Job Description:
Accelerator, a global Division of Mars Snacking, is on the front line of unlocking growth across high-potential categories and brands to fuel what’s next for Snacking. It’s home to both emerging and enduring brands, including KIND, TRÜ FRÜ, NATURE’S BAKERY, RXBAR, EGGO, POP-TARTS and RICE KRISPIE TREATS. Combining the scale of Mars with the agility of a start-up, our Division has the ambition to accelerate the future of snacking by delivering products consumers love today, discovering category-shaping innovations for tomorrow and developing entrepreneurial teams whose impact will last for generations.
We’re looking for passionate talent who dare to dream big, agile collaborators who talk straight and decide fast, and driven performers with a growth mindset. We’re proudly part of Mars, while also building something boldly different. If this inspires and energizes you, you’ve found the right place where you can do cool things with fun people for one of the biggest snacking companies in the world!
Reporting to the Senior Director Category Leadership Mass/Club, the Manager Category Leadership manages the Walmart Quick Whole Snacks (Snack & Protein Bars) category for the Accelerator business, the division supporting KIND, Tru Fru, Nature's Bakery, and the newly acquired Kellanova brands. The role is responsible for serving as Mars Snacking’s category expert for the Bars business, bringing objective category recommendations to the customer that will help grow the total category. This includes delivering category vision work, shopper insights, assortment and shelf strategy, and long-term category growth plans.
Job Responsibilities
- Develop and deliver category thought leadership
- Own the category shelving and assortment strategy for your assigned category to include assortment recommendations, shelf flow and adjacency proposals, space-to-sales analysis, and modular relay support
- Translate data into actionable recommendations
- Create merchant-ready stories and category reviews that translate analytics into category winning solutions
- Work cross-functionally with Customer Insights, Category Strategy, and Shopper Insights partners to bring shopper-led strategies and solutions to your customer
Qualifications
- High School diploma/GED
- High level analytical capability
- Robust shopper and consumer insight experience and exposure
- High proficiency in using syndicated data (i.e. Nielsen, Circana, and/or Numerator)
- Loyalty card data and shopper panel experience preferably to include Scintilla experience
- Proficiency in JDA, Apollo or Spaceman space planning software
- Strong leadership, decision making capability and a proven track record of success
- Ability to penetrate senior leadership level at the retailer
- Assimilating and interpreting data from multiple disparate data sources into concise action-oriented recommendations
- Experience communicating complex and/or detailed information to multiple individuals/audiences with differing knowledge levels
- Strong Excel and PowerPoint skills
What can you expect from Mars
Work with diverse and talented Associates, all guided by the Five Principles.
Join a purpose driven company, where we’re striving to build the world we want tomorrow, today.
A strong focus on learning and development support from day one, including access to our in-house Mars University.
An industry competitive salary and benefits package, including company bonus.
#KindJobs
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
