Director, Category Management

HP Hood•Lynnfield, MA

4d•Hybrid

About The Position

Are you a self-driven person looking to advance your career as a high-impact player on a team? If so, we have an exciting challenge for you and your future! Our culture is built on value commitments to innovation, quality, results, integrity, community, people, and collaboration that fosters a strong employee engagement, teamwork, safety and wellness. We offer a competitive benefits package that includes health, dental, vision, wellness programs, employee discounts, retirement plans, tuition reimbursement, ongoing development, advancement opportunities and more. Founded in 1846, today HP Hood is one of the largest and most trusted food and beverage manufacturers in the United States. Our portfolio of national and super-regional brands and licensed products includes Hood, Heluva Good, Lactaid, Blue Diamond Almond Breeze, Planet Oat and more. Job Summary: The Director Category Management is a strategic leadership role responsible for driving category vision, customer collaboration, and data-driven insights that unlock growth across multiple channels. This leader will partner with Sales and Marketing to develop category strategies / tactics that maximize distribution, optimize assortment, enhance shopper engagement, and strengthen customer partnerships. The role requires a highly analytical, influential leader who can translate consumer, shopper, and market data into actionable growth strategies / tactics and execution plans with key customers. The Director of Category Management leads the strategic development and execution of category plans designed to help our customers, categories and our portfolio of industry-leading brands, win, while elevating our influence with our most strategic accounts. This position plays a pivotal role in aligning internal stakeholders and external partners around a unified vision for category and brand success. It requires deep expertise in CPG, retail dynamics, and cross-functional collaboration. This role and their broader team are responsible for new item presentations, category business reviews, assortment strategies, all aspects of evolving and promoting our shelving principals and creating additional, value add customer touchpoints.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, or related field required, MBA a plus.
7+ years of progressive experience in category management, trade marketing, sales or shopper insights within the CPG industry.
Proven success in building category growth strategies and influencing retail partners.
Expertise in syndicated data (Circana & Nielsen), POS data, and shopper analytics.
Strong leadership and people development skills with experience leading high-performing teams.
Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to influence senior-level stakeholders internally and externally.
Strategic thinker with strong business acumen and the ability to translate insights into action.
Demonstrated success leading and developing high-performing teams.
Exceptional influencing and relationship-building skills across internal stakeholders and external customers.
Ability to communicate complex data into clear, compelling insights and stories.
Proficiency in data visualization tools (Power BI), advanced Excel/PowerPoint, and familiarity with AI-driven analytics platforms.
Strategic Thinker with strong business acumen.
Results-Oriented, with a track record of driving measurable growth.
Collaborative Leader who builds trust and alignment across functions.
Consumer & Shopper Centric mindset.
Innovative and future-focused, embracing digital transformation and evolving retail landscapes.
Willingness to travel as needed.
Must have valid driver's license and reliable transportation

Nice To Haves

MBA a plus.

Responsibilities

Category Strategy & Growth Develop and implement category management strategies to maximize brand and segment growth across multiple categories.
Identify market opportunities, consumer trends, and competitive threats to inform portfolio and innovation strategies.
Partner with brand marketing, sales, and insights to build shopper-centric plans that drive category expansion.
Lead development of category visions, shelving strategies, and assortment recommendations to drive category and brand growth.
Partner with Marketing and Innovation to provide insights into product development, pricing, and positioning.
Customer Collaboration Serve as the lead strategic advisor for retail partners on category vision, shelving, assortment, and promotional strategies.
Deliver compelling category growth stories using syndicated data (Circana & Nielsen), shopper insights and customer loyalty information.
Build joint business plans with key retail partners to align brand priorities with customer/category strategies.
Analytics & Insights Translate consumer, shopper, and marketplace data into actionable insights that drive assortment, pricing, promotion, and shelving recommendations.
Leverage space planning tools and shopper analytics to influence category resets and maximize brand visibility.
Measure category and customer performance against established KPIs, identifying opportunities to course-correct and optimize.
Leadership & Team Development Foster a high-performance culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement, which includes leading, coaching, and developing a team of category managers to elevate organizational capability.
Champion a data-driven, shopper-first mindset across cross-functional teams, including the use of advanced analytics, digital tools, and relevant insights in category management.
Foster collaboration with sales, marketing, trade, retail media and sales enablement to deliver cohesive marketplace execution.