Director of Commercial Strategy-Home Channel

About The Group
From a small store in Turin to a large, internationally recognized group: we are present in 90 countries around the world, with over 5,000 employees and 30 companies, managed directly and indirectly by the Luigi Lavazza Spa parent company, which distribute and market our products and coffee machines. In addition to Lavazza, the following brands are also part of our Group: Carte Noire, Merrild, Kicking Horse, Eraclea and Whittington tea.

Joining Lavazza means doing business with passion, knowing that the impact of our work goes beyond the quality of the production chain. We are a big family and are constantly looking for new talents who share our values and can enrich our team. We combine competitiveness with social and environmental responsibility as we create superior quality products available for consumption both at home and out of home, and distributed through all channels: Retail, Foodservice, Office Coffee Service (OCS), and Vending. Our strong, diversified presence enables us to offer consumers and clients perfectly suited solutions, for any occasion and time of day.

Job Overview
At Lavazza North America, the Director of Commercial Strategy-Home Channel plays a pivotal role in shaping and executing the strategic roadmap across all consumer channels. This leadership position is responsible for driving sustainable growth, optimizing go-to-market strategies, and aligning cross-functional initiatives with Lavazza's long-term business objectives. As a key member of the Commercial Leadership Team, the Director will lead channel and customer level strategy, business intelligence and customer development efforts to enhance market share, brand presence, profitability, and operational efficiency. The role demands a deep understanding of consumer behaviour, competitive dynamics, and data-driven decision-making to support Lavazza's omnichannel presence and premium brand positioning in the U.S. and Canadian markets.

The Director will oversee the Home Customer Development (Trade Marketing) teams and Home Channel Strategy team, and will partner with sales, Marketing, RGM, Finance departments and the Broker Partner to align Customer Plans to the larger Company goals.

Location: New York or West Chester, PA

Job Responsibilities

• Leads the development and deployment of Home strategic projects.
• Collaborate with Sales, Demand Planning, and Finance to drive strategic decisions at the Channel level.
• Leads annual 4Ps planning and review process with Sales, Marketing, Finance and Broker Partner, translating them into 4Ps Customers priorities for execution.
• Partners with sales for line reviews, annual customer planning and monthly business reviews.
• Builds strong customer relationships and drive category partnership opportunities.
• Manages Customer related BTL investments for the Home Channel. Align customer activation plans and budget to amplify National Marketing key focus periods and customer key focus periods to drive performance KPIs.
• Develops commercial programs that ensure profitability aligned with Lavazza North America strategic plan targets, in partnership with the RGM team and other departments (Sales, Marketing, Finance).
• Leverages insights (syndicated data, i.e. Nielsen/IRI, sell-out information from distributors, category trends) to identify commercial opportunities and defines sales plans to execute.
• Strategic partners with Sales to effectively execute commercial programs, and with RGM and Finance to project financial impact of commercial initiatives.
• Collaborates with Sales, RGM, Finance, Marketing and Demand Planning to drive strategic decisions at the Channel level.
• Partners with Marketing on NPD business case development and platform needs, ensuring alignment with channel strategies.
• Lead Monthly Business Reviews with the Lavazza North America Leadership Team. Collaborate with Channel Leads to define the monthly agenda, expectations from all stakeholders, and final Executive Summary of Key Messages.
• Develops a high performing team consisting of channel strategy, sales operations, customer development (trade marketing) and analytics talent to effectively contribute in delivering Lavazza results.
• Train and manage staff (analysts and marketing managers) to both build 4Ps gap analysis and develop clear, specific plans and launch new products.

Professional Qualifications

• Bachelors Degree in Business, Marketing or related field, preferred.
• 5+ years working experience in CPG Trade Marketing, Category Management, Sales, Sales Planning or Marketing required.
• Experience supporting Retail/eTail channels and customers required.
• Advanced skills in MS Office (Excel, PPT) required.
• Experience with synicated data tools for Retail, examples - Nielsen, IRI, Numerator, etc.
• Experience with synicated data tools for eComm, examples - Amazon Retail Analytics, Market Share, Helium, etc.
• Must be able to effectively function in matrix organization and leverage influence and negotiation skills to drive effective cross functional collaboration.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills; comfortable presenting (virtually and in-person) to Executive Leadership and cross fuctional leadership and peers.
• Strong story telling capabilities to diagnosis complex business issues, visualize the data, identify the insights, and recommend clear action plans.
• Ability to work in an environment of tight deadlines, and to consistently challenge and be challenged on performance results.
• Highly agile and thrives in a fast paced working environment with an entrepreneurial mindset.
• Strong collaboration and influence skills with the ability to work well cross functionally with all levels of the organizatoin - peers to Executives.
• Up to 30-35% travel required based off business needs.

Benefits/Perks

• Competitive Medical, Vision, Dental Benefits
• 401K Package
• Employee Assistance Program
• Hybrid Work Schedule (3 days in office, 2 days wfh)
• Ability to be barista certified
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Performance Development Plans
• Employee Discounts
• Flexible business casual dress code - jean friendly
• Free coffee, anytime

Lavazza is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

Lavazza prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type and affords equal employment opportunities without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.