Manager - Localization & Program Management, Marcom Channel Greater China
Shanghai, Shanghai, China
Marketing
Every day millions of consumers around the world interact with Apple and its products in the Indirect Channel through mobile, digital and in-store experiences. The Indirect Channel plays a hugely important role for Apple, with Marcom Channel driving strategies to provide customers a thoughtful, engaging and seamless experience.
The Marcom Channel team is responsible for driving all marketing communications in the Indirect Channel, delivering best in class Apple customer experience across all customer touch-points, including branded programs, merchandising strategies, and communications strategies within partners’ brick-and-mortar and online environments.
The Localization Manager sets goals and objectives, ensuring alignment internally and externally, and representing the group on the Channel Leadership team. The role requires extensive collaboration with Worldwide Channel Marcom, as well as an ability to develop exceptional relationships with key partners.
Description
Strategic Planning | Define an effective process for sharing insights and opportunities with the WW Marcom teams, including Localization, Channel Program, Design & Visual Merchandising teams. Gather territory relevant insights to inform future program development. Ensure ongoing alignment of platforms and content across all routes to market. Partner with Sales to determine key marketing challenges and opportunities during product launches and define opportunities for insightful solutions to share with the WW Marcom team. Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure alignment between Sales and Marketing throughout the planning process.
Product Launch Management | Drive planning and execution of product launches and refreshes across Channel Programs and Partner Comms. Ensure timely and seamless execution in all Apple-led programs and Partner-led communications. Provide launch hindsights to local stakeholders and relevant WW Marcom Channel teams.
Program and Space Planning | Review individual store briefs to conduct space planning for each store and program type. Be prepared to negotiate in store location proposals directly with partners. Manage the brief from space planning and negotiation to final design. Match the design intents with build partner site-surveys to ensure that the finished build will meet the required standards and expectations.
Visual Merchandising | Establish as Geo expert in visual merchandising for each route to market and for every new product launch. Become an expert in Channel Program Guidelines and Apple Identity Guidelines to ensure that all programs, uses of the Apple logo and other proprietary assets are correctly deployed.
Channel Project/ Production Management | Work with Procurement to ensure the Marcom Channel team has a reliable portfolio of highly-qualified partners capable of delivering the required high level of quality for Apple's Channel Program execution.
Channel Project Planning | Develop project plans identifying key channels, partner programs, and activities/ deliverables required and drive the end-to-end execution of these projects, with necessary resources, partners (internal and external), processes, and within required timelines.
Effective Resource Management | Manage both internal and external resources to meet work volumes and project deadlines. Continually suggest ways to improve work processes to ensure continued efficiency and effectiveness of product launch readiness and program expansion.
Team Development and Management | Identify and maintain top talent and create an environment in which the team can contribute at the highest level. Provide the planning and leadership to the Marcom Channel Team, by ensuring that the appropriate processes, competencies and values are developed in order to meet and exceed the goals of the WW plan.
Minimum Qualifications
- 15+ years experience in a marketing/advertising agency or in-house marketing communications organization
- Experience in the direct or indirect retail channel
- Experience working with third parties to influence, inform and guide their creative campaigns
Key Qualifications
Preferred Qualifications
- Detailed knowledge of channel marketing disciplines, including visual merchandising, retail marketing/campaigns, POS, and customer-engagement programs
- A deep understanding of, and extensive experience in, creating brand communications (ATL and BTL)
- Able to recognize and easily speak to the strategies behind and the benefits of strong visual merchandising.
- A deep understanding of GC partners’ retail and digital environments to help inform platform and content updates
- Strong understanding of customer and market dynamics and requirements
- A strong strategic thinker, capable of collaborating with and influencing senior stakeholders, both internally and externally
- Proven experience of strong leadership skills, working with and inspiring their teams
- Experience partnering with, and building productive relationships with Creatives
- Capable of quickly decoding creative work to provide real-time feedback on partners ideas and creative concepts
- Flexible and open to changing priorities and dealing with ambiguity
- Strong project management skills with demonstrated ability to multitask and set priorities within tight timelines and high expectations
- Attention to detail and results-oriented
- Superior written and verbal communications skills
- Highly developed interpersonal skills