Job Description:
The Pet Specialty Category Manager is responsible for serving as a trusted advisor to retailers and account teams for the Mars Petcare segment. The role is expected to provide insight-based shopper-focused solutions and develop strategies to enable category and retailer growth.
Additionally, the role will be expected to provide insights and strategy recommendations to drive omnichannel growth across all pet categories, with a focus on digital activations. The role supports a select portfolio of major Farm and Home and Big Box Specialty retail partners.
This role is based in Franklin, TN with regular in-office collaboration expected. Flexibility is a key enabler—empowering associates to make choices that support both business outcomes and personal needs, including occasional remote work.
What will be your key responsibilities?- Develop and cultivate business relationships that establish MARS as the indispensable partner for all category management needs (online and offline) by delivering best-in-class insights
- Build comprehensive knowledge of the products, strategies, tactics, and competitive trends in the marketplace for assigned categories both online and in store
- Leverage data from multiple sources (internal insights team, Nielsen scan data, Retailer POS data) to create impactful analytics and selling stories to identify risks, opportunities, and performance gaps (ie. distribution, assortment mix, incrementally, size, shelving, placement) and track category performance while informing and making recommendations to influence internal/external stakeholders
- Bachelor’s Degree
- 2+ years of sales/category/analytics experience
- Demonstrated ability to build indispensable, collaborative partnerships with retail customers, account team, and internal business partners
- Familiarity with advanced analytics, market research, and digital transformation trends in retail
- Strong analytical skills and ability to distill complex data into clear and impactful stories
- Strong sense of curiosity
Collaborative, fast-paced environment with freedom to impact business results
Working in an inclusive environment where you are shown respect, and have a voice
Organization focused on associate development and well being
Privately-owned, Purpose-driven, Fortune 100 Best Place to work company
Best in Class central insights department that will provide the tools you need to be successful
Skills Required
- Bachelor's Degree
- 2+ years of sales, category, or analytics experience
- Demonstrated ability to build collaborative partnerships with retailers and internal teams
- Familiarity with advanced analytics, market research, and digital transformation trends in retail
- Strong analytical skills and ability to distill complex data into clear, impactful stories
- Based in Franklin, TN with regular in-office collaboration expected (occasional remote work)
- Experience with Nielsen scan data or retailer POS data
Mars Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Mars and has not been reviewed or approved by Mars.
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Healthcare Strength — The benefits package is positioned as comprehensive, with broad medical coverage and additional protections like life insurance and short- and long-term disability. Mental health support is emphasized, including free mental health services and wellbeing programming under initiatives such as Mars Be Well.
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Parental & Family Support — Paid parental leave is highlighted as market-leading in the U.S., with an example of 18 weeks fully paid for both parents. Additional family-related leave types such as sick time for caregiving and bereavement leave are also described as part of the overall package.
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Retirement Support — Retirement offerings are described as strong, including 401(k) matching (with a 6% match cited) and pension plans in some cases. The broader package also references retirement savings options and contributions aligned to local market practice, supporting long-term financial security.
Mars Insights
What We Do
For more than a century, Mars, Incorporated has been driven by the belief that the world we want tomorrow starts with how we do business today. This idea is at the center of who we have always been as a global, family-owned business. Today, Mars is transforming, innovating and evolving in ways that affirm our commitment to making a positive impact on the world around us. Across our diverse and expanding portfolio of confectionery, food, and petcare products and services, we employ 133,000 dedicated Associates who are all moving in the same direction: forward. With $40 billion in annual sales, we produce some of the world’s best-loved brands including DOVE®, EXTRA®, M&M’s®, MILKY WAY®, SNICKERS®, TWIX®, ORBIT®, PEDIGREE®, ROYAL CANIN®, SKITTLES®, WHISKAS®, COCOAVIA®, and 5™; and take care of half of the world’s pets through our pet health services AniCura, Banfield Pet Hospitals™, BluePearl®, Linnaeus, Pet Partners™, and VCA™. We know we can only be truly successful if our partners and the communities in which we operate prosper as well. The Mars Five Principles – Quality, Responsibility, Mutuality, Efficiency and Freedom – inspire our Associates to take action every day to help create a world tomorrow in which the planet, its people and pets can thrive.
