Trade Marketing Manager

Sun King (formerly Greenlight Planet) is dedicated to revolutionizing rural energy access for off-grid communities by providing clean, safe, and affordable solar energy solutions. The company has successfully distributed millions of solar lights to families across South Asia and Africa, enabling them to replace dangerous kerosene lanterns. Sun King focuses on making its products accessible through upfront cash payments, empowering underserved populations.

This role involves developing and upholding trade marketing standards, guidelines, and compliance to ensure a consistent brand and product presentation for Sun King across Kenya, encompassing both Sun King shops and the broader trade network. The manager will define execution standards for visibility assets, point-of-sale materials, product displays, pricing communication, and wall branding, collaborating with the creative team to produce clear visual guidelines. Additionally, the position oversees shop optimization, refurbishments, cross-category visibility initiatives, market insights, and compliance audits. Product/Brand Managers for various categories like Solar, Inverters, EasyCook LPG, Phones, and HomePlus Max will implement these standards, including POSM placement, activations, and field team coordination. The Trade Marketing Manager will monitor implementation through regular reviews, compliance audits, and monthly reports, identifying execution gaps and communicating findings to relevant Product/Brand Managers for necessary improvements.

1. Develop and maintain brand and merchandising standards for Sun King's product presentation across its shops and wider trade network, covering POS materials, displays, price communication, and wall branding.
2. Collaborate with the creative team to establish visual reference standards for visibility assets, providing clear implementation guidelines for Product/Brand Managers.
3. Translate vertical campaign briefs into practical trade and shop-level standards to ensure consistent execution.
4. Conduct audits of shops and trade points against established standards, assess compliance, and report identified gaps to relevant Product/Brand Managers.
5. Maintain the trade marketing tracker, documenting standards compliance across verticals.
6. Review vertical execution plans for alignment with standards before rollout and present audit findings and sell-out insights to inform improvement initiatives.
7. Analyze sell-out and product performance data by shop and vertical, identifying underperformance and recommending improvements.
8. Evaluate sell-out growth in activated shops against comparable shops to measure the impact and ROI of activation activities.
9. Plan and coordinate Sun King brand visibility at partner retail outlets, markets, and trading centers across Kenya.
10. Oversee wall branding across the wider trade network, including vendor briefing, design approval, installation monitoring, and ensuring good condition.
11. Monitor competitors' market presence, pricing, and promotional activities, reporting findings monthly to the Marketing team and Commercial.
12. Conduct trade immersions and field visits, translating observations into practical improvement plans with assigned owners and timelines.
13. Coordinate and manage agencies and vendors for trade branding and activation activities.
14. Coordinate the procurement of gazebos and parasols for Energy Officers based on demand forecasts and budget.
15. Oversee the distribution of these visibility assets to Energy Officers and maintain accurate tracking records.
16. Monitor the condition of visibility assets, coordinating maintenance and replacements to ensure availability of serviceable units.
17. Oversee shop branding and the shop refurbishment program, including vendor quotation reviews and delivery monitoring.
18. Monitor and report shop branding expenditure against the approved budget.
19. Establish and maintain brand standards for the shop environment, ensuring consistent presentation.
20. Prepare a monthly trade marketing performance report for the Head of Marketing, Kenya, covering KPIs and standards compliance.
21. Maintain the trade marketing tracker in line with the marketing operating cadence and procurement framework.
22. Coordinate execution activities with Sales, Activation Managers, and the Energy Officer network, and work with Commercial to generate and apply sell-out insights.

1. Hold a degree in Marketing, Business Administration, or a related field.
2. Possess at least four years of experience in trade marketing, retail marketing, or sales-linked marketing, preferably within consumer durables, FMCG, telecommunications, or distribution sectors.
3. Demonstrated ability to use sales data to inform shop-level and trade marketing strategies.
4. Experience in coordinating agencies, vendors, and managing marketing budgets.
5. Ability to develop, interpret, and present performance dashboards using data-informed tools, translating findings into practical recommendations.
6. Expertise in linking marketing activities to sales volumes, margins, and customer behavior.
7. Willingness to spend time in shops and trade locations, and travel across Kenya.
8. Capability to establish trade visibility standards and ensure their adoption across various Product/Brand Managers (Solar, Inverters, EasyCook, Phones) without direct authority over their execution.
9. Strong communication skills, enabling clear explanation of standards, plans, and expectations to diverse stakeholders.