Category Development Manager

E. & J. Gallo Winery • Chicago, IL

6d • Hybrid

About The Position

As an Account Manager, Category Development, you’ll play a pivotal role in shaping how our products show up for customers and consumers. You’ll partner closely with retail customers, distributors, and internal teams to bring category strategies to life—turning insights into action and opportunities into growth. This role blends analytics, strategy, and relationship-building to help customers optimize their categories while advancing Gallo’s business objectives. In this consultative role, you’ll analyze syndicated data, financial results, and account-level insights to uncover trends, evaluate product demand, and recommend merchandising strategies that drive performance. You’ll work directly with customer decision-makers, presenting compelling, data-backed recommendations and “best practices” that influence category development and long-term planning. You’ll manage multiple analytical projects end to end, balancing priorities while delivering high-quality insights. From space planning and schematic development to supporting joint business planning and digital commercialization, your work will directly impact both brick-and-mortar and e-commerce environments. You’ll also help educate internal partners and customers on data tools, best practices, and evolving category strategies. This role is ideal for someone who thrives in a fast-paced, customer-facing environment, embraces innovation, and enjoys solving complex business problems through data and collaboration. If you bring a growth mindset, strong communication skills, and a passion for turning insights into results, this is an opportunity to make a meaningful impact.

Requirements

• Master’s degree plus 2 years of category development or sales experience reflecting increasing levels of responsibility; OR Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Advertising, Journalism, Business, Economics, or Supply Chain plus 3 years of sales or category development experience reflecting increasing levels of responsibility; OR Bachelor's degree plus 4 years of category development or sales experience reflecting increasing levels of responsibility; OR High school diploma or Stateissued equivalency certificate plus 7 years of category development or sales experience reflecting increasing levels of responsibility.
• Candidate is required to have a valid driver’s license, a safe driving record and reliable vehicle (if applicable) at the time of hire. This position will undergo a motor vehicle check (MVR) to confirm a history of safe and responsible driving. If needed, candidate must obtain the appropriate state driver’s license based on the position’s location within 30 days of hire.
• Required to travel by airplane and automobile to conduct job duties, up to 25% of the time.
• Required to obtain Liquor License as required by state/locality.
• Required to travel to company offices, sites, and/or meeting locations for onboarding, training, meetings, and events for development, department needs, and business delivery up to 5% of the time, with or without reasonable accommodation. This may be in addition to travel requirements, if applicable, as listed in this job description.
• Required to be 18 years or older. This may be in addition to other age requirements, if applicable, as listed in this job description.

Nice To Haves

• Bachelor’s degree plus 4 years of Gallo winery or distributor sales or category development experience to include a prior rotation as a Market Development Manager, Market Development Manager Sr, Spirits Development Specialist, or Account Manager 1; OR Bachelor's degree plus 5 years of external alcohol sales experience to include category development experience.
• 1 year of malt beverage experience
• Skilled in the use of MS Word, MS PowerPoint, MS Excel, GCO, IRI, Spectra, MS Excel and ProSpace at a basic level.
• Experience with statistical analysis, advanced data retrieval, and transforming complex data into actionable business insights.

Benefits

• We are committed to providing competitive compensation, perks, and a culture that supports your well-being.
• Benefits depend on your work category and may include medical and dental coverage, 401k plans, profit sharing, pet insurance, company holidays, access to an employee wine shop, and more!
• Additional information will be provided before your first interview.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager
• Number of Employees: 1,001-5,000 employees