Job Description

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE: GWW), headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois, is an industrial supply company founded in 1927. With 30,000 employees, Grainger partners closely with customers to understand their challenges and provide cost-effective solutions for their maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) needs. The organization is a Fortune 500 Company with greater than $11.5B in revenue and is often recognized as one of Fortune Magazines Most Admired Companies.

*This role typically is located in our Lake Forest headquarters, but due to COVID-19 will be fully virtual until further notice. Once this office location has a return to work plan, the team member will be required to be on-site.

BASIC FUNCTION

The Senior Manager, Customer Growth Strategy will identify and research attractive new customer segments for Grainger and develop tailored strategies to drive incremental growth. This role will lead the development of execution plans and coordinate with business units to implement strategic objectives. The individual will lead cross-functional teams responsible for executing a variety of customer growth tactics within the identified new segments, including (but not limited to) product assortment changes, pricing adjustments, customized marketing campaigns and sales force coverage realignment. The goal of the team / role is to help drive share-gain or create multiple $100M+ businesses.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

* Conducts in-depth research on new market opportunities to understand market size, competitive landscape, customer needs and capabilities required to win
* Coordinates with internal partners to develop a point-of-view on Graingers current offer and identifies opportunities to improve our value proposition within the market of focus
* Presents findings to senior leaders across the U.S. business and gains alignment on growth opportunity priorities and funding
* Manages cross-functional initiatives to develop, test, and scale new growth strategies
* Indirectly manages high-performing team members with strong capabilities in strategic thinking, marketing, analytics, and cross-functional development

REQUIRED EXPERIENCE AND COMPETENCIES

* MBA or related Masters degree
* 5+ years of total work experience with 2+ years of post-MBA experience at top-tier strategy consulting firm (e.g. BCG, McKinsey, Bain, LEK, AT Kearney)
* Strong strategic, research and analytical capabilities
* Excellent written and verbal communication skills
* Demonstrated comfort with ambiguity
* Strong strategic aptitude with the ability to translate strategies to tactics
* Ability to identify, prioritize and structure work that enables development and testing of scalable concepts
* Preferred: Successful experience building and executing effective growth/ go-to-market/ marketing strategies within an industrial, retail, or distribution business

Grainger is an Equal Opportunity Workplace and an Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or protected veteran status.