Category Strategist Seasons

The Hershey Company • Minneapolis, MN

30d

About The Position

The Category Strategist Advisor Seasons plays a pivotal role in achieving Hershey and Target's financial objectives by utilizing insights and the category management toolkit. This position requires a deep understanding of how to apply insights across various aspects of the business to promote growth and demonstrate thought leadership, both within the aisle and at the point of purchase.
A central responsibility of the Category Strategist is to analyze and integrate business trends, competitive dynamics, shopper behaviors, financial data, and Hershey gold standards. By synthesizing these elements, the strategist identifies opportunities and crafts solutions that drive conversion and enhance guest satisfaction throughout the shopping journey. This includes optimizing the experience in traditional brick-and-mortar retail environments as well as advancing performance on the digital shelf.

Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree Required
• 3-5 years of Consumer Product Sales and/or Category Management
• Experience in JDA Space Management
• Ability to build dynamic relationships with the customer across business units
• Technical Skills, Analysis & Problem Assessment
• Proven abilities in the art of capturing the audience through Storytelling
• Team player who will work across desks during crunch times

Responsibilities

• Serves as the category expert, supporting Target in implementing strategic business plans aimed at achieving Joint Business objectives for topline sales, net sales, margin, digital penetration, and category share.
• Provides guidance and consultation to the broader Target team, uncovering insights and developing action plans to drive profitable market share growth. Builds alignment both horizontally and vertically across internal and external stakeholders on key category initiatives.
• Functions as a critical strategic partner, leading projects that fulfil the financial goals of both Hershey and Target. Identifies potential areas for growth within the category and for Hershey.
• Demonstrates exceptional storytelling skills to bring initiatives to life through category management tools including, but not limited to, JDA, IRI syndicated data platform, Numerator, and various external resources, ensuring successful execution and support of strategic business plans.
• Leads best-in-class digital execution to accelerate digital penetration and acts as a liaison to enhance the digital shelf experience in collaboration with the Target Site Merchandising Team—impacting search, item attribution, digital shelf structure, and identifying new category opportunities.
• Partners internally at Hershey to enhance reporting, space planning, and process capabilities, thereby advancing team efficiency.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level