Director, Channel & Customer Strategy

The Coca-Cola Company

About The Position

The Director, Channel & Customer Strategy is a key leadership role responsible for developing and executing channel strategies and multi-year plans for strategic retailers. This role translates The Coca-Cola Company’s brand and commercial priorities into growth strategies for both the business and retail partners, balancing strategic vision with precise in-market execution aligned with the brand’s look of success, AMPS (Availability, Merchandising, Pricing, Space), and long-term value creation. The Director will collaborate with top-tier customers, Coca-Cola North America, and cross-functional teams to create world-class partnerships and joint business plans. The ideal candidate excels at turning analytics into actionable insights, fostering customer relationships, and delivering executional excellence.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, or related field required; MBA preferred.
7–10 years in Channel & Customer Strategy, Sales, Category Management, or related CPG roles.
Proven customer management and planning experience across multiple segments.
Ability to balance strategic growth with operational priorities and translate strategies into execution.
Strong relationship builder with experience collaborating with senior retail leaders.
Analytical expertise leveraging tools such as Nielsen, Numerator, TPM, Power BI, and syndicated data.
Deep knowledge of category management, pricing/promotion, and AMPS principles.
Skilled in managing ambiguity, problem-solving, and using industry-standard sales/financial systems (e.g., SAP, Oracle).

Nice To Haves

MBA preferred.

Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership: Lead channel strategy development, aligning brand priorities with customer opportunities to drive growth.
Co-create and execute multi-year business plans incorporating shopper insights, channel dynamics, and market trends.
Develop distinctive value propositions delivering profitable growth for Coca-Cola and retail partners.
Use advanced analytics to craft selling stories and actionable strategies aligned with company and customer goals.
Customer Partnership & Value Creation: Build strong partnerships with NAOU Retail teams and key customers; develop Joint Business Plans balancing short- and long-term growth.
Champion a consumer-centric approach, providing category solutions rooted in insights and portfolio strengths.
Serve as primary liaison between the North America Juice business, retailers, and partners, aligning priorities.
Embed category/brand strategies into plans, integrating pricing, promotion, and merchandising to meet agreed KPIs.
Executional Excellence: Ensure flawless execution of brand, commercial, and sales priorities in line with look-of-success standards.
Collaborate with internal teams and retailers to optimize product performance, merchandising, pricing, and assortment.
Monitor execution scorecards and KPIs (e.g., SOVI, TDPs, share) to identify opportunities and address gaps.
Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with RGM, Commercial Strategy, Pricing Execution, and others to align execution with business strategy.
Lead business reviews to maintain alignment with customers and internal stakeholders.
Act as subject matter expert on channel and customer strategy, guiding Brand, Commercial, and Sales Operations teams.
Innovation & Business Process Leadership: Lead innovation launches within the channel, ensuring successful commercialization of new products and packaging.
Drive process improvements in tools, systems, and RTM operations for greater efficiency.
Promote best-in-class routines, communications, and reporting to enable seamless collaboration.