Sales Activation Lead

The Sales Activation Lead is responsible for planning, coordinating, and executing consumer and trade activation initiatives that support sales growth, brand visibility, and successful product launches across key channels. The role works closely with Sales, Marketing, Channel, and Operations teams, as well as external agencies and vendors, to ensure activations, promotions, and events are delivered effectively, on time, and within budget.

Key Responsibilities:

Consumer & Channel Activations

• Develops channel-specific activation plans for priority SKUs and new product launches.
• Builds and manages an annual and monthly activation calendar aligned with commercial and brand priorities.
• Oversees execution of activations by third-party agencies and vendors, ensuring quality standards and timelines are met.
• Monitors in-market execution and analyzes activation results to identify learnings and improvement opportunities.

Promotion Management

• Works closely with Channel and Innovation teams to develop and roll out promotional activities.
• Ensures promotions are aligned with channel strategies and commercial objectives.
• Supports initiatives aimed at increasing brand awareness, trial, and purchase frequency in priority accounts and territories.
• Ensures proper briefing, execution, and post-evaluation of promotional activities.

Events & Experiential Activations

• Leads execution of consumer events, including large-scale festivals and campaign-specific activations.
• Guides Sales Operations in coordination and negotiation with external organizers and partners to achieve favorable outcomes.
• Ensures trade activation plans are integrated with events to maximize sales impact and visibility.
• Spearheads internal commercial events such as product launches, campaign kick-offs, account-specific events, leadership meetings, business plan cascades, and national sales rallies.
• Ensures internal stakeholders are well-informed, aligned, and engaged throughout event planning and execution.

Budget & Cost Management

• Manages activation and events budgets to ensure initiatives are delivered within approved spend.
• Forecasts future budget requirements per channel and brand objective.
• Reviews spend versus results and identifies opportunities for cost efficiencies and improved resource utilization.

Design & Materials Planning

• Manages the in-house design team and oversees multiple requests from different internal stakeholders.
• Ensures service level agreements (SLAs) are met for design and materials delivery.
• Ensures materials planning and marketing materials intake processes are executed in alignment with established planning cycles.
• Coordinates with cross-functional stakeholders to support seamless implementation of marketing and sales support materials.

People Management

• Leads, coaches, and develops direct reports to ensure strong execution capability and performance.
• Conducts regular performance discussions and supports capability building.
• Ensures succession planning and continuity within the team.

Qualifications & Requirements:

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Business Administration, Communications, or a related field.

Experience

• Minimum 5–8 years of experience in sales activation, trade marketing, brand activation, or commercial marketing within FMCG, beverage, or consumer goods industries.

• Proven hands-on experience in:

• Consumer and trade activations

• Promotion planning and execution
• Event and experiential marketing (both consumer-facing and internal commercial events)

• Agency and third-party vendor management

• Experience working closely with Sales, Channel, and Marketing teams in a fast-paced, sales-driven environment.

• Prior people management or team leadership experience is required.

Skills & Competencies:

• Strong execution and project management skills with the ability to manage multiple initiatives simultaneously.
• Solid understanding of trade marketing and channel dynamics.
• Budget management and basic financial forecasting capability.
• Strong stakeholder management and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• Effective communication, negotiation, and coordination skills.
• Results-oriented, with the ability to analyze execution outcomes and apply learnings.

Other Requirements:

• Willingness to work extended hours during peak activation periods and major events.
• Comfortable working with external partners, agencies, and suppliers.
• High attention to detail and ability to operate under tight timelines.