Jobs at Diageo

Purpose:

This is an advocacy position aimed at building the Reserve Luxury Portfolio knowledge, awareness and adoration with our Diageo Reserve Luxury Portfolio salesforces as well as the Trend leading stakeholders, driving, and inspiring customer loyalty and demand, which will in turn transform into consumer demand. The role will also include managing the capability on spirits for the sales team and an assigned business unit

There is a need to improve the Distribution and especially the Rate of Sale of our Reserve Luxury Portfolio, and the Ambassador will be pivotal in not only ensuring our TLA/RLA accounts are serviced to a level where visibility, in-outlet rotation activities, account promotions, perfect serves/rituals, recommendation, events, and competitions drive a constant turnover of our brands, but that they are all to the luxury Reserve Luxury Portfolio standard.

Market Complexity

1. The Reserve Luxury Portfolio business has a challenging growth & innovation agenda.
2. The trading environment is dynamic with customer and consumers trends changing all the time.
3. The challenge in the on-trade is driving penetration and frequency of consumption, the off trade is challenged with retail consolidation & pricing.
4. Our customers are targeting a broad diversity of retail propositions at an increasingly marketing-literate consumer base.
5. Our major customers expect a high level of consumer insight, strong category management techniques, powerful commercial propositions, and a deep understanding of how their business operates.
6. Consumers are trading up in both the on and off trade
7. This is a highly complex role covering a broad portfolio of brands across a range of IMC’s.

Functional capabilities

1. Highly connected with the Reserve environment
2. Deep understanding of what is important to Reserve Luxury Portfolio customers and uses this insight to execute activation plans that delight and influence the customer and their consumers
3. Has their finger on the pulse of what is happening on the ground – is the “face” of luxury in their environment and has brilliant relationships with key influencers in the industry
4. Ability to identify emerging trends & insights. Tenacious in translating this knowledge into commercial actions quickly.
5. Category Knowledge across Spirits and TBA (highly recommended on most relevant in local luxury arena i.e., wine) with experience in process, ingredients & provenance
6. Passion for luxury dinks and non-drinks brands, our customers & our consumers
7. Operates proactively – and where necessary reactively - to beat the competition
8. Brand Ambassador is the personification of the portfolio in the market: attitude, appearance, and personality. The Ambassador will always represent the portfolio but may also have an extra specialization in one or two of the brands
9. Relationship management with external and internal stakeholders
10. Ability to develop strong relationships with trade partners, especially through leveraging credibility vs. being seen as a brand salesperson.
11. Ability to work cross functionally

Brilliant Execution:

1. Exceptional presentation skills that captivate the customer and leads to consistent, high quality execution that embodies the distinctive elements of the outlet(s)
2. Is capable and competent to plan and deliver training with priority customers
3. Can work with others internally to build capability behind these brands
4. Demonstrate high level self-organization and good time management. Ability to meet multiple objectives and deadlines.
5. Time management and organization skills
6. Post event: evaluation, analysis and report writing skills

Spirits Capability 

1. Ensure sales teams can sell our spirits excellently through your training programs
2. Ensure distributor partners can sell our spirits brands excellently through your training programs
3. Be the lead on spirits capability in your assigned regional division – assisting DSMs in owning the Reserve Brands and IPS agenda
4. Build knowledge in your assigned internal business unit of all EABL spirit brands 

Key Accountabilities      

1. Conduct comprehensive trainings, tastings, samplings, masterclasses, dinners, across the Reserve Luxury Portfolio of internal and external customers and targeted consumers-
2. Create structured monthly meetings with quarterly reporting to key Sales and Marketing stakeholders
3. Execution of Reserve Luxury Portfolio On-Premises and Retail activity – (for example – and not an exhaustive list- to include mapping and building a database of key stakeholders in the accounts and number trained, number of persuasion programs developed, % steal of share from
4. the competition, quantified incremental sales linked to activity, building advocacy, improving visibility, menu share, POS presence, creation of bespoke menu/cocktail lists, World Class execution)
5. Prospect and build strong relationships with Gurus/Influencers in key markets, while maintaining and nurturing current relationships
6. Continually re-evaluates current Reserve Luxury Portfolio accounts  and  helps  acquire  new accounts based on market trends
7. Inspires consumers, customers, and trade to advocate Reserve brands
8. Delivers special events in a way which provides positive surprises for our consumers and customers
9. Own the capability agenda for your assigned business unit, regional division, and distributor partners

Qualifications and Experience Required            

1. Excellent knowledge and experience in the alcoholic drinks and non-drinks luxury goods sector
2. Proven passion to live life of the luxury sector and bring our brands to life
3. Experience as an entrepreneur with a strong understanding of the motivations of bar managers and staff
4. Outstanding and proven presentation skills
5. Must possess excellent mixology skills with a solid Spirit (and Wine) knowledge
6. Proven training ability, persuasive selling skills, passion for wine and the high-end drinks business, with respect to customers and consumers
7. Excellent category, brand, and trade knowledge with a strong ability to identify emerging trends and insights
8. Good informal relationships with wine, culinary and lifestyle journalists an asset
9. Fluent in English (highly recommended)

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About of the Role

Business operations manager is a senior business partner to group functions including centres of excellence operating above the market agencies such as Tax and Finance Controller. This position is a core member of EABL Finance leadership team.

This role is required to interact with and manage inputs and outputs of numerous people across a matrix organization within EABL group and Diageo as well as maximize finance processes, efficiencies, and effectiveness in the following areas: General ledgers management, quality of data reconciliations, SLA’s/ KPI’s within market team and above the market agencies.

Purpose of the role 

1. To partner with EABL executive Leadership to drive business performance through end to end strategic and tactical management of finance processes and assurance.
2. To lead finance compliance checks agenda and service delivery by shared services and centres of excellence.
3. To Leverage global finance standard processes, data automation, systems, and COE structure to drive efficiency and effectiveness. To Identify improvement areas and process changes through insights and foresights.
4. To embed governance and control environment with an effective risk management structure through monthly controls day.

Key Accountabilities 

1. Implement and drive weekly and monthly reviews of quality of reconciliations carried out by BPO’s and COEs.
2. Institute robust review structures to ensure regulatory compliance across the value chain.
3. Monthly reporting of finance processes compliance status, potential risks and ongoing developments to the FD
4. Develop strong working relationships with business partners and above the market agencies.
5. Review relevant tax filings for completeness and technical accuracy including proper disclosures.
6. Check accuracy and completeness of monthly GL reconciliation- aging and variance
7. Ensure adherence of journal’s backup and supporting documentation policy.
8. Develop balance sheet trends, quantitative and qualitative analysis, insights, and foresights.
9. Attend balance sheet reviews conducted by FCs.
10. Review of contracts and legal agreements to ensure that tax/accounting requirements and compliance are met across the value chains.
11. Actively track, manage, and drive closure of open reconciling items.
12. Review compliance of group accounting policy
13. Implement regular checks of master data maintained in SAP.
14. Develop data quality metrics and league of table.
15. Track SLAs with tax service providers i.e., decision support business partners, shared services and COEs
16. Liaise with business integrity to test CARM and SOX controls

Experience and Qualifications 

1. Business or Finance related Degree.
2. Qualified Professional Accountant- CPA(K)/ACCA/ACMA
3. Audit experience with 5+ years in management level.
4. Minimum of 10 years’ experience in finance and tax, with 5+ years in pure tax capacity, preferably in a FMCG
5. Strong overall tax knowledge, specifically in East Africa,
6. Experience in application of IFRS guidelines and regulations in a multinational environment
7. Excellent business acumen and finance (including accounting and treasury) knowledge
8. Experienced in managing relationships and in engaging / advocating with internal and external stakeholders.
9. Strong experience in financial modelling, analysis and business case presentation preparation
10. Strategic thinking: The ability to demonstrate business acumen and think how the business/market could/should be different in the future. The ability to utilise internal and external information to understand the operating environment and implications for the business. The ability to utilise the wider business perspective to understand the impact of strategic choices and resource allocation decisions across the value chain (from supply to point of sale)
11. Risk Management: The ability to identify, capture and manage risks at appropriate levels.
12. Process Transformation: A positive problem-solving mindset that champions the use of standard, simple, automated end to end processes, and respective controls.
13. Vast experience in SAP and reconciliation systems.
14. MS applications PowerPoint, Excel, Access, Word, etc
15. Strong track record of successfully managing balance sheet with multiple subsidiaries across Africa
16. Strong leadership and organizational skills