Job Description

Location - Lucknow

Role Overview

This is a senior system leadership role accountable for

commercial planning, execution orchestration, and system integration

for the Greater UP region - one of the most complex and critical operating units in the system.


The role is designed to act as the

strategic nerve center for commercial excellence

, bringing together sales planning, demand forecasting, S&OP governance, regional commercial calendars, and execution diagnostics into a single, disciplined operating rhythm. The Senior Director will operate as a key thought partner to regional leadership, bottlers, and central teams, ensuring alignment between strategy, demand signals, supply feasibility, and field execution.


The role requires exceptional system thinking, strong executive presence, and the ability to influence outcomes across a multi-bottler, multi-stakeholder environment without direct authority.


The role will work very closely with the OU Commercial teams of INSWA and bottling partners.

Key Responsibilities

1. Commercial Planning, Demand Forecasting & S&OP Leadership

Provide strategic leadership for regional sales planning and demand forecasting, ensuring robustness, predictability, and alignment with financial and supply objectives. Own S&OP governance for the region, ensuring effective integration across Commercial, Supply Chain, Finance, and Bottlers. Anticipate risks, manage trade-offs, and enable scenario-based decision-making to protect service levels and execution quality.

2. Regional Commercial Calendar Strategy & Governance

Set the strategic direction and governance model for the regional commercial calendar, ensuring disciplined prioritization and sequencing of initiatives. Ensure full integration of commercial calendars with IQ systems and S&OP cycles, enabling clarity, ownership, and execution excellence. Drive senior-level alignment across system stakeholders to minimize complexity and execution overload.

3. Channel Strategy & System Execution Stewardship

Provide strategic oversight to

channel strategy and execution playbooks

, ensuring they are insight-led, scalable, and aligned to long-term growth priorities. Guide occasions development and execution strategy to sustain relevance across channels and consumer cohorts. Act as the senior system interface with bottlers to ensure consistent, high-quality execution across pre-store and in-store levers.

4. Commercial Capability & Execution Excellence Architecture

Own the architecture for execution excellence across the region, including outlet expansion, cold drink expansion, BD&L effectiveness, segmented execution, and OOS management. Set capability standards and expectations, leveraging the Bottler Capability Framework to guide investments, sales capability development, and execution maturity. Ensure best practices are institutionalized and scaled across bottlers with varying levels of maturity.

5. Digital, Analytics & Performance Management

Responsible for expansion of Coke Buddy and driving business leveraging all features of coke buddy - Adaptation, expansion and deeper usage of the tool Sponsor the use of digital tools, analytics, and outlet-level insights to improve planning accuracy and execution effectiveness. Provide executive ownership of Integrated Execution (IE) diagnostics, ensuring insights translate into decisive actions at bottler and regional leadership levels. Establish a strong metrics-driven performance culture, using commercial and customer KPIs to guide system decisions.

6. System Leadership & Bottler Complexity Management

Act as a trusted advisor to regional leadership and bottler GMs, influencing strategic choices and execution priorities. Manage complexity arising from multiple bottlers, geographies, and operating models, tailoring governance and engagement accordingly. Represent the region in central and enterprise forums, ensuring Greater UP priorities are clearly articulated and integrated.

Impact of the Role

This role is critical to strengthening

system discipline, execution predictability, and commercial effectiveness

in Greater UP. Success will be reflected in:

Stronger demand-supply alignment and S&OP maturity Improved execution quality and field productivity Higher strike rates, improved availability, and optimised product rotation Improved NSR and system economics through better planning and prioritization

Qualifications & Experience

Experience

16+ years of experience across commercial planning, sales leadership, channel strategy, or system roles Deep experience working within

franchise/bottler-led operating models

is strongly preferred

Leadership & Capability Requirements

Enterprise/System Thinking:

Ability to operate across strategy, planning, and execution layers

Executive Influence:

Proven ability to lead through influence in complex, matrixed systems

Strategic & Analytical Depth:

Strong comfort with ambiguity, trade-offs, and data-driven decision-making

Change Leadership:

Track record of building governance, discipline, and capability at scale

Functional Expertise

Sales Planning & Demand Forecasting S&OP Governance and System Integration Commercial Calendar Design & Execution Governance Channel & Shopper Strategy Oversight Bottler Management and System Economics Advanced Analytics, IE Diagnostics, and Performance Metrics

Skills:

Business Planning; Channel Management; Communication; Revenue Growth Management; Execution Excellence; Value Chain Economics; Market Dynamics; Negotiation; Business Integrations


Annual Incentive Reference Value Percentage:30

Annual Incentive reference value is a market-based competitive value for your role. It falls in the middle of the range for your role, indicating performance at target.