Target Category Manager, Ice Cream
About The Position
Life tastes better with ice cream. With 19,000 expert ice cream colleagues and iconic brands like Wall’s, Cornetto and Ben & Jerry’s, loved in 76 countries, we are the world’s largest Ice Cream company leading the industry. We create iconic ice cream brands that are part of everyday life, bringing moments of joy to millions of people around the world. Everybody loves ice cream. And as the world’s biggest pure‑play ice cream company, we have the scale and ambition to make a real difference. What truly sets us apart is how we work. We move fast and keep things simple. We turn ideas into action, trust people to take ownership, and work as one team to win together with integrity. Our culture is high‑performance, collaborative and focused on getting things done. We’re curious and ready for what’s next. We embrace digital, use data to make better decisions, and keep learning, including how AI can help us work smarter and serve consumers better. Ice cream is one of the most emotional and joyful categories in the store and Target's Guest is one of the most discerning shoppers in America. As our Target Category Captain for Ice Cream, you'll sit at the intersection of both. You'll be the trusted category advisor to Target's merchant team, partnering to be the strategic voice inside Target business, and the person who provides consultative recommendations on where the category is going next. If you love ice cream, live for a great planogram debate, and get energized about shaping the future of the category instead of just reporting on one, then this job might be a great fit for you.
Requirements
- Thinks end-to-end and takes ownerships for results
- Is comfortable working in a fast-moving, evolving organisation
- Values collaboration, clarity and low-ego ways of working
- Bachelor's degree and 3–5+ years in Category Management, Customer / Shopper Insights, or Sales Strategy in CPG.
- Direct Target experience required. You know the merchant cadence, the Guest lens, POL, and how Target's assortment discipline actually works.
- Fluency in syndicated and shopper data platforms: Circana (IRI), NielsenIQ, Numerator, Household Panel, Loyalty Card data.
- Strong working knowledge of space planning tools (JDA / Blue Yonder) and Target's reset / planogram revision process.
- Track record turning analytics into compelling recommendations that drive positive outcomes.
- A translator. You take messy data and turn it into a sentence a merchant can repeat in their next meeting.
- A retail nerd (in the best way). You walk the store. You take pictures of end-caps. You have opinions about facings.
- A Guest-first thinker. You understand that how someone shops for a pint on a Tuesday matters as much as the number in a Monday report.
- A builder. You've been in a room with limited direction and left with a plan.
- A storyteller. You know the number is the evidence, not the story.
Nice To Haves
- Experience in Frozen, Ice Cream, or another impulse / indulgence category.
- Familiarity with digital shelf, retail media (Roundel), and omnichannel shopper journeys.
- Exposure to RGM and pack-price architecture
Responsibilities
- Serve as Category Captain / Category Advisor to Target's ice cream team across the Ice Cream category
- Build the multi-year category vision for Ice Cream at Target, including assortment, shelving, promotion, and innovation runway.
- Lead planogram strategy and execution through Target's reset cycles
- Translate syndicated data (Circana, NielsenIQ), Target POS, Household Panel, and Loyalty / Guest data into fact-based recommendations the merchant team can act on.
- Own the category story: the one-pagers, JBP inputs, and analysis that shape how Target thinks about indulgence and innovation.
Benefits
- Market-competitive pay and performance related rewards
- Flexible ways of working
- Support for health, wellbeing and life outside of work
- Time off to rest and recharge
- Ongoing learning and development opportunities
- Medical, dental and (where applicable) vision coverage
- Health and wellbeing support, including employee assistance programs and wellness initiatives
- Health-related savings and spending accounts
- Retirement savings programs with a competitive matching plan
- Additional employee perks (e.g., corporate discounts, commuter or learning support)
- This position is bonus eligible.
- This position is LTI eligible.
- health insurance (including prescription drug, dental, and vision coverage)
- retirement savings benefits
- life insurance and disability benefits
- parental leave
- sick leave
- paid vacation and holidays
- access to numerous voluntary benefits.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Mid Level
