Mars

Customer Strategy Manager

Mars  •  Chicago, IL (Onsite)  •  1 hour ago
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Job Description

The Customer Strategy Manager for the Tasty Bite brand in Mars Food & Nutrition serves as the central architect of our customer‑facing commercial strategy. In this role, you will translate brand ambition, consumer insights, and marketplace dynamics into actionable plans that empower our sales organization and unlock growth across key customers and channels. You will be the strategic hub connecting our sales, marketing, and supply chain functions—ensuring our go‑to‑market approach is cohesive, data‑driven, and tailored to customer needs.

You will lead the development and customization of customer‑ready selling stories, tools, and resources; shape portfolio and assortment strategies; and drive communication that equips the field to win. This role is both strategic and hands‑on, requiring a blend of sales and commercial acumen, cross‑functional leadership, and the ability to turn insights into compelling, customer‑centric solutions.

The Customer Strategy Manager works at the intersection of sales, marketing, and operations, ensuring that customer plans are aligned, insightdriven, and executed seamlessly. The role collaborates closely with crossfunctional partners to translate brand and business priorities into customerready strategies, tools, and programs. Operating in a fastmoving, highly collaborative environment, this position influences without authority, anticipates needs, and serves as a key connector who keeps teams aligned and equipped to win in the marketplace.

What are we looking for?

  • Bachelor’s degree required (Business, Marketing, Analytics, or related field)

  • MBA or advanced degree preferred

  • At least 5 years of experience in the CPG industry in a sales or marketing capacity working with major retailers

    Minimum 5 years of experience in the CPG industry in a sales, marketing, category management, or customer strategy role supporting major retailers.

  • Proficiency with syndicated data tools (e.g., Nielsen, IRI, Circana) and the ability to translate insights into actionable recommendations.

  • Demonstrated success leading cross‑functional initiatives from concept through execution, influencing teams without direct authority.

  • Experience developing customer‑ready materials, selling stories, or channel‑specific programs.

  • Strong analytical and problem‑solving skills, with the ability to interpret data, identify trends, and shape strategy.

  • Comfort operating in a fast‑paced, highly collaborative environment, managing multiple priorities and stakeholders.

  • Ability to travel as needed for customer meetings and trade shows.


What will be your key responsibilities?

  • Lead the gotomarket strategy for the Tasty Bite brand, guiding initiatives from early strategic development through final execution across distribution, merchandising, pricing, and promotions. Serve as an internal copilot to identify and activate new growth opportunities, with a particular focus on the club and the natural and specialty channels.

  • Act as the primary liaison between sales and marketing, ensuring customer strategies, brand plans, and commercial priorities are aligned and translated into actionable, customerready programs.

  • Develop customized, insightdriven solutions including channelspecific items, displays, selling stories, and sales materials that elevate our presence with key customers and drive incremental growth.

  • Represent the brand externally by leading major trade shows, supporting customer meetings, and delivering compelling, insightbased narratives that position Tasty Bite as a category thought leader.

  • Translate data into strategy, leveraging syndicated data, shopper insights, and customer performance metrics to diagnose opportunities, shape recommendations, and drive crossfunctional action.

  • Support customer planning and annual commercial cycles, contributing customerspecific insights, portfolio recommendations, and strategic inputs that strengthen joint business plans and longrange brand strategies.

  • Maintain and enhance sales enablement tools and systems, ensuring the field has timely, accurate, and actionable resources to win with customers.

  • Facilitate crossfunctional alignment to ensure seamless execution of customer initiatives and consistent communication across teams.

  • Provide customerdriven demand signals to support forecasting, innovation planning, and supply chain coordination, ensuring customer needs are reflected in operational decisions.

  • Contribute to innovation and portfolio strategy by bringing forward customer and channel insights that inform new product development, renovation priorities, and longterm brand growth.

  • Lead postpromotion and postinitiative analysis to evaluate performance, assess ROI, and apply learnings to future planning and execution.

  • Create, lead, or support special projects that advance our brands and unlock strategic opportunities.


What can you expect from Mars?

  • Work with over 150,000 diverse and talented Associates, all guided by The Five Principles.

  • Join a purpose driven company, where we are striving to build the world we want tomorrow, today.

  • Best-in-class learning and development support from day one, including access to our in-house Mars University.

  • An industry competitive salary and benefits package, including company bonus.

The base pay range for this position at commencement of employment is between the range listed below, however, base pay offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including but not limited to job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. The total compensation package for this position will include variable pay, medical and dental benefits, participation in 401k plan, and paid time off benefits. Details of participation in these benefit plans will be provided if an applicant receives an offer of employment.

The pay range shown is applicable to all US locations listed within the job posting:USD 86,720.00 - USD 119,240.00

Mars

About Mars

We’re a unified force of 150,000+ Associates, taking action every day toward the world we want tomorrow.

Our Five Principles have kept us true to ourselves and to our commitment to treat others in ways that are consistent with those values. Having stood the test of time, these principles will continue, keeping us free to move quickly and plan for the future.

Quality - The consumer is our boss, quality is our work and value for money is our goal.

Responsibility - As individuals, we demand total responsibility from ourselves; as Associates, we support the responsibilities of others.

Mutuality - A mutual benefit is a shared benefit; a shared benefit will endure.

Efficiency - We use resources to the full, waste nothing and do only what we can do best.

Freedom - We need freedom to shape our future; we need profit to remain free.

Note to Parents:

https://www.mars.com/about/policies-and-practices/note-to-parents/np-english

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Industry
Food & Beverage
Company Size
10,000+ employees
Headquarters
McLean, Virginia
Year Founded
Unknown
Website
mars.com
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