ability to influence across multiple levels and functions

Physical Requirements and Working Conditions:

• Hybrid work environment with a combination of in-office and remote work
• Prolonged periods of sitting and working at a computer
• Occasional lifting of up to 15 pounds
• Walking between different departments when in the office
• Occasional travel for sales trips, educational flights, or collaboration with marketing teams at other locations
• Adaptability to different working environments, including interactions with remote teams and account partners across various time zones
• Potential for Domestic and international travel to industry events, tradeshows, and customer locations up to 20% of time

What We Offer:

• The salary range for this position is $125,000 – $145,000 annually, based on the candidate’s qualifications and experience
• This position is eligible to participate in a bonus program based on the candidate’s qualifications and experience
• Paid Time Off
• Medical, Dental, Vision Insurance
• FSA/HSA
• Life/Accident Insurance
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Professional Development Resources
• 401(k) Employer Match Program

On our quest to add stellar talent to our already amazing team, Beautynova and z.one concept USA, inc. offer a competitive package of culture, compensation, and care.
We are an inclusive and equal opportunity employer.