Director, Channel & Customer Strategy

Location(s):

United States of America

City/Cities:

Chicago

Travel Required:

00% - 25%

Relocation Provided:

No

Job Posting End Date:

September 17, 2025

Shift:

Job Description Summary:

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.

What You’ll Do for Us

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.

Qualifications & 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).

What We Can Do For You

• Iconic Brand: Work on the world’s most recognized brand and shape its next chapter.

• Exposure to Leaders: Access global marketing leaders and emerging digital platforms.

• Creative Culture: Join a team that embraces bold ideas, risk-taking, and innovation.

The Coca-Cola Company will not offer sponsorship for employment status (including, but not limited to, H1-B visa status and other employment-based nonimmigrant visas) for this position. Accordingly, all applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis and must not require The Coca-Cola Company's sponsorship to continue to work legally in the United States.

Skills:

Brand Management, Category Management, Communication, Competitor Analysis, Digital Marketing, Key Performance Indicators (KPI), Leadership, Marketing Campaigns, Price Management, Product Roadmapping, Promotional Strategies, Sales Analysis, Teamwork

Pay Range:

$141,000 - $165,200

Base pay offered may vary depending on geography, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. A full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the position, is offered.

Annual Incentive Reference Value Percentage:

30

Annual Incentive reference value is a market-based competitive value for your role. It falls in the middle of the range for your role, indicating performance at target.

Our Purpose and Growth Culture:

We are taking deliberate action to nurture an inclusive culture that is grounded in our company purpose, to refresh the world and make a difference. We act with a growth mindset, take an expansive approach to what’s possible and believe in continuous learning to improve our business and ourselves. We focus on four key behaviors – curious, empowered, inclusive and agile – and value how we work as much as what we achieve. We believe that our culture is one of the reasons our company continues to thrive after 130+ years. Visit Our Purpose and Vision to learn more about these behaviors and how you can bring them to life in your next role at Coca-Cola.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and do not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, sex, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, status as a veteran, and basis of disability or any other federal, state or local protected class. When we collect your personal information as part of a job application or offer of employment, we do so in accordance with industry standards and best practices and in compliance with applicable privacy laws.