Category & Shopper Manager – FMCG (retail) CPT

Category & Shopper Manager – FMCG (retail) Premium FMCG brand is hiring. Position Purpose The vision for the Category & Shopper Marketing Team is to be a trusted team of Shopper & Category experts in confectionery that is central to providing strategic and short-term solutions to deliver Category growth, internally and externally. The Category team is living a category growth mindset, to grow faster and more sustainably than the category through superior understanding and fulfilment of consumer and shopper needs. Key Responsibilities • Lead shopper insight and category insights, leading key initiatives from project development, management to completion o Leadership for Category Vision and Drivers that enables customer teams to persuade key retail partners of the category strategy o Create and deliver short and long term shopper insight initiatives, as prioritized by the management team, to support MPD planning & specific segment challenges to turn shoppers into buyers of our brands o Leadership of brand / account workshops to enable the Marketing, Shopper Marketing & Sales teams to develop and sell the annual seasonal plans to our key retail partners o Lead the key cross functional Shopper Marketing projects o Coordination of both qualitative and quantitative consumer & shopper marketing research to lead new insights into the development of the category o Lead ongoing development of Category Vision, Drivers & Tactics, to engage our retail partners on the growth opportunities for the confectionery category o Through insight, lead and support customer marketing with new activation initiatives for brands to increase their visibility in store o Lead for Shopper Marketing contribution to the annual brand planning process o Support marketing team with shopper marketing insight/strategies that support new brand initiatives for existing and new products o Ensure that the identified shopper strategies play a core role in the company, category and brand long term plans o Support customer marketing team with category insight to lead new activation in store, both on and off the fixture. o . • Planning and Review: o Provide support to the internal Brand and Key Account teams by conducting regular business analyses (with the focus on key strategic drivers and opportunities), presentations and merchandising solutions o Proactive management of team priorities o Build and develop internal reporting databases and templates o Manage cross-functional targets o Identify key trade opportunities including maximizing in-trade opportunities (ranging, distribution, merchandising and visibility) o Oversee development of Category Selling stories o Delivering commentaries and sales analysis for monthly business review reports, pro-actively identifying business opportunities and issues • Merchandising Input o Manage planograms & merchandising guidelines to support category shelving initiatives including the training thereof internally and externally o Responsible for updating space management product / image library & IRi data characteristics • Team Leadership o Training members of the cross functional team on data systems (Retailer POS, IRi) o Build effective working relationships and processes with the Sales and Marketing teams with the aim of driving incremental category and brand growth o Lead cross functional ways of working ultimately ensuring alignment to and focus on business objectives Skills and Knowledge • Proven Category Management Expertise • Advanced MS Excel, IRi Temple & Space Planning Skills • Understanding shopper/consumer/market insights and how these drive category growth in retailers • Understanding of competitor and market dynamics • Excellent numeracy, analytical and data interpretation skills • Understanding brand and key account strategies and interpreting these into customized category plans • Implementing and evaluating category plans in-store • Excellent interpersonal skills, able to build relationships and influence at all levels – internal and external • Confident, assertive self-starter with a drive for results and highly motivated • High level of initiative, able to drive projects independently • Structured with organizational skills • Ability to work under pressure and meet tight deadlines Requirements: • BComm Degree or suitable tertiary qualification • Previous experience in a customer-facing Category Management role, FMCG environment (minimum 5 years) • Prerequisites include advanced skills & working knowledge of external market data software and space planning software • Knowledge of and advanced skills in Microsoft Office (specifically Excel and PowerPoint) As per our client’s operational requirements, a clear credit and criminal history will apply Please email cv and package requirements to marlene@servicesolutions.co.za


Salary: RBasic + Benefits


Consultant Name: Marlene Smith