Category Development Lead

Job Description

Job Purpose:

This role is responsible for delivering best in class category leadership customer collaboration for a core customer which contributes consistently to the unit’s NSV and/or has potential for significant future growth. This role is accountable for developing category growth insights based solutions, creating and executing MWC Picture Of Success for the assigned priority customer(s) and optimizing sales revenue and profitability at category and portfolio level.

The role engages and partners with multiple internal teams to drive appropriate cross-functional collaboration to meet customers, shoppers and Mars needs to ensure we are well placed to drive customer engagement through development of customer growth plans grounded into localized category vision.

Roles & Responsibilities

• Lead the development and delivery of short and long term customer category strategies for a specific customer to optimize profitability and sales revenues at customer and portfolio level.
• Lead the development of a customer category Plans for the specific customer and partner as a key member of the relevant customer team to provide category 1st insights and ensure internal and external alignment to customer growth opportunities.
• Lead the customer category growth agenda, building strong and influential relationships focused on delivering shopper, channel and category centric solutions so that Mars is viewed as “THE” trusted category expert.
• Use a mix of market, shopper and customer insights to identify customer growth opportunities and leverages/ executes these with high standards in all Category Leadership initiatives, tactics, practices and engages cross-functional resources to deliver the growth opportunities.
• Grounded in the global category vision, executes of a clear category vision ensuring a strong understanding of the category growth drivers, role and attractiveness are well embedded as the foundation for our customer growth plans & activation.
• Develop compelling insight led category solutions which influences shopper behaviour and converts more shoppers and transactions at the point of sale for the mutual benefit of the organisation and our customers and identify future customer growth opportunities.
• Use category management process and analytics findings as a decision platform for all initiatives designed to optimize shelving, distribution, pricing and promotional mix.
• In partnership with the perfect store team, develop an integrated picture of success for assigned channel(s)/customers grounded in our global in store leadership strategies. Ensures Mars’ portfolio visibility and presence at point of purchase exceeds market share, perfect store ambitions are realised and strong and sustainable category partnerships/ captaincies are built for mutual, profitable and sustainable category growth.
  
  

Education & Professional Qualification

Graduate calibre with experience in a blue chip FMCG/consumer products with demand background and successful experience of customer development.

Knowledge/Experience

• Significant category leadership and customer development experience, with proven ability to build strong and objective customer category partnerships.
• Category and customer experience with ability to engage, influence and impact customers (to senior levels) by providing guidance on strategic direction of the category.
• Category Leadership expertise in Category Management practices (e.g. 8-step process, category opportunity assessment, strategies and tactics).
• Ability to build effective working relationships and motivate stakeholders internally and externally.
• Excellent understanding of FMCG context and retail/online landscape.
• High analytical acumen with ability to drive and translate insights into relevant strategies and tactics (actions / initiatives) internally and for execution with our customers.
• Excellent understanding of annual planning process internally (Demand) and externally (customer business cycle).
• Self-reliant, decisive and resilient and able to respond and adapt to a fast moving, swiftly changing environment.
• Experience in areas such as (but not exclusive to): Customer Management, Consumer and Customer Marketing, Shopper Insights, Digital.
  
  

Mars is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. If you need assistance or an accommodation during the application process because of a disability, it is available upon request. The company is pleased to provide such assistance, and no applicant will be penalized as a result of such a request.