Director of Shopper and Customer Insights

• Identify and articulate key consumer, shopper and market issues and opportunities for the assigned Category providing business recommendations
• Ensure decisions are made against a background of fundamental Category / consumer / shopper / customer knowledge and insight
• Be the consumer advocate in the Category/Brand Team ensuring that the consumer/shopper is at the center of the Category strategies
• Support business decision by leveraging insights developed by country and platform teams
• Ensure that optimal and creative research solutions (including qualitative, quantitative)
• The Global Director, Shopper & Customer Insights is a senior leadership role responsible for setting the strategic direction for shopper and customer intelligence across the enterprise
• Reporting to the SVP of Global Insights & Analytics, this leader defines the insight agenda, governs global frameworks (including the shopper segmentation framework), and ensures that shopper and customer understanding is embedded into the company’s most critical commercial decisions — from annual operating plans and innovation pipelines to strategic retailer partnerships
• This role oversees a team that owns day-to-day insight delivery, retailer-facing analytics, and data-driven selling stories globally
• Define and own the global shopper and customer insights agenda, ensuring it is tightly linked to the company’s growth priorities and brand strategies
• Develop forward-looking perspectives on shopper behavior, path-to-purchase trends, channel dynamics, and emerging retail models (e-commerce, quick commerce, omnichannel)
• Serve as the enterprise authority on “who buys, why, where, and how,” connecting shopper understanding to category, brand, and commercial decision-making
• Own the governance and evolution of the shopper/trip mission segmentation framework, ensuring it remains current, analytically robust, and consistently adopted across markets and teams
• Lead the development of customer-specific insight platforms that strengthen joint business planning (JBP) and category management partnerships with key retailers at a strategic level
• Identify capabilities for white-space opportunities by channel, retailer, and region to inform portfolio, pricing, and promotional strategies
• Monitor and interpret globally-prioritized retailer strategies, competitive shelf dynamics, and macro-retail trends to provide early-warning signals and growth recommendations to senior leadership
• Partner with BU Shopper Insights community to commission and govern primary research programs (e.g., shopper intercepts, panel analytics, path-to-purchase studies, occasion mapping), setting the standards and practices for best in class solutions
• Evaluate and approve new data sources, tools, and technologies (e.g., retail media data, loyalty-card analytics, AI-driven behavioral modelling) to continuously sharpen insight quality — without requiring personal hands-on tool proficiency
• Partner with Global Sales CoE, VP-level and GM-level leaders across Brand Marketing, Category Development, Revenue Growth Management, Sales, and Supply Chain to embed shopper and customer insights into enterprise planning processes (annual operating plans, innovation stage-gates, strategic JBPs)
• Collaborate with regional and local insight teams to ensure global frameworks are adapted effectively to local market realities
• Act as a key contributor to innovation pipelines by surfacing unmet shopper needs and occasion-based opportunities
• Represent the company’s shopper expertise in executive forums, industry conferences, and senior-level customer engagements
• Present compelling, story-driven insight narratives to senior leadership, cross-functional partners, and external customers
• Translate data into clear “so whats” and actionable recommendations that drive measurable business outcomes

Insights gained from progressive industry and / or consulting, with a strong preference for consumer goods backgroundWorking at a strategic level, leveraging consumer knowledge to influence short and long term business decisions. Has practical experience of driving growth in white space opportunitiesExperience across a variety of research techniques and applicationsAcross a variety of research techniques and applicationsDemonstrated ability to work across cultures, and be effective and influential remotelyExperience partnering directly with major global and regional retailers at a strategic levelStrong presentation skills, can quickly build credibility with customers; proven external relationship managementDeep expertise in syndicated data platforms (e.g., NielsenIQ, Circana), shopper panel data, and retail analytics — with the ability to evaluate and commission advanced analytics rather than execute them hands-onProven experience managing managers — not just individual contributors — and developing high-performing insight professionalsStrong command of both quantitative and qualitative research methodologiesProven track record of leading global or multi-market insight functions and influencing senior commercial decisions at VP/GM level and above12+ years of progressive experience in shopper insights, customer insights, category management, or commercial strategy within the CPG/FMCG industryBachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business, Economics, Psychology, or a related field; MBA or advanced degree preferredExperience overseeing teams that use advanced analytics, data visualization tools (e.g., Tableau), and AI/ML-driven insight platformsFamiliarity with e-commerce and digital shelf analyticsExposure to revenue growth management, trade promotion optimization, or pricing analyticsMultilingual capability or significant experience working across multiple regions (North America, Europe, AMEA, Latin America)