Nestle Operational Services Worldwide SA
Customer Category & Shopper Activation Lead
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Business Area: Nestlé UK&I - Coffee
Coffee Customer Category & Shopper Activation Lead: 12 months’ Fixed Term Contract
Location: Gatwick (Hybrid working – min. 2 days a week in the office)
Salary: £72,450 to £85,000 pro rata depending on experience
Some of our other fantastic benefits:
- Car Allowance
- Potential, discretionary annual bonus
- Generous pension scheme
- 12 flexible days on top of 25 days annual holiday entitlement pro rata
- 2 paid volunteering days
- A focus on personal development and growth
Although this is a full-time temporary opportunity, please speak to us about what flexibility means to you. We are always open to discussing individual flexible working needs, so please don’t let this stop you from applying.
Position Summary
Our UK&I Coffee team is recruiting for a Customer Category & Shopper Activation Lead to join the Commercial Development Team (CDT) on a secondment basis, reporting to the Commercial Development Team Director.
At Coffee, we believe there is a cup of coffee for everyone, and our ambition is to lead the way for coffee lovers in the UK, with our brands continuing to grow household penetration and relevance across occasions.
In this exciting and high-impact commercial leadership role, you will lead a combined team of Customer Category Managers and Shopper Marketing Managers covering the full Coffee portfolio (Nescafé, Nescafé Dolce Gusto and Starbucks) across Grocery, Convenience, Discounter and Online channels. You will be responsible for the category strategy, in-store & online shopper investment budget and delivery of profitable category growth.
Your Impact
As a member of the CDT Leadership Team, you will lead a team of Customer Category Managers and Shopper Marketing Managers to unlock the Category, Channel and Shopper opportunities for the Coffee portfolio - influencing Customer thinking and actions whilst purposefully changing shopper purchase behaviour across the omni-channel journey to drive profitable category growth ahead of the competition.
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You will:
- Lead the translation of the Zone Coffee Category strategy into a UK&I strategy with clearly identified and quantified opportunities and the activities required to unlock the category drivers
- Lead the omni-channel thinking that enables the team to write category and commercial plans which unlock category and commercial opportunities across in-store and online
- Drive distribution, range, space and placement to deliver effective growth for Coffee at the Point of Purchase, and lead broader improvement opportunities (e.g. visual impact, Perfect Store).
- Lead the development of insight-led shopper marketing strategy, campaigns and toolkits that convert shoppers to Coffee in store and online, working with brand teams to land key initiatives.
- Make Shopper Marketing investment work smarter through systematic planning, execution and review, ensuring the best possible ROI and insight to continually improve performance and efficiency.
- Build effective and rewarding internal & external relationships - be the key point of contact for Customers, brand teams and agencies, briefing creative, retailer and production partners to completion.
- Shape future business strategy by leading the Coffee Integrated Commercial Planning (ICP) process to ensure our plans deliver our core business objectives of share, profit & OG
- Coach and develop the Customer Category and Shopper Marketing team to be a highly effective team - bringing the outside in and building capability across both category and shopper disciplines.
Your Ingredients for Success
To be successful, you will bring broad commercial experience across Sales / Marketing / Channel Category Sales Development (CCSD) / Category & Shopper Marketing, providing a strong strategic mindset and understanding of the UK grocery, convenience, discount and online retail channels, ideally within Coffee or FMCG.
You will be an energised, results-driven leader who can connect insights into credible commercial and shopper strategies that get executed across teams internally and externally, and who can credibly engage at senior levels with customers, brand teams and agencies.
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You will also:
- Be motivated to contribute to the positive, inclusive culture we are building within Coffee CDT and the wider Coffee team, where people feel inspired and safe to speak up.
- Have a proven track record of developing insight-led category strategies and shopper marketing campaigns (in store and online) that deliver measurable growth.
- Have the ability to step back and see the bigger picture, combined with strong analytical capability to turn insight and data into compelling stories.
- Understand and role-model the importance of the triple win – Customer, Shopper and Nestlé.
- Proactively leverage the strength of our brands, people and resources to unlock growth opportunities and bring our Coffee Vision to life.
What you need to know
Advert posting date: 28/07/2026
Advert closing date: 11/08/2026
We will be considering candidates as they apply and we will occasionally close job advertisements early in the event we receive sufficient applicants, so please don’t delay in submitting your application.
At Nestlé, our values are rooted in respect and we believe that embracing diversity and fostering an inclusive environment allows everyone to reach their full potential and drives innovative thinking. We strongly encourage applications from individuals of all gender identities, ethnic backgrounds, those with disabilities, parents, carers and members of the LGBT+ community. Please let us know if we can provide accommodations to ensure your full participation in the application process.
To find out more about Nestle’s commitment to DEI: Nestlé's Commitment to a Diverse and Inclusive Workplace
To find out more about your recruitment journey with Nestle: Recruitment Journey | Nestlé UK & Ireland
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