Modern Trade Development Manager

At Unilever Food Solutions, our purpose is to Free Chefs to love what they do. We work with Hotels, Restaurants and Caterers to create exciting menus that are good for diners, and good for the planet. Our brands include Knorr and Best Foods — trusted and used by chefs and F&B operators every day.

We are seeking a Trade Marketing Manager – Modern Trade who will lead the end-to-end trade marketing strategy and execution for Modern Trade channel, for example, Makro, Go Wholesale, Lotus, Big C and e Commerce, driving category growth, visibility, and profitability through data-driven decision making and strong cross-functional collaboration.

The role requires a strategic, entrepreneurial and data-savvy leader who can combine analytical depth with business foresights into action, spotting new opportunities, and shaping future-ready partnerships across offline and online touchpoints, while ensuring alignment across Sales, Brand, Digital, and Finance to deliver flawless execution at the point of purchase — both in-store and online.

Main Accountabilities:
BUSINESS & CHANNEL GROWTH

• Lead the Trade Marketing agenda for Modern Trade, especially Makro, building joint business plans and driving volume, visibility, and profitability.

• Partner with the Sales team to translate category and shopper insights into tailored activation plans for each account format and region.

• Identify and initiate new business opportunities, including assortment expansion joint innovation, and channel pilots to capture white spaces

• Continuously analyze market, shopper, and customer data to identify growth opportunities and optimize assortment, pricing, and promotion strategies to ensure channel competitiveness

• Shape and implement category visibility plans in close collaboration with Brand and Digital teams.

• Track and report on performance KPIs — including sales uplift, ROI, and share of shelf/voice — to continuously improve execution.

DIGITAL & E-COMMERCE EXCELLENCE

• Translate Modern Trade strategies into digital activation plans, ensuring synergy between offline and online platforms

• Monitor category performance and shopper journey across touchpoints, identifying growth levers in emerging online channel

• Collaborate with E-commerce and Digital team to drive omnichannel visibility, search performance and conversion

• Stay ahead of fast-moving market shifts by capturing early signs and translating them into agile activation

MARKETING & EXECUTION EXCELLENCE

• Develop and execute shopper activation programs, planograms, and POSM to maximize conversion and engagement in stores and digital platforms.

• Drive data-led campaign planning using shopper insights and sales data to improve investment efficiency.

• Partner with Brand, Digital, and E-commerce teams to ensure all activations are on-brand, consistent, and measurable.

• Drive demand-creation campaigns that connect seamlessly between offline and online channels.

• Continuously monitor competitor activities, pricing, and visibility performance to sharpen Unilever’s execution edge in Modern Trade.

• Track and analyze activation performance, shopper insights, and ROI to continuously optimize execution

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

• Own and manage the Trade Marketing budget for Modern Trade, ensuring smart allocation and clear ROI.

• Conduct post-evaluation analysis to optimize trade spending and redirect investments to the most impactful initiatives.

• Partner with Finance and Sales to ensure clear visibility of TTS (Trade Terms Spend) and budget utilization.

• Drive a “Smart spend culture”, ensuring every baht spent builds meaningful demand or brand advantage.

TEAM LEADERSHIP

• Build strong collaboration across functions — Sales, Brand, Digital, Finance, Supply Chain — and with external partners such as merchandising teams.

• Lead cross-functional meetings and joint reviews with key accounts to ensure mutual business growth and alignment.

• Foster a performance-driven, analytical culture with clear accountability, agility, and partnership mindset.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Business, Marketing, or related field.

• 3–5 years of experience in Trade Marketing - Modern Trade, or Channel Development within FMCG.

• Proven success in leading joint business planning and trade activation with key accounts such as Makro

• Strong analytical mindset, with ability to translate data and insights into actionable commercial plans.

• Strong understanding of digital and e-commerce dynamics, with ability to adapt quickly to fast-changing market trends

• Excellent stakeholder management and leadership skills, with ability to influence across levels and functions

• Passionate, agile, collaborative, and hands-on proactive leader who can balance strategy and execution.

Unilever is an organisation committed to equity, inclusion and diversity to drive our business results and create a better future, every day, for our diverse employees, global consumers, partners, and communities. We believe a diverse workforce allows us to match our growth ambitions and drive inclusion across the business. At Unilever we are interested in every individual bringing their ‘Whole Self’ to work and this includes you! Thus if you require any support or access requirements, we encourage you to advise us at the time of your application so that we can support you through your recruitment journey.