Shopper Activation Manager 12 month contract

• Build and maintain influential relationships with key internal & external customers  

• Mars New Zealand home to market leading brands such as PEDIGREE® MARS®, SNICKERS®, WHISKAS®, ECLIPSE® 

• 12-month maternity contract based at our Ellerslie office with 50% of week WFH  

Mars is a family-owned business with more than $35 billion in global sales, we’re passionate about our people and looking to recruit our next Shopper Activation Manager.  

Join our highly engaged team where you’ll work create and execute Shopper strategy which bring our brands to life instore, driving optimal physical availability, engages the shopper at key touchpoints in the shopper journey and drives conversion to deliver on retailer, segment & category strategy.  

You’ll act as a ‘key link’ where you’ll be responsible for building and maintaining strong and influential relationships with key internal customers notably in marketing – brand managers /digital team and sales –across grocery and convenience account teams. 

What would be your key responsibilities?  

• Deliver the Shopper led activation plans, from development through to execution.   

• Deliver shopper marketing activations that are aligned to brand and category strategies. 

• Work cross functionally with the brand, category, customer, digital and field teams to lead, develop and execute shopper marketing initiatives that deliver on our brand and category strategies and are tailored to our customers/channels. 

• Leverage shopper insights to develop triple wins for our brands, customers, and Retailers. 

• Work closely with key agencies, Shopper, POS & Logistics to deliver commercial plan on time and in full 

• Management of multiple key projects at the same time. Working across trans-tasman to collaborate and deliver on plans 

What are we looking for?  

• Business or marketing qualification at tertiary level preferred (or equivalent experience) 

• Proven experience in shopper marketing, marketing or category professional 

• Experience working across the grocery landscape – local or internationally is looked positively upon 

• Great communication skills, including negotiating with internal parties to deliver against activations requirements. 

• Project management – being able to manage multiple projects 

• Great time management skills and ability to prioritise workload. 

What can you expect from Mars? 

• Access to our in-house Mars University 

• Global health and wellbeing program to support flexibility and work-life balance 

• Opportunity to make a difference with our volunteer programs 

• Be part of a company that is contributing to making the world a better place today and every day through on our sustainable generation plan 

• A culture that offers collaboration, leadership and rewards you for the role you play within Mars 

• Work for a well-established distributor of pet food, confectionery and food products in our multi-sales business 

Applications will only be accepted from candidates who have the appropriate approval to work in New Zealand.   

Please note: Applications close 17th March 2026.