Commerce Strategy Director
We are looking for a driven, committed and experienced retail media expert that can lead and deploy Unilever’s retailer marketing strategy. There has never been a more exciting time to lead this discipline, with plans to pioneer the future of retailer media, lead the acceleration of retail media maturity within our business, and partners with retailers on social-first thinking. We are looking for a candidate who will be a catalyst for change, has an obsession to break conventions, and partner in a period of transformation. Understanding the role of social, data, measurement, technology and transformation are key to win in this role.
Unilever’s ambition is to be locally and globally recognised as market-makers and leading this discipline during this period will be career defining.
About This Role:
As the Commerce Strategy Director you are a dedicated expert and consultant at the intersection of marketing, sales, and our retailer partners. This unique opportunity places you directly within a leading global consumer goods company to drive commercial growth and foster strong partnerships with our retailers. Your core mandate is to translate Unilever's business priorities and brand objectives into high-impact retail media strategies, developing and executing holistic plans that deliver best-in-class ROI and profitable customer acquisition. You will achieve this by building strategic partnerships with key Customer Retail Media teams (including Cartology, Coles360, and Chemist Warehouse), aligning media spend, and driving measurable sales uplift and market share gains through continuous optimization and innovation. This role reports to the ANZ Head of Media and Data.
Responsibilities:
This role encompasses strategic leadership, commercial impact, and operational excellence within the retail media domain, all focused specifically on Unilever.
* Strategic Retail Media Leadership & Commercial Planning: Translate Unilever's commercial objectives and brand priorities into a comprehensive, ROI-driven retail media strategy. This includes proactively conducting competitive analysis and market opportunities to identify emerging retail media trends, defining annual plans, budget allocation (phasing and splits), and go-to-market approaches.
* Commercial Partnership & Relationship Management: Build and nurture strategic relationships with key Customer Retail Media teams (eg Cartology, Coles360, Chemist Warehouse) and contribute to best-in-class Joint Business Plans (JBPs) that drive measurable sales uplift and market share gains. Act as the primary retail media liaison, fostering deep, collaborative relationships with both external partners and internal Unilever stakeholders (Brand, Sales, Category, Shopper Marketing) to co-create innovative solutions and secure preferential media opportunities.
* Holistic Media Planning, Execution & Optimization: Working alongside the Activation Team and Media and Data Team to support the integration of retail media seamlessly into Unilever's broader media strategy, ensuring alignment across all relevant teams and developing a robust measurement framework and attribution modelto quantify the impact of retail media on sales and brand equity.
* Performance Measurement & Innovation: Drive continuous improvement by designing and implementing a test-and-learn framework, fostering a culture of data-driven innovation. Identify, evaluate, and support the pilot of new retail media platforms, ad formats, and solutions to maintain Unilever's competitive edge and future-proof its commerce strategy.
* Capability Building & Strategic Alignment: Act as the internal expert for retail media within Unilever ANZ, educating stakeholders on ecosystem nuances, best practices, and the strategic value of retail media. Ensure local retail media strategies align with global Unilever guidelines while effectively adapting to the unique dynamics and opportunities within the ANZ market, contributing to Unilever's broader data strategy for retail media.
* Reporting & Insights: Provide clear, actionable performance reports to stakeholders, distilling complex data into strategic insights that inform future investment decisions and demonstrate commercial impact.
Leadership:
As a Commerce Strategy Director, you are a results-driven and resilient leader energized by delivering commercial outcomes. You possess a strategic mindset, constantly seeking innovative ways to optimize retail media performance. Your leadership is defined by effective collaboration and influence across diverse stakeholders, coupled with a data-fluent and commercially astute approach to identify opportunities and drive growth.
Qualifications:
* Education: Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business, or a related field (Master’s Degree welcomed)
* Core Experience: Minimum 5-7 years of dedicated experience in retail media, trade or shopper marketing, eCommerce or retailer marketing.
* Strategic Planning & Execution: Demonstrated expertise in developing and executing holistic media plans that effectively convert audiences into buyers and deliver measurable ROI.
* Retail Media Proficiency: Deep working knowledge of key retailer/omni media partners and their ad products (eg Cartology, Coles360, Chemist Warehouse, Amazon, UberEats or similar)
* Data & Analytics Acumen: Advanced analytical skills with the ability to interpret complex retail media data, derive actionable commercial insights, and propose data-driven strategies for optimization and growth.
* Stakeholder Management & Collaboration: Exceptional communication, negotiation, and interpersonal skills, with a proven ability to build trust, influence senior stakeholders (internal and external), and foster highly collaborative environments across diverse teams (eg Brand, Sales, Agency, Retailer).
* Agency & Partner Engagement: Proven experience effectively collaborating with external media agencies and retail media units.
* Agility & Innovation: Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment, coupled with an eagerness to take calculated risks and champion innovative solutions, particularly those leveraging AI, advanced analytics, and new collaborative technologies within the retail media ecosystem.
Unilever Behaviours
* Care Deeply - We care deeply about how consumers experience our brands every day, everywhere; about our people’s growth and development and our impact on the planet. We care about our performance, to a point where it hurts when we don’t win.
* Focus on What Counts - We ruthlessly prioritise what really, really matters, allowing us to do better on fewer things. We set clear and stretching goals and recognise maximum performance impact.
* Stay Three Steps Ahead - We think boldly and creatively to make breakthroughs in performance. We are always curious and confident – anticipating and staying ahead of consumer needs and external trends to beat the competition.
* Deliver with Excellence - We deliver everything we do with excellence and pace.
We take personal ownership and hold each other to account – always finding a way to do what we’ve said we will do.
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