Senior Director, Purchasing Science

The Senior Director, Purchasing Science is a new global role, created to build and lead a science‑based capability that decodes purchasing behavior, turns insights into commercial advantage and embeds science‑based decision‑making into how we create value with our retail and channel partners. This role integrates advanced analytics, experimentation, behavioral science with omnichannel shop floor behavior and outlet understanding to enable best‑in‑class commercial execution and drive profitable growth across the Coca‑Cola system by learning, optimizing, and influencing purchasing decisions.

The role focuses on explaining how shoppers notice, evaluate, and choose in real purchase contexts, grounding activation in behavioral and decision sciences rather than just commercial metrics.

SCOPE & IMPACT

• Enterprise scope: Leads the translation, integration and scaling of shopper, channel and purchasing insights into shopper decision frameworks, combining behavioral insights and analytics to understand and influence how shoppers notice, choose, and buy beverages.

• Decision scope: Drives adoption through tools, playbooks, and capability building.  Defines measurement approaches for value realization.

• Stakeholder scope: Interfaces with Commercial, RGM, customer teams, and HI OUs for the activation of insights, ensuring shopper science is integrated across pricing, assortment, promotions, and trade investment decisions.

• Operating model: Supports markets and system through training, routines, and toolkits.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES & ACCOUNTABILITY

• Build and lead the global Shopper Activation Science capability, integrating shopper insights, analytical modeling, experimentation frameworks, and decision science to elevate category and commercial plans across channels, markets and categories, integrating shopper insights, experimentation, and behavioral decision science…

• Develop a comprehensive understanding of omnichannel shopper behavior, using advanced analytics, qualitative and quantitative research, behavioral science, and shopper usage and penetration data to decode motivations, drivers, missions and barriers that ultimately influence choice.

• Create global guidance on shopper segmentation, targets, journeys, and path-to-purchase frameworks that enable segmented execution strategies with flexibility to adapt to local realities and market contexts

• Build scalable activation assets (decision trees, guardrails, opportunity maps) and drive their adoption including category growth narratives and decision frameworks designed for system alignment

• Embed shopper and purchasing insights into RGM routines (pricing, promotion, pack/architecture decision support) through tools and playbooks, providing shopper decision inputs into RGM routines (pricing, promotion, pack architecture), rather than owning commercial models.

• Own measurement frameworks linking activation to commercial impact and ROI.  Collaborate with digital, technology, and data teams to enhance data sources, strengthen analytical capabilities and advance the use of AI and predictive tools in shopper analysis.

• Lead experimentation and in-market testing (pricing, promotions, in store stimuli, retail media, digital shelf, pack design & architecture) to improve decisions and performance prediction.

• Translate insights and science into commercial narratives, business cases and customer selling stories that position Coca‑Cola as a strategic, insights‑led partner.

• Co-develop advanced tools and capability plans to embed shopper science into daily commercial routines (forecasting models, scenario planning, decision dashboards).

• Establish and lead global routines, including a Shopper Science community with OU shopper leads, to share learning and standardize practices.

• Establish global routines, communities of best practices, and capability-building programs to elevate shopper science expertise across the Coca Cola system.

CANDIDATE PROFILE

For this role, we are looking for a commercially oriented insights leader who can transform science into scalable tools and routines, drive enterprise‑wide adoption, and demonstrate impact through clear, measurable business results.

Functional

• Data-and-Digital (using performance and activation data to optimize execution)

• Channel strategy and execution principles (Commercial activation and customer storytelling grounded in insights)

• Shopper missions & mindset (why shopper is in the store: quick trip, stock‑up, discovery, deal‑seeking, destination, impulse)

• Shopper decision psychology and behavioral effects (value perception, pack effects, availability, attention).

• Path-to-purchase behavior (how shoppers navigate physical & digital stores, decision points)

• Shelf & assortment dynamics (range, pack sizes, substitution behavior, trade up/down)

• Visibility & attention drivers (shelf placement, facings, signage, secondary displays, labels)

• Price & promo response (interpretation of value, discount sensitivity, magic price points)

• Behavioral biases (shopper habits, shortcuts, choice overload, decision nudges)

• In-store triggers & context (basket size, store format & layout, seasonality, time of day)

• Omnichannel interaction (channel interdependence, in-store digitalization)

• Shopper behavior measurement (messages, layouts, promos, eye-tracking, heat maps)

Leadership

• Influence Across the Network (driving adoption through partnership) including through scientific credibility and shared learning forums.

• Develop Talent (capability uplift across the system)

• Make Courageous Choices (simplifying and standardizing where needed)

• Shape Narratives for Impact (storytelling, persuasion, customer-ready narratives)

• Change Management (adoption, capability building, scaling routines)

• System Acumen (navigating OU/market/bottler complexity)

EXPERIENCE & BACKGROUND

• 10–15 years in Shopper Insights, Commercial insights Strategy and /or Insights Activation roles.

• Proven experience operationalizing insights into frontline tools and routines.

• Experience engaging customer teams and market leadership.

• Experience applying shopper or behavioral insights into scalable decision tools and routines.

• Ability to build toolkits/playbooks and embed them into operating routines

• Change leadership and capability-building expertise

• Measurement discipline: linking actions to outcomes and ROI

The Coca-Cola Company will not offer sponsorship for employment status (including, but not limited to, H1-B visa status and other employment-based nonimmigrant visas) for this position. Accordingly, all applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis and must not require The Coca-Cola Company’s sponsorship to continue to work legally in the United States.

Behavioral Insights, Category Insights, Channel Marketing Strategy, Commercial Marketing, Consumer Decision Journey, Consumer Insight Analysis, Decision Sciences, Shopper Analytics, Shopper Marketing

Pay Range:

United States of America: 193,000 USD – 224,000 USD

Base pay offered may vary depending on geography, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. A full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the position, is offered.

Annual Incentive Reference Value Percentage:

30

Annual Incentive reference value is a market-based competitive value for your role. It falls in the middle of the range for your role, indicating performance at target.

Location(s):

United States of America

City/Cities:

Atlanta

Travel Required:

00% – 25%

Relocation Provided:

No

Job Posting End Date:

June 8, 2026

Our Purpose and Growth Culture:

We are taking deliberate action to nurture an inclusive culture that is grounded in our company purpose, to refresh the world and make a difference. We act with a growth mindset, take an expansive approach to what’s possible and believe in continuous learning to improve our business and ourselves. We focus on four key behaviors – curious, empowered, inclusive and agile – and value how we work as much as what we achieve. We believe that our culture is one of the reasons our company continues to thrive after 130+ years. Visit Our Purpose and Vision to learn more about these behaviors and how you can bring them to life in your next role at Coca-Cola.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and do not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, sex, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, status as a veteran, and basis of disability or any other federal, state or local protected class. When we collect your personal information as part of a job application or offer of employment, we do so in accordance with industry standards and best practices and in compliance with applicable privacy laws.