Senior Category Manager - Kroger

Smithfield Foods•Sharonville, OH

About The Position

The Senior Category Manager will help Smithfield develop and earn a “trusted adviser” status with key, strategic retailers by being a valued resource to our retailers and by facilitating growth in Fresh, Packaged and Deli Meat Categories. This role will manage and actively analyze consumer, category, customer, and market data in order to build winning business recommendations and is known for high quality and expert presentations. Focused on identifying and managing mutually beneficial opportunities that support both Smithfield brand growth and retailer category growth by working closely with Smithfield’s Sales and Marketing teams and our retailer partners. This will be done by being and expert in our Retailers’ data systems and having the ability to marry third-party data sources (IRI, Dunnhumby, Spectrum and Spectra for example) to uncover and manage opportunities and insights and to leverage fact-based information to win in the marketplace. The Senior Category Manager is able to develop both tactics and strategies that lead the industry and produce winning results. Both the company and our retailers will turn to the Senior Category Manager for thought leadership. This person is viewed as the Category Expert for our Senior Leaders and Retailers from conducting first-hand analysis of internal Retailer Sales and Consumer information to provide fact based winning assortment, shelving (which may include managing space planning projects), pricing and promotion recommendations and the subsequent score carding of business results. Largely viewed as an expert, the Sr. Category Manager will work to develop the skills of the more junior members of the team and actively be involved in sharing best practices across the organization. The Senior Category Manager will be a day-to-day point of contact for our Senior Leaders at Smithfield and interface with the customer (Buyers to Senior Management) to represent our company, so it is imperative that this person have a very likeable communication style (even under the stresses of mounting projects and timelines) and actively promote teamwork competencies to represent Smithfield in the best possible light at all times.

Requirements

Bachelor's Degree from an accredited college or university in Marketing, Business Administration or related field and 8+ years of Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) experience in sales, marketing, category management or trade marketing; or equivalent combination of education and experience.
2+ years of demonstrated experience in team management/development or project leadership is required.
5+ years of experience with syndicated data (IRI, Nielsen, etc.), required.
Demonstrated mastery of category management processes and quantifiable, success as a category captain, validator, etc.
Must be highly proficient in MS Power Point and Excel, plus syndicated data tools & applications.
Strong communication and interpersonal skills required.
Ability to prioritize projects and produce high quality and quantity outputs that adds value to the company, required.
Strong quantitative and analytical skills, required.
Excellent project management skills.
Travel up to 30% of the year.
Ability to work well with others in fast paced, dynamic environment.
Ability to be respectful, approachable and team oriented while building strong working relationships and a positive work environment.

Nice To Haves

MBA Preferred.
Knowledge of assortment tools and planogram software, preferred.

Responsibilities

Acts as a catalyst to help enhance the category management expertise of the organization.
Serves as a mentor and leader to other Category Management personnel.
Syndicated Data Research, Analysis, and Reporting.
Responsible for customization, reporting and analysis of category information for assigned customer(s).
Be an expert (and teacher) on utilizing and leveraging syndicated databases to include customer-specific data warehouse information and loyalty card analysis (e.g., IRI, Fresh Facts, Panel, Customer Specific, etc.).
Researches/integrates data from various sources to identify market opportunities and creates insights.
Strategic and Tactical Execution.
Develops strategic/tactical elements of Category Business Plans to Sales Teams and Customers.
Develops customer-specific insights & recommendations by reviewing analytics, turns insights into action and drives winning sales recommendations on assortment, shelving, and merchandising strategies.
Works with sales teams and supports sales presentation development.
Attends meetings with customers, makes presentations and is the category expert.
Leverages internal and external resources to grow Smithfield branded distribution, making category enhancing assortment and shelving recommendations in key Pork categories.
Category Focused Sales Support.
Develops or customizes Customer Sales Presentations, New Item Presentations (core & innovation), Category and Business Reviews with and in support of various team members.
Interfaces with customers in support of consumer & shopper insight application.
Leads discussions and/or presentations where a category management focus is required to position products or ideas as a solution for the customer and helps build category management competencies within sales.
Maintenance and Enhancements of Data, Systems, and Expertise.
Leads the continual enhancement of analytical tools & syndicated data resources used by the organization.
Serve as a trusted category advisor by delivering insights that drive total category growth, profitability, household penetration, loyalty, and overall shopper experience.
Translate complex data into actionable recommendations by utilizing Kroger shopper and loyalty data, syndicated POS, household panel, assortment, space, digital, market, and shipment data to identify trends, diagnose performance, uncover root causes, and quantify growth opportunities.
Demonstrate advanced proficiency in Kroger data ecosystems, specifically 84.51° On Demand and Stratum, to support fact-based decision making and strategic category recommendations.