We are seeking an experienced, commercially driven Trade Marketing Manager to lead the development and execution of channel and customer marketing strategies across the UAE. The role is responsible for translating brand and category strategies into winning in-market execution plans that drive sales, market share, visibility, and shopper engagement.

The ideal candidate will serve as the link between sales and marketing, ensuring strong execution of promotions, launches, merchandising initiatives, and channel plans across modern trade, traditional trade, wholesale, and e-commerce.

Key Responsibilities

Develop and implement trade marketing strategies aligned with overall brand and commercial objectives.

Build annual trade marketing plans by channel, customer, and category to support business growth.

Work closely with sales teams to develop customer-specific activation plans, promotions, and visibility initiatives.

Lead in-store execution excellence, including POSM, planograms, merchandising standards, and display initiatives.

Manage new product launches and promotional campaigns to ensure effective execution in the market.

Analyse sales data, market trends, shopper insights, and competitor activities to identify growth opportunities.

Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of trade promotions and activation campaigns to ensure strong ROI.

Manage trade marketing budgets and ensure efficient allocation of spend across channels and customers.

Collaborate with brand marketing, supply chain, finance, and sales teams to ensure alignment and timely execution.

Support category development initiatives by using market data and shopper understanding to improve assortment and shelf presence.

Develop tools, sales materials, and activation guidelines to support the field sales team and distributors.

Track key performance indicators such as sales uplift, promotion effectiveness, visibility compliance, and distribution gains.

Ensure all trade activities are aligned with UAE market dynamics, retailer requirements, and shopper behaviour.

Build strong relationships with key retail partners, agencies, and third-party suppliers to support execution.

Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business Administration, or a related field.

An MBA is an advantage.

5-8 years of experience in trade marketing, sales, or category management within FMCG.

Strong experience in the UAE market, preferably with exposure to GCC markets.

Proven track record in trade promotions, channel planning, in-store execution, and customer activation.

Strong understanding of modern trade, traditional trade, wholesale, and e-commerce channels.

Experience working with retailers, distributors, and field sales teams.

Strong analytical skills with experience in sales data interpretation and performance reporting.

Proficiency in Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint.

Experience with Nielsen, retail audit data, or category insight tools is an advantage.

Fluent in English; Arabic is an advantage.

Skills, Competencies and Success Measures

Skills & Competencies

Key Performance Indicators

Strong commercial and execution mindset

Excellent knowledge of trade marketing and shopper activation

Strong analytical and problem-solving skills

Budget planning and ROI management

Effective communication and presentation skills

Ability to work cross-functionally in a fast-paced environment

Strong project management and organisational skills

Ability to influence internal and external stakeholders

Detail-oriented with a strong focus on execution excellence

Sales growth by channel and customer

Market share improvement

Promotion effectiveness and ROI

In-store visibility and merchandising compliance

Distribution expansion and availability

Successful execution of launches and activations

Trade spend management and budget adherence

Customer activation success and sell-out improvement

Preferred Experience

Experience in food, beverage, dairy, personal care, or household FMCG categories.

Strong exposure to UAE retail chains, distributor management, and customer promotions.

Experience in launching products and running national promotional campaigns.

Understanding of UAE shopper behaviour and competitive retail dynamics.

Background in multinational or regional FMCG organisations is preferred.

What We Offer

Competitive salary and benefits

Opportunity to work with a growing FMCG business in the UAE

Dynamic and collaborative working environment

Career growth and regional exposure