Director of Global Trade Marketing (m/f/x)

Oettinger Davidoff Group, with sales of over half a billion Swiss francs and over 4,000 employees around the world, traces its roots back to 1875 and remains family-owned to this day. The company is dedicated to the business of producing, marketing, distributing, and retailing premium-branded cigars, tobacco products and accessories. The premium-branded cigar business includes Davidoff, AVO, Camacho, Cusano, The Griffin's, Private Stock, Zino and Zino Platinum. Oettinger Davidoff Group is also the sole agent of many brands in several countries. Its business is anchored in a strong "crop to shop" philosophy, having pursued vertical integration from the tobacco fields in the Dominican Republic and Honduras to its global network of 65 Davidoff flagship stores/satellites and strong appointed merchants in over 130 countries.
Director of Global Trade Marketing (m/f/x)
Responsibilities
Global visual merchandising and retail standards: Define global visual merchandising standards and planograms covering shelf positioning, assortment visibility and display hierarchy, so that our brands are presented with consistent elegance wherever they are sold. Provide clear guidelines for flagship stores, tobacconists, HORECA and duty-free environments, and manage the global range and lifecycle of branded retail assets, including humidors, furniture, shop-in-shop concepts and displays.
Collaboration with the regions and commercial colleagues: Work closely with the regional marketing teams who bring the global framework into motion in their markets, and with our commercial colleagues and distributors who hold the retailer relationships. Provide the toolkits, planograms, activation kits, playbooks and asset specifications that support them, and develop standards in dialogue so that what is agreed globally holds true in each channel.
Retailer segmentation and channel prioritisation: Contribute the brand and category perspective to the global segmentation of retail partners, based on strategic importance, growth potential and commercial performance. Develop differentiated trade approaches for premium tobacconists, duty-free and emerging channels, and inform decisions on where visibility and trade investment create the greatest value.
Retail education and the Master of Cigars Academy: Develop and lead a global multi-level certification and education platform for retail staff and trade partners. Evolve training from product knowledge towards category expertise and the art of luxury selling, and establish long-term engagement programmes so that frontline retail teams become confident advocates and trusted recommenders of our brands.
Trade technology and digital engagement: Lead the deployment of global trade engagement platforms and mobile applications, creating direct digital channels to retail staff and trade partners that unite training, communication and feedback in one connected ecosystem, and improve the speed and consistency with which the framework reaches the markets.
Activation framework and return on investment: Define the global trade activation framework and calendar for retail events, tastings, launch activations and experiential programmes, realised in the markets with the regional teams and their retail partners. Establish frameworks that link trade marketing and asset investment to measurable commercial impact, and conduct post-implementation reviews of major campaigns.
A shared view of retail presence: Establish, with the regions and our commercial colleagues, a common picture of how our brands appear in the markets, drawing on retail execution scoring, market visits and reporting. Apply these insights to refine guidelines, tools and training, and to share what is working well across markets.
Strategic and cross-functional leadership: Ensure that retail presence reflects global brand strategy, in close cooperation with marketing, sales and brand teams. Monitor competitor trade activity and retail innovation, and provide executive leadership with trade performance insights and clear recommendations.
Budget and asset stewardship: Own the global trade marketing budget and steer its allocation across visibility, education and activation. Manage the sourcing, production and lifecycle cost of branded retail assets together with procurement, supply chain and the regions.
Qualifications and experience
10+ years of experience in trade marketing, retail excellence, visual merchandising or commercial activation, with a meaningful part of that experience in an international role
Experience within a central or headquarters marketing function, working in close partnership with regional marketing teams, commercial organisations and distributors
Experience of premium or luxury retail environments and trade networks, including duty-free and specialist retail channels
A sound understanding of retail consumer behaviour and point-of-sale influence, and the ability to unite brand building with commercial performance objectives
Experience developing retail education, certification and engagement programmes for frontline staff and trade partners
Proven discipline in linking trade marketing and asset investment to measurable commercial impact, including post-implementation reviews
Command of visual merchandising standards and planograms, retailer segmentation and trade investment prioritisation, and trade applications and market execution reporting
Strong project management and cross-functional leadership capabilities in a multi-market, distributor-led environment
A collaborative disposition, with the diplomacy and listening skills to achieve results across markets, functions and cultures
University degree in business, marketing, economics or a similar field. An MBA or equivalent is an advantage
Familiarity with the tobacco category and / or highly regulated premium categories is an advantage
Fluent in English; additional languages are an advantage in a multi-market environment
We offer you
An agile, stable and internationally renowned family business
A modern, state-of-the-art workplace at Maison Davidoff, with a fully equipped cafeteria and garden, and only a few minutes' walk from Basel main station, including numerous catering options nearby
A dynamic and multi-cultural working environment with modern tools
Attractive working conditions, such as flexible working hours; and up to two weekly home office days (provided the respective position allows); five weeks of holidays per year
Attractive employee discounts for our products