"IGD offers fantastic learning and development opportunities"

I joined IGD in 2002 as a Business Analyst before being promoted to Senior Business Analyst a few years later. Since then, my role has developed incredibly and the breadth and diversity of activities which I have been involved in has been significant.

Most of my time is spent delivering specialist project work for key customers, organising events for the industry and compiling business reports to assist international grocery retailers and manufacturers.

Travelling and conducting unique research is an important part of the role. I regularly visit a range of international markets to see the latest trends at first hand and to meet with new and existing industry contacts, often at Board level.

We also attend international conferences and meet regularly with members of the international press to build our network and profile around the World, and my French and German language skills have certainly come in handy here. Indeed, I spend a significant amount of time in France, analysing the market and also building on our strong links with the key retailers there – such as Carrefour for example.

Markets and regions that I have visited with IGD range from Europe and the US to Brazil, South Africa and Morocco. I’m also busy planning a trip to Asia next year, which will be a great opportunity to see how this fast growing region is evolving and the latest innovations in store formats and ranging.

Most recently, I have had the opportunity to develop an innovation tracking scheme for the business, whereby we log best practice retailer and manufacturer trading strategies from around the World. I have also had the chance to organise events such as our recent Grocery Outlook Seminar, and I am currently busy helping to organise the forthcoming Sainsbury’s Trade Briefing.

In addition, I am managing the production of a new IGD report for 2010, as well as supporting the development of our Retail Analysis service.

While the standards expected at IGD are high, IGD offers fantastic learning and development opportunities, and there is an excellent team behind the scenes to support with coaching and personal development.

Our environment is fast-paced, and we constantly need to adapt to changing business priorities, but the opportunities to shape this role to your strengths are definitely there.

It’s been an exciting few years and with ambitious plans for the future, I’m really looking forward to seeing what comes next!"
 

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