Nigeria Customer Strategy and Planning Manager BWPC

About the Role

We're looking for a commercially driven and highly analytical Customer Strategy & Planning (CSP) Manager to drive category growth and channel excellence across the Beauty & Wellbeing and Personal Care portfolio in Nigeria.

This role is accountable for developing and executing winning channel and category strategies, delivering best-in-class customer and shopper insights, and ensuring strong alignment between Customer Development, Brand, Category, and Supply Chain teams.

The successful candidate will serve as the voice of the customer and shopper, helping shape commercial decisions that drive brand penetration, profitable growth, and execution excellence across multiple channels.

Key Responsibilities

Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP)

• Lead consolidated Customer Development input into the S&OP process.
• Own and drive monthly and quarterly business performance.
• Represent customer and shopper perspectives within forecasting and demand planning discussions.
• Leverage consumer and market insights to improve forecasting accuracy and business decision-making.
• Drive alignment between commercial teams and supply chain priorities.

Channel & Category Strategy Development

• Develop and execute channel and category strategies that deliver annual business targets.
• Partner with Brand and Category teams to ensure customer and channel priorities are fully embedded in business plans.
• Identify growth opportunities across traditional trade, modern trade, e-commerce, and emerging channels.
• Drive execution excellence through the effective deployment of the 6Ps.

Innovation & Project Management

• Provide strong customer input early in the innovation funnel.
• Act as the voice of the customer during market deployment decisions.
• Ensure launch plans are optimized for successful customer and shopper execution.
• Manage key customer objectives including distribution, pricing, assortment, merchandising, and visibility.

Integrated Business Planning

• Represent customer and channel needs within innovation and renovation business cases.
• Provide input on pricing, trade margins, category management, and channel opportunities.
• Lead Customer Development contributions to Integrated Business Planning processes.
• Support category growth plans through robust channel and customer insights.

Net Revenue Management & Trade Investment

• Lead customer and category conversations relating to profitable growth.
• Drive the optimal mix across packs, SKUs, channels, and customers.
• Ensure effective management and allocation of trade investment budgets.
• Develop channel-specific strategies that improve availability, assortment, and execution quality.

Category Leadership

• Develop compelling channel strategies and blueprints across traditional, modern, and digital channels.
• Drive category growth through clear understanding of shopper missions and channel opportunities.
• Support the transition from channels of today to channels of the future.
• Enable in-market execution to unlock sustainable growth across brands and categories.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Business, Marketing, Commerce, or a related field.
• Minimum of 7 years' experience within Sales, Marketing, Customer Development, Trade Marketing, Category Management, or Customer Strategy & Planning.
• Strong experience in Category Management (CATMAN).
• Experience in Shopper Marketing and Field Sales environments.
• Proven project and innovation management capability.
• Strong understanding of Shopper Toolkits and Design for Channels principles.
• Demonstrated Net Revenue Management (NRM) experience.
• Strong commercial, financial, and analytical capability.
• Excellent stakeholder management and influencing skills.
• Proven leadership and people management experience.
• Ability to operate successfully within a fast-paced and complex commercial environment.

Why Join Unilever?

• Work for one of the world’s most purpose-led and trusted brands.
• Drive meaningful impact on business capability and performance.
• Be part of a supportive, culture‑driven environment that values people and growth.
• Enjoy opportunities for regional exposure and professional development.