Marketing Graduate Programme Reading 2024

Due to strong and continued business growth, Sherwin-Williams are looking for an ambitious and passionate graduate to embark on a 2-year Marketing Graduate Programme.

The company

Hello from Sherwin-Williams! You may not have heard of us and that’s okay, but let us take a moment to introduce ourselves...

We are one of the world’s leading paint and coatings manufacturers, producing household brands of paint, wood coatings, sealants and fillers across the globe, as well as delivering top-end building envelope, industrial wood, and marine coatings within our international industrial divisions.

So, although you may not know the name Sherwin-Williams, there’s a good chance you’ve come into contact with something we’ve coated, protected or sealed on a daily basis.

At Sherwin-Williams, our focus is on continuing to build upon over one hundred years of innovation, performance and excellence within the UK and European coatings market; delivering fantastic products to DIY and Trade consumers, while leading the way in sustainable innovation as a priority. With all this heritage and expertise across our business, we’re excited to say that we’re only just getting started!

Here are some of our brands that you may already know…

Ronseal

Have you ever heard the phrase ‘Does exactly what it says on the tin.’? This is the famous tagline for the number one woodcare brand in the UK and Ireland – Ronseal. During our marketing activities in the mid-90’s, this tagline captured the attention of the public for its straight-talking, no-nonsense tone, describing the performance of the products in this range. This line has become a part of the everyday vernacular in the UK and Ireland and perfectly outlines what Ronseal is all about: performance and simplicity. It’s a line we are very proud of and continue to use as a core asset of our brand.

Ronseal didn’t just rise to prominence in the 90’s though, this brand has a heritage that stretches back to the early 1900’s and is steeped in innovation and excellence that has led to today’s leading range of fence care, decking maintenance, problem solvers, fillers, and trim paints.

Valspar

A short Valspar history. Two hundred years long. We’ve been in the paints, stains, and coating business for over 200 years, and we’ve come a long way since our modest beginnings in 1806 as a small Boston paint company. Wherever you are in the world today, within your day-to-day life, there’s a good chance our work will be close by. Our paints, stains and coatings can be found on many items, including the polished ebony of a Yamaha® Grand Piano and the iconic red Coca-Cola® can.

Our brand positioning is to empower and inspire people to Colour with Confidence because they can be sure to find a colour they love. Whether it’s one of our 2,000 pre-selected colours or an entirely new one for us to match. We believe in the power of colour, to change a mood or reflect identity. Our view is that everyone deserves to love where they live – because improving your home can improve your life.

These are just two of a number of popular DIY brands within the UK and Ireland under the umbrella of Sherwin-Williams consumer brands.

Now you know a little bit about who we are, how do you feel about becoming part of the story for some truly renowned brands across UK and Europe? Do you want to work in a business that focusses on developing its teams and strives to help individuals achieve their career aspirations? Is the notion of working as part of a fun, energetic team your idea of job? Do you crave working in partnership with industry leading agencies? If the answer is ‘yes’, then you’re in the right place.

The role

The Marketing Graduate position works in various project based roles throughout our marketing department in order to gain exposure to and a detailed understanding of our marketing operations and also our wider organisation across our EMEAI portfolio. The role holder will develop technical expertise and build a strong career foundation through working with our marketing teams that will develop personal effectiveness and impact, hard and soft marketing skills and consumer and customer focus, as well as wider marketing exposure external to the company with our partner marketing agencies. Other areas covered will include: Induction; presentation skills; career management and exposure to non-marketing functions.

The programme consists offour six-month placements. Three of these rotations will be spent within three of the following marketing departments (Brand, Digital, Shopper, Product, Consumer Service) across any or all of our brands. The fourth rotation will consist of an inter-departmental marketing project.

Within each team a mentor will be assigned to support integration into the organisation and development of each graduate through the programme with the requirement to complete the following:

• Be responsible for day to day activities in the role
• Work on a key project
• Write a report at the end of each placement with recommendations for improvement

Key responsibilities

Brand

• Understand the importance of managing our brand for maximum impact on customers and consumers
• The importance of ‘brand policing’
• Delivering creative ideas and executions
• Agency management
• Exposure and contribution to short-term, medium-term and long term management
• Budget management

Digital

• Understand the importance of our digital brand and footprint for maximum impact on customers and consumers
• Decision making to make the maximum impact within campaigns
• Budget allocation to invest in strengthening our position to consumers in the future
• Community management and advocacy impact
• Delivering creative ideas and executions
• Agency management
• Exposure and contribution to short-term, medium-term and long term management
• Budget management

Shopper

• Understand the importance of our in store brand and footprint for maximum impact on customers and consumers at point of sale
• Management of multiple stakeholders and needs/wants across the business – decision making
• Managing and improving timelines and costs of projects in order to deliver more effectively
• Matching the brand look and feel at point of sale with that across other brand touchpoints
• Delivering creative ideas and executions
• Agency management
• Exposure and contribution to short-term, medium-term and long term management
• Budget management

Product

• Exposure to roadmap development and planning
• New product development: idea generation and project/process management
• Portfolio management: involvement in lifecycle decision making and execution
• Product and category expertise, knowledge management, and training delivery across stakeholder groups
• Commercialisation of product launches

Consumer service

• Knowledge management – collection, creation and distribution of business wide information to ensure third party contact centre can deliver the best service
• Working with brand and digital team to enhance and move on consumer service, scoping for longer term enhancements / areas to play
• Establishing brand tone of voice for direct consumer contact

What are we looking for

We are looking for a talented and self-motivated individual with a proven track record of successfully applying themself both academically and through work experience.

• You will have a degree in a business-related subject, preferably Marketing
• You will need to be a team player, able to develop professional relationships with both colleagues and clients
• You are a clear communicator who acts openly and honestly with respect for others
• You should be results orientated with a ‘can do’ approach and an strong desire to learn
• It is important to us that you are curious and open minded, keen to use your initiative and look for opportunities for self-development
• You should be able to demonstrate a good understanding of the market in which Sherwin-Williams operates
• IT proficiency and report writing skills with excellent business English with good attention to detail are also required.

What's in it for you?

In addition to those great aspects of life at Sherwin-Williams mentioned earlier, we also understand that each employee is an individual, with individual circumstances. That’s why we employ a flexible working system with three set days in the office and two days remote working, as well as a flexi-time policy with core working hours between 09:00-16:00.

Our CBG Marketing offices are situated in the heart of Winnersh Triangle, a state-of-the-art commercial complex in Wokingham which provides great benefits, from periodic events such as food festivals, amenities such as a newsagents, a gym, a nursery, a train station, and cafes, all the way through to football courts and yoga studios. We even have a film studio that shoots the occasional Hollywood blockbuster and showcases movie memorabilia!

Benefits

• 25 days holiday
• Pension scheme
• Share plan
• Life assurance
• Healthcare plan
• Retail discount platform

About Sherwin-Williams

The Sherwin-Williams Company delivers the best in paint and coatings products to the world. Every day, our more than 64,000 employees provide the energy and experience to build on our track record of success – enabling us to innovate and grow in new and exciting ways. With our people as the foundation of our Company, we offer industry-leading innovation, value-added service and expertise, and differentiated distribution to our growing base of professional, industrial, commercial and consumer customers.