Senior Data Strategist

In a nutshell  

Nectar360 is a loyalty, data, and marketing services business.  Our 1st party data (Nectar) is the key to unlocking customer understanding across the various Sainsburys businesses and supplier base (FMCG and General Merchandise (GM) brands)–our clients.  The commercial team in Nectar360 is responsible for how we combine, leverage, and commercialise data and media. Ensuring that Nectar360 remains relevant in a rapidly changing market where digital first thinking has become the norm, and the understanding of customer is a key differentiator.  The colleague will be working in one of the fastest growing and dynamic areas of the business, supporting us in driving significant profit growth from Nectar360’s data-driven media and digital offering – in and around store, onsite (Sainsbury’s & Argos e-Commerce) and offsite (our Digital Trading Platform (DTP)) monetisation. The colleague will need a unique blend of data literacy, digital channel knowledge, relationship building expertise, commercial drive, and stakeholder management to be successful in this role. They will be a strategic thinker, with a passion for data driven marketing, customer behaviour understanding. This client-facing role requires the development of long-term relationships across senior client stakeholders in multiple businesses and across a wide array of industries, whilst also influencing internal Nectar360 teams and colleagues in Sainsbury’s and Argos. You will play a key role in delivering Nectar360’s digital aspirations and our ambitious growth plans – growing our profits by 60% over the next 5 years.  

What you need to do 

• Communicate Nectar360’s vision and be fully conversant in the benefits and USPs of all Nectar360 services
• Responsible for feeding into client account and brand planning that is strategically aligned to Sainsbury’s category and corporate objectives, using customer and ecommerce data as the foundation for recommendations
• Be the category expert, aligned to select categories and key FMCG client accounts, facing into clients and Trading contacts 
• Demonstrate a strategic mind-set by understanding the key business challenges of our FMCG clients. Work with the cross functional team (Analytics, Data & Insights, Clients Service and Campaign Media Management) to develop solutions
• Create insights led proposals for FMCG clients, ensuring that strategy, data selection and process adhere to Sainsbury’s and Nectar’s data guidelines
• Unlock incremental proactive category growth opportunities, through identifying, planning and sharing category centric media strategies with Trading teams 
• Lead some of the biggest Sainsbury’s corporate events that involve Nectar360, Sainsbury’s Marketing and Trading. Manage stakeholders of varying seniority and agendas to create campaigns that resonate with the Sainsbury’s customer - driving trade and meeting broader corporate and category objectives
• Develop and mentor members of the Nectar360 team to nurture data planning techniques (inc. use of ecommerce data, customer data from Sainsbury’s Insight Platform and testing methodologies), client relationship skills and commercial acumen 
• Take responsibility for our data led products and propositions, working alongside other teams to ensure data led-planning expertise shapes the future of Nectar360’s offering i.e. our Digital Trading Platform and Ecommerce Media Platform
• Custodian of the use of data within planning, strategy, and customer targeted comms

What you need to know 

• Proven track record of success in data/digital/comms planning within a consultative environment
• Experience of working with customer loyalty, market research and ecommerce data, gained within retail clients and/or FMCGs or General Merchandise
• Highly organised and confident in planning and prioritising workload. Energetic, self-motivated and driven – the ability to spot and leverage opportunities across the business
• Advanced user of Powerpoint and Excel
• Excellent written, verbal, and numerical communication skills
• Extensive knowledge of how targeting, segmentation and profiling techniques are used for direct marketing campaigns
• Comfortable presenting in front of and influencing senior stakeholders and clients 
• Experienced at leading projects and engaging wider business functions
• Strong client liaison skills i.e. able to work collaboratively and in partnership to deliver high quality data driven solutions
• Be comfortable dealing with ambiguity, and then taking stakeholders on a journey to the right solution for the business 

What you need to show 

• Exceptional data-led planning skills 
• Ability to inspire and coach the broader virtual team through innovative use of data, passion and enthusiasm 
• Showcase success back to the business to ensure that the broader teams benefit from best practice

What decisions I can make including budget 

• Targeting guidelines for rules for on/offsite channels based on data and best judgement 
• Ways of working with Sainsbury’s Trading and Nectar360 teams to reach business and client targets and objectives
• Ways of working with Propositions and Campaign teams to drive supplier participation in events
• Data and Comms training programmes for other Nectar360 colleagues
• Best practice recommendations to clients based on data 

Support we will provide 

• Access to experts across the business to support your upskilling 
• Clear and measurable measures of success at all time 
• Bitesize talks with industry or sector experts
• Online self-development tools across a broad range of topics
• In person and external training as part of the broader Sainsbury’s L&D programme
• Internal optional mentoring and coaching
• Attendance at events, conferences or external training programmes to develop data or category expertise

#LI-CD1

We’d all like amazing work to do, and real work-life balance. That’s waiting for you at Sainsbury’s. Everything our Nectar team does is powered and fuelled by data — and by great relationships with some of the UK’s favourite brands. The Nectar 360 team focuses on developing loyalty programmes, turning amazing data into something that makes a difference, traditional media and digital. It’s like an agency-within-a-retailer, and retail media is crucial. The culture might not be what you expect either, because there’s no set-up quite like this one. The team is a real priority because it’s connected to everything the business does and drives profitability. It’s where you can take risks, learn from them and be recognised.

We are committed to being a truly inclusive retailer, so you’ll be welcomed whoever you are and wherever you work. Around here, there’s always the chance to try something new - whether that’s as part of an evolving team or somewhere else across the business - and we take development seriously and promise to support you. We also recognise and celebrate colleagues when they go the extra mile and, where possible, offer flexible working. When you join our team, we’ll also offer you an amazing range of benefits. Here are some of them:
 
 Starting off with colleague discount, you'll be able to get 10% off at Sainsbury's, Argos, TU and Habitat after 4 weeks. This increases to 15% off at Sainsbury’s every Friday and Saturday and 15% off at Argos every pay day. We've also got you covered for your future with our pensions scheme and life cover. You'll also be able to share in our success as you may be eligible for a performance-related target bonus of up to 20% of salary (which may vary for Nectar360), depending on how we perform.  
 
 Your wellbeing is important to us too. You'll receive an annual holiday allowance, and you can buy additional holiday. We also offer other benefits that will help your money go further such as season ticket loans, interest free car loan of up to £10k, cycle to work scheme, health cash plans, pay advance (where you can access some of your pay before pay day) as well access to a great range of discounts from hundreds of other retailers. And if you ever need it there is also an Employee Assistance Programme, you will also be eligible for private healthcare too.
 
 Moments that matter are as important to us as they are to you which is why we give up to 26 weeks’ pay for maternity or adoption leave and up to 4 weeks’ pay for paternity leave. 
 
 Please see www.sainsburys.jobs for a range of our benefits (note, length of service and eligibility criteria may apply).