Director of Category Management

Want to help us bring happiness to the world? Want to join an ambitious and fast growing global biscuits and confectionery business investing heavily in iconic global brands, infrastructure and people? Then this is the place for you.

As proud bakers and chocolatiers and custodians of iconic global brands, we don’t compromise on the quality of ingredients in our products or on the people we hire. We are looking for entrepreneurial spirits who share our passion for bringing happiness to our consumers and who embody our Winning Traits.

To succeed at pladis you need to be purpose-led, resilient and positive to succeed here because we expect pace and agility, we insist on collaboration and demand accountability. If that is your thing, then pladis offers global ambition, a clear Vision and roadmap for success, challenge, and unrivalled opportunities to learn and make an impact

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KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES AND DELIVERABLES:

• Consultative Partner: Serve as the trusted and indispensable partner for both customers and Pladis, providing insights and strategies that drive joint value creation and elevate category performance.

• Shelf & Distribution Focus: Maintain a relentless focus on optimizing product distribution and shelf presence, ensuring the highest visibility and accessibility for our products across channels.

• Cutdown and Search Optimization: Influence every aspect of product display from cutdowns to search algorithms, working to enhance discoverability and engagement for customers in both physical and digital spaces.

• Space Expansion & Visibility: Drive space expansion initiatives and visibility opportunities, including macro space planning, taxonomy optimization, and presence on key areas like homepages, seasonal hubs, and permanent secondary locations.

• Capability Development: Build best-in-class capabilities and processes within the team, leveraging commercial data and advanced tools for effective category management, and setting new standards for operational excellence. 

• Data-Driven Strategy: Implement a commercial data store and seasonal order suggestions, fostering a cross-functional, data-informed approach to align category management with broader business goals.

• Integrated Strategic Planning: Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams to establish an integrated strategy that supports long-term category growth and adapts to evolving consumer trends and market demands

• Product and Category Strategy: Define the product strategy across multiple categories, including a product roadmap that drives profitable growth.

• Insights and Knowledge: Develop insights from consumers, channel leaders, and the market data to stay ahead of latest trends and anticipate customer needs. Analyze category and competitive data to make informed business decisions.

• Portfolio Management: Develop “Product stories” including product positioning and messaging for consumers and the trade across multiple organized segments.

• Leadership & Collaboration: Lead through influence and with a sense of urgency and develop strong relationships with cross functional partners.

SKILLS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED

Essential Criteria

• 10+ years’ experience with Sales, Retail and eCommerce Consumer Packaged Goods.

• Proven experience in product management or brand management.

• Strong analytical and strategic thinking skills.

• Excellent communication and interpersonal abilities.

• Ability to distill complex issues into concise, compelling actions.

• Ability to collaborate cross-functionally.

• Outstanding analytical and project leadership skills.

• Critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

• Adaptability

Desirable Criteria

• Strategic vision and commercial acumen

• Analytical and data-driven mindset

• Customer centric focus

• Cross-functional collaboration

• Innovation and continuous improvement

• Strong communication and influencing skills

• Project Management expertise

QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business, Economics, or related field. MBA a plus

• 10+ years of experience in Category Management, retail, or consumer packaged goods (CPG), with a strong track record of delivering category growth and innovation.

• Proven expertise in category management tools and analytics platforms

• Demonstrated success in managing shelf, distribution, and space optimization

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES REQUIRED

• Adaptability and resilience

• Results-oriented

• Innovative thinker

• Detail-oriented

• Data-driven decision maker

• Passionate about growth

ADDITIONAL JOB INFORMATION

Base starting salary at $158,000/yr. The Base pay offered is based on market location and may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and internal equity.

pladis is an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to hiring a diverse workforce. All openings will be filled based on qualifications without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, marital status, veteran status, disability, age, religion or any other classification protected by law.

We operate a strict Preferred Supplier List. If you are a recruitment agency and wish to submit candidate to be considered for this vacancy, you must have agreed to, and signed, our terms of business.
We will not accept CVs from any other sources other than those currently on our PSL. We will not pay a fee for any candidate that has not been represented by a provider on our PSL.