Senior Sales Manager - Shopper Activation (m/f/d)

About Verve Retail Media

The lack of proof of effectiveness is the biggest problem in brick-and-mortar retail for advertisers. Although brands invest millions in advertising at the Point of Sale, they cannot prove whether it leads to purchases.

Verve Retail Media (VRM) solves this problem. We market and operate digital advertising screens in several thousand grocery, drugstore, and convenience store locations, connecting them with digital coupons, retargeting on CTV, and other offsite channels. Brands do not book isolated advertising formats with us, but rather 360-degree campaigns that start at home and reach the shopping shelf - a closed-loop measurement based on actual till data.

VRM is the independent Retail Media Unit of the publicly traded Verve Group SE. We operate like a rapidly scaling startup with an AI-first strategy across all functions and with access to the infrastructure of an international AdTech company with over a trillion delivered advertising impressions per year. Verve Retail Media recently acquired the couponing and cashback specialist acardo.

The Role in One Sentence

You have a hunter mentality and win new revenue from FMCG brands by selling integrated Shopper Activation campaigns: i.e., coupon-driven conversion and measurable sales lift, ideally extended with in-store screen presence.

What You Sell

• The activation of shoppers at the Point of Sale (via coupons, cashback, and other activation methods), extended by digital in-store visibility (screens at entrance, aisle, checkout) and closed-loop measurement based on actual till data, sometimes also standalone coupon or cashback measures
• Campaigns that lead to increased sales and category relevance
• Concrete proof points from many thousands of acardo campaigns

To Whom You Sell

• Directly to FMCG brands
• The contact persons usually come from Trade Marketing or Category Management

Your Tasks

• Build, develop, prioritize, and manage your own pipeline with a reliable forecast
• Win new clients and stakeholders (horizontally and vertically) and develop clients into repeat partners
• Expand existing clients to achieve high, recurring volumes

• Translate customer goals into activation concepts: touchpoints, reach, target groups, mechanics (cashback, free trial, category trigger), measurement approach
• Provide feedback from the market back into product, pitch materials, and go-to-market strategies

How the Role is Structured

• You are an individual contributor without personnel responsibility
• You report directly to the Head of Key Account Management
• You sell independently, but not alone: Inside Sales supports with processing, Ad Operations manages delivery, Data Science provides proof of effectiveness
• Your focus is commercial: pipeline, closing, customer depth, repeat bookings

Your Profile

You fit in with us if you come from one of the following areas and have at least 3 years of experience:

Profile 1: FMCG Trade Marketing / CM-Side. You have experience in Trade Marketing, Category Management, Shopper Marketing, or Brand Marketing on the manufacturer side. You are familiar with approval processes, annual negotiations, activation mechanics, and the reality at the Point of Sale. You want to switch to the sell-side and are confident in closing deals independently.

Profile 2: Promotion, Couponing, Cashback, and Sampling Marketers (acardo competitors). Marktguru, reebate, sampling/product trial providers, traditional sales promotion service providers. You currently speak with the same buyers, about the same budget, and the same mechanics (cashback, free trial, category trigger), and bring existing contacts directly within the correct buying center.

Profile 3: Sales Data / Market Measurement Sales. You come from sales at NielsenIQ, Circana, IRI, GfK, or similar data or insights providers, and have sold the closed-loop and sales lift pitch to Category Management there. Therefore, you master the language of "sales / proof of effectiveness / category relevance" – which is precisely the core of our promise.

Profile 4: Loyalty / CRM / Couponing Platforms that sell into FMCG trade budgets. Your previous role was at Payback, DeutschlandCard, and similar CRM providers. Your area of expertise was coupon mechanics plus data, sold to Trade Marketing. Therefore, you bring relevant customer contacts.

For All Profiles:

• You are commercially driven, with a clear sense for deal structure, pricing, and customer benefits
• Confident at the senior level: e.g., Trade Marketing decision-makers, Brand Directors
• Structured in pipeline management and forecasting
• Can argue with data, are not afraid of AI tools and new workflows
• Fluent in German and English

Why This Role

You love to make things happen successfully. You leverage our proven marketing engine and well-known products to win deals.

• Real ownership: your pipeline, your clients, your revenue
• Direct access to CSO and CEO at strategic clients
• A product that does more than sell activation: visibility, reach, and measurable impact up to the purchase
• AI-powered tools and workflows that multiply your productivity

Application Process

Send your CV along with a short work sample (max. 1 page). Choose a real situation: a deal won against resistance, a client relationship built from scratch, a new concept with measurable results, or a commercial problem you solved. What we want to understand:

• What was the problem? Not the context. The actual problem.
• What did you do? Not the team. What did you decide, build, or change?
• What was the measurable result? Revenue, conversion, customer loyalty. Be specific.
• What would you do differently today?

Verve offers equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any kind, regardless of race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or other legally protected characteristics.

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