Category Manager

Position Title: Category Manager
Position Type: Regular - Full-Time
Requisition ID: 42126
In every role, McCainers are ambitious, curious, and passionate about creating exceptional work experiences - together. With a customer-first mindset, we make doing business with McCain easy.
About the role.
The Category Manager is a key member of McCain's North America Go-To-Market (GTM) team and serves as a trusted category partner for internal and external customers. This role blends strategic thinking with strong execution, transforming data and market insights into compelling category stories and actionable business recommendations. The Category Manager plays a critical role in shaping channel and customer strategies that drive positive category outcomes, strengthen customer partnerships, and deliver disproportionate growth for McCain.
What you'll be doing.

• Provide category leadership and insight to inform McCain's annual operating plan, commercial strategy, and channel plans across North America
• Develop and adapt standard category reporting to proactively identify opportunities, support QBRs, and inform portfolio, innovation, and gap analysis from a GTM lens
• Partner closely with GTM channel leaders and cross-functional customer teams to shape the category components of Joint Business Plans and Customer Growth Plans
• Translate channel strategies into customer-specific executional plans that support listings, distribution, assortment, pricing, promotions, space, and layout decisions
• Own the development, implementation, and tracking of category execution plans that enhance customer engagement and fuel sustainable commercial growth
• Collaborate with channel leads, culinary, and sales analytics teams to deliver differentiated category solutions that grow the business and the category
• Monitor and evaluate sales execution performance at the category, channel, and North America levels to support target setting and planning
• Deliver value-added commercial insights and analysis to support management decision-making and in-market execution
• Ensure adherence to commercial controls, processes, and governance to enable consistent and coordinated sales execution
• Share category performance results, insights, and action plans with channel managers, channel leads, and sales partners

What you'll need to be successful.

• University degree required
• Minimum of 5 years of progressive commercial experience
• Experience working within a global organization; food industry experience strongly preferred
• Strong commercial acumen, including data analysis, planning, forecasting, and performance tracking
• Proven ability to translate data and insights into clear, compelling business recommendations
• Demonstrated ability to influence across all levels of a matrix organization
• Entrepreneurial mindset with a hands-on, problem-solving approach
• Strong storytelling, communication, and presentation skills
• High level of resilience, adaptability, and comfort navigating ambiguity
• Performance-driven with a strong sense of urgency and accountability
• Alignment with McCain's values, leadership principles, and culture of humility

About the team.
This role sits within the North America Go-To-Market team and works cross-functionally with Sales, Marketing, Culinary, Analytics, and Channel Leadership. The Category Manager operates in a highly collaborative, matrixed environment and plays a central role in connecting category strategy to customer execution across multiple channels.
About McCain.
Click Here to learn more about McCain and how we provide opportunities to make an impact that matters.
Leadership principles.
At McCain, our leaders are guided by four core principles:

• Understanding customer needs
• Driving innovation
• Empowering people
• Taking ownership to deliver results

The McCain experience.
We are McCain. This statement is a testament to our collective strength and our individual value. Your contributions play a vital role in our success. Our winning culture is rooted in authenticity and trust, empowering us to bring out the best in one another. Here, you'll find opportunities to learn, grow, and thrive. Join us and experience why we're better together.
Our purpose is grounded in building meaningful relationships. We're big believers in the power of working together in person-it helps us stay connected, collaborate more effectively, and grow as a team. At the same time, we recognize the importance of flexibility. Most office-based roles follow a hybrid model, with the option to work remotely two days a week. There may be exceptions depending on the role and location, so we encourage you to speak with your recruiter for more details.
Compensation Package : $81,600.00 - $108,900.00 . USD annually + Bonus eligibility
The above reflects the target compensation range for the position at the time of posting. Hiring compensation will be determined based on experience, skill set, education and training, and other organizational needs. This posting is for an existing vacancy.
Benefits: At McCain, we're on a mission to create a winning culture that puts employee safety and well-being at the heart of what we do, every day. We understand and appreciate that each person's needs are unique and ensure our benefits & well-being programs reflect that. Employees are eligible for the following benefits: health coverage (medical, dental, vision, prescription drug), retirement savings benefits, and leave support including medical, family and bereavement. Well-being programs include vacation and holidays, company-supported volunteering time, and mental health resources. Coverages are aligned with country, provincial and state governing plans and can vary by work level, location and nature of the role. Additional benefit detail available during the application process.
Your well-being matters to us, and we're here to provide you with the necessary resources to support you in being your best self at work - and at home.
McCain Foods is an equal opportunity employer. As a global family-owned company, we strive to be the employer of choice in the diverse communities around the world in which we live and work. We recognize that inclusion drives our creativity, resilience, and success and makes our business stronger. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, age, veteran status, disability, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.
McCain is an accessible employer. If you require an accommodation throughout the recruitment process (including alternate formats of materials or accessible meeting rooms), please let us know and we will work with you to find appropriate solutions.
Your privacy is important to us. By submitting personal data or information to us, you agree this will be handled in accordance with McCain's Global Privacy Policy and Global Employee Privacy Policy, as applicable. McCain leverages AI in the hiring process, though all final decisions are made by humans. You can understand our approach to AI and how your personal information is being handled here.
Job Family: Sales
Location(s): US - United States of America : Illinois : Oakbrook Terrace
Company: McCain Foods USA, Inc.