Job Title
Business Development Assistant
Name:
Nicola Budd
Company:
Unilever – Ice Cream & Frozen Food
Professional Qualification(s):
9 GCSE’s of which 6 were A-C City & Guilds in Hairdressing & Beauty Therapy
Brief job description
To provide full team support, act as an external and internal customer liason contact and undertake all ad hoc projects defined by specific account team responsibilities.My career so far…
I trained for 3 years full time at college to become a fully qualified hairdresser and beauty therapist. I worked in this industry for 4 years before breaking into office work. I worked for 2 years as a legal secretary specialising in conveyancing and probate. I wanted to work for a company which was younger, with better prospects and above all was fun. I joined BEW as Senior Secretary for Customer Director within the sales team. I worked in this role for 1 year before transferring to the BDA role, in the same department. I have now been in this position for 1 year.
What does your job involve in a typical day?
I provide ad hoc sales reports to my team of 5 field based personnel. I action requests from them which involve packaging/samples requests, New Line Forms, Pricing queries, Promotional inputs for each of their accounts, Process Customer Advertising Invoices, Communicate Information that is distributed internally to my field team, Analysise promotional activity, memo writing, Cascade information on new products, promotions and media support to key accounts.
What do you like most about your job?
I enjoy the interaction with the field team. I am getting more involved with analytical work – identifying whether promotions are successful and whether there is any incremental growth.
What skills are required in your job?
You need to have extensive knowledge of our systems, Sherpa, Everest and Atlas. You need to have a working knowledge of Excel and Word packages, including Powerpoint.
You need to be able to work under pressure, have the ability to prioritise, and be flexible.
How many people work for you?
None. I work with a team of 9 people.
What is your advice to people looking for a career in the food and grocery industry?
I think the food and grocery industry is very varied and very interesting. We all like to eat and drink and therefore have this in common with each other.